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	Trade union rights under threat by International Trade Union Confederation   June 2012   2011 was a difficult and often dangerous year for workers throughout world, with those who dared stand up for their trade union rights facing dismissal, arrest, imprisonment and even death. That in essence is the picture that emerges from the annual survey of trade union rights violations published today by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The survey examines 143 countries.   Colombia is once again the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. Of the 76 people murdered for their trade union activities, not counting the workers killed during the Arab Spring, 29 lost their lives in Colombia. And in Guatemala yet again trade unionists paid a heavy price, with 10 assassinations committed with impunity. A further eight trade unionists were murdered in Asia.   The worldwide trends highlighted in the survey include the non respect of labour legislation by governments, the lack of funding for labour inspection and workers protection, the lack of rights and the abuse faced by migrant workers throughout the world, particularly in the Gulf States, and the exploitation of the largely female workforce in the export processing zones around the globe.   Among the most vulnerable are the 100 million domestic workers.   The year 2011 was of course the year of the Arab Spring and the revolutions surrounding this in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf States.   The repression of trade union rights has been particularly harsh in these regions. Trade union organisations played a leading role in the revolutions, notably in Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain.   They paid a heavy price. Hundreds of activists were killed in the clashes and thousands were arrested.   Today however the road to democracy is getting smoother, as could be seen from the massive turnout for the Egyptian elections in November and the continued protests in Syria and Bahrain.   The creation of an independent trade union movement is well underway, although there is still no freedom of association in some nations, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Eritrea or Sudan.   The world economic crisis continued to impact unfairly on workers, as governments persisted in favouring austerity measures over stimulating growth and employment, says the ITUC survey. The consequences have been devastating, particularly for the young. Unemployment reached 205 million in 2011.   In Spain, 40% of young people are out of work while Greece has an unemployment rate of 21%.   The measures taken to optimise profits and flexibility at the expense of the workforce in our view have failed.   One consequence of this failure is the increase in precarious forms of working, making it extremely difficult for trade union organisations to defend workers rights, for example in South Africa, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan.   "The situation of hundreds of thousands of workers is very disturbing," said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC. "Most of them do not enjoy the fundamental rights of collective bargaining and freedom of association, and are in precarious employment.   Their lives are thrown into disarray because they have to work long hours in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, in return for salaries so low they cannot meet their own needs or those of their families. That partly explains the worldwide recession."   The ITUC survey reveals how strikes are fiercely repressed in many countries, by means of mass dismissals, arrests and detention, including in Georgia, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana, where 2800 workers were dismissed after a public sector strike.   Trade union rights do not only come under attack in the developing world however. They are also under threat in many industrialised countries, including Canada, whose conservative government has repeatedly sought to undermine union organising and collective bargaining rights.   Organising workers in the export processing zones remains very difficult, according to the ITUC survey. Legal restrictions persist and trade unions are still banned in most of them.   Migrant workers remain another very vulnerable group, particularly in the Gulf States where they represent the majority of the workforce in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but have few or no rights.   Among these migrant workers are some 100 million domestic workers, the great majority of whom are women with little knowledge of their rights and no means of enforcing them. The ITUC has therefore welcomed the adoption of the International Labour Organisation"s (ILO) Convention no.189 on Domestic Workers, which gives these workers the right to form unions and enjoy decent working conditions.   The international trade union confederation is campaigning vigorously with its "12 by 12" campaign, aimed at getting 12 countries to ratify the convention by the end of 2012.   * Read the whole Survey here: http://survey2012.ituc-csi.org
	Towards a Food Secure Future in Africa by UN Development Programme Africa Human Development Report 2012   Nairobi, Kenya — Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its present economic growth unless it eliminates the hunger that affects nearly a quarter of its people, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) argues in the newly released Africa Human Development Report 2012: Towards a Food Secure Future.   “GDP growth rates in Africa have not translated into the elimination of hunger and malnutrition. Inclusive growth and people-centred approaches to food security are needed,” says UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.   Arguing that action focused on agriculture alone will not end food insecurity either, the Report calls for new approaches covering multiple sectors; from rural infrastructure to health services, to new forms of social protection and empowering local communities. Ensuring that the poor and vulnerable have greater voice through strengthened local government and civil society groups is also needed to ensure food security for all.   The quickening pace of change and new economic vitality on the continent make this an opportune time for action, the Report says.   Hunger among plenty   “It is a harsh paradox that in a world of food surpluses, hunger and malnutrition remain pervasive on a continent with ample agricultural endowments,” says Tegegnework Gettu, Director of UNDP’s Africa Bureau.   In yet another paradox, sub-Saharan Africa’s high rates of economic growth in recent years and improvements in life expectancy and schooling have not led to commensurate improvements in food security.   With more than one in four of its 856 million people undernourished, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s most food-insecure region. At the moment, more than 15 million people are at risk in the Sahel alone – across the semi-arid belt from Senegal to Chad; and an equal number in the Horn of Africa remain vulnerable after last year’s food crisis in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.   Hunger and extended periods of malnutrition not only devastate families and communities in the short term, but leave a legacy with future generations which impairs livelihoods and undermines human development.   Food security, as defined by the 1996 world leaders’ Food Summit, means that people can consistently access sufficient and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life at a price they can afford.   Freedom from hunger enables people to live productive lives and realize their full potential. In turn, higher levels of human development can further improve the availability of food, creating a virtuous cycle for all.   Policies to build food security   “Building a food-secure future for all Africans will only be achieved if efforts span the entire development agenda,” Helen Clark said.   While acknowledging that there are no quick fixes, the report argues that food security can be achieved through immediate action in four critical areas:   Increasing agricultural productivity: With a population projected to exceed two billion sometime after 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa will need to produce substantially more food, while mitigating the stresses which agricultural production places on the environment.   Ending decades of bias against agriculture and women, countries must put into place policies which provide farmers with the inputs, infrastructure, and incentives which will enable them to lift productivity.   Encouraging the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Africa’s growing youth population to further stimulate rural economies is particularly important.   With two-thirds of working Africans making a living off the land, policies promoting agricultural productivity would stimulate economic growth, pulling people out of poverty through job and income creation, and increasing their capacity to save and invest in the future. This will also enable a more sustainable use of land and water resources.   Such action can make a difference. Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal One on halving hunger by 2015, partly by focusing on policies which encouraged cocoa farmers to boost output. Malawi transformed a food deficit into a 1.3 million tonne surplus within two years, thanks to a massive seed and fertilizer subsidy programme.   More effective nutrition: Countries must develop coordinated interventions which boost nutrition while expanding access to health services, education, sanitation, and clean water. The report cites research showing that mothers’ education is a more powerful factor in explaining lower rates of malnutrition in children than is household income.   In Senegal, coordinated and targeted actions across several ministries, supported by an increased national nutrition budget, helped to lower incidences of malnutrition in children -- from 34 to 20 percent between 1990 and 2005. In Tanzania, through similar efforts, children whose mothers received food supplements in the first three months of their pregnancies completed longer schooling periods.   Building resilience: Getting food from field to table in Sub-Saharan Africa is fraught with risk.   Countries should take measures to lower people’s and communities’ vulnerability to natural disasters and civil conflict, seasonal or volatile changes in food prices, and climate change.   The Report recommends social protection programmes such as crop insurance, employment guarantee schemes, and cash transfers – all of which can shield people from these risks and boost incomes.   Kenya, for instance, has developed a drought insurance scheme which delivers payments to smallholder farmers based on rainfall levels monitored by weather stations. Another example is Mozambique’s input trade fairs, which replenish seed stocks among families affected by drought.   Empowerment and social justice: Achieving food security in sub-Saharan Africa will remain out of reach so long as the rural poor, and especially women, who play a major role in food production, do not have more control over their own lives, the Report says.   Ensuring access to land, markets and information is an important step to empowerment. Bridging the gender divide is particularly vital: when women get access to the same inputs as men, yields can rise by more than 20 percent.   Access to technology can play an important role in channeling power to small land-owners by reducing transaction costs and increasing their bargaining power. The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, for instance, uses text messaging to disseminate price information to farmers, receiving 20,000 calls daily to a hotline which answers their questions.   Access must be coupled with more participation in civic debate. This in turn, must be linked with greater accountability by governments and other organizations.   For too long the face of Africa has been one of dehumanizing hunger. The time for change is long overdue, the Report argues.   “Africa has the knowledge, the technology, and the means to end hunger and food insecurity,” says Tegegnework Gettu.   The challenge is large, the time frame is tight, and the investment required is significant, but the potential gains for human development in the region are immense, the Report says.   * Access the report via the link below. IRIN News also offers an overview: http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95459/FOOD-Power-to-the-people Visit the related web page
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