New ICFTU report submitted to the WTO:
Basic workers' rights still violated in Belize and Suriname
Brussels, 12 July 2004 (ICFTU Online): In a new report on Belize and Suriname, produced to coincide with the WTO review
of those countries' trade policies on July 12 and July 14, the ICFTU exposes the daily problems faced by workers and
trade unions in Belize and Suriname. The ICFTU report criticises the lack of compliance in both countries with the eight
ILO conventions often referred to as "Core Labour Standards".
The report notes that the right to form and join unions is regularly violated in Belize, where employers often block
union activities by dismissing trade unionists, and where, in practice, trade unions are not recognized in Export
Processing Zones or allowed to form on the banana plantations.
The report further notes that whilst workers have the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike in both
countries, the right to strike for public sector workers in essential services in Belize is restricted. Essential
services in Belize are far too broadly defined and stretch to postal and transport services. Furthermore, the government
can use compulsory arbitration in the case of a strike. Currently, the situation in Suriname may be slightly better, but
the government is adopting new "essential services" legislation that could reduce workers' rights to the same standard
as those in Belize.
Discrimination against women with regard to access to employment persists in both countries. Women are concentrated in
low wage and low-skilled jobs and significantly under-represented in middle and higher income positions. In Belize, the
low-paid, female-dominated occupations in the private sector often lack wage regulations. In Suriname, the majority of
women are employed in entry-level jobs and only 3% are in management positions.
The report further notes that child labour is prevalent in both countries. In Belize, an estimated 11% of the children
between the ages of 5 and 17 are at work, 14% of them in economic activities and 97.4% in non-economic activities (11.4%
work in both). Children work in family businesses and in citrus, banana and sugar industries, as well as in vending in
urban areas. The worst forms of child labour exist in Belize, including hazardous work in commercial agriculture, sexual
exploitation, working street children and child domestic workers. In Suriname, children are mainly involved in informal
work. There is a distinct lack of enforcement of legislation in both countries.
The report notes that in both countries, there is trafficking of people for the purpose of forced prostitution and, in
Belize, for forced labour in sweatshops.
The ICFTU calls upon the governments of Belize and Suriname to apply the core labour conventions that they have
ratified, and urges Suriname to ratify the remaining four core labour standards. Effective measures should be taken by
the government of Belize to prevent anti-union discrimination and to bring the definition of essential services in line
with internationally recognized classifications. Both countries have to increase efforts to reduce discrimination in
employment and differences in pay between men and women. The governments of Suriname and Belize need to increase the
number of women in middle level and management positions. Furthermore, both governments have to make serious efforts to
eliminate child labour, in particular the worst forms of child labour, and to increase the enforcement of labour
legislation and inspection. Finally, effective measures must be taken by the
To read the full report: http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991220301=EN
The ICFTU represents 152 million workers in 231 affiliated organisations in 150 countries and territories. ICFTU is also
a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org