Unions are desperately needed throughout the world. It won't be easy, but, it never has been easy. It is time for unions to expand in every country where there are workers. That is the only requirement. Workers.
Oppression of any kind is not a pretty picture. Leaders should be aware of their role in allowing this level of abuse of their citizens. The leaders should be out front demanding better conditions for it's people. In the past, as with the petroleum industry, the leaders of a country were well paid while the people suffered and died. We still see the remaining suffering in countries such as Nigeria and Ecuador.
Unions need to move to end suffering and bring about dignity to all people and all countries.
By Molly Harris Olson
We might think slavery (click here) is something relegated to the annals of history, but it is a huge modern-day problem. And a global one.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that 45.8 million people in 167 countries are in some form of modern slavery. And the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that 21 million people were in forced labour in 2012, generating a profit of nearly $200 billion.
Slavery in the 21st century is a complex issue, and stretches far beyond the bounds of human trafficking. The ILO recognises a continuum of human exploitation from forced labour and debt bondage through to exploitative work places and withholding of wages.
Modern slavery may not always mean physical shackles, but financial ones that make it impossible for people to ever work their way out of debt, or to gain the education required to move beyond manual labour.
Most instances of modern slavery are found in Asia, notably India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Central Asia. It is no coincidence that Asia is where forced labour yields its highest profits globally – an estimated $68 million a year....
