Europe: world leader in eroding workers’ rights

Workers’ rights, fundamental to democracy, are under attack across the world—nowhere more so than in Europe.

The 2024 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index, published today, shows that working people across Europe have seen their basic, democratic workplace rights crumble at a faster pace than in any other region of the world.

Europe has often been held up as a positive example for the rest of the world to follow when it comes to workers’ rights but that is no longer the case. The ‘European social model’ is eroding rapidly, as we witness a concerted attack on workers’ rights and the trade-union movement.

The index, now in its 11th edition, is a comprehensive review of workers’ rights in law. Ranking 151 countries against a list of 97 indicators, derived from International Labour Organization conventions and jurisprudence, it is as such unique. It rates countries on a scale from 1 (high) down to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights (see infographic). Violations are recorded each year from April to March.

Grim reading

For Europe, the latest edition makes grim reading. The continent Europe has an average rating of 2.73 in 2024. This might seem good compared with the worst region in the world, the middle east and north africa, rated at 4.74. But Europe’s rating has plunged from 1.84 in 2014, when the index was first calculated—the biggest decline in the decade since of any region in the world.

This year three European countries have worse ratings than in 2023. Finland was downgraded from 1 to 2, due to attacks by the governing coalition, led by the right-wing prime minister, Petteri Orpo, on basic workers’ rights. The reforms, limiting the right to strike, undermining wage negotiations and cutting social protection, are an unprecedented attack on the Finnish and wider Nordic social models and trade-union rights.

Switzerland meanwhile dropped from 2 to 3, as the authorities unilaterally suspended tripartite mediation without explanation. Kyrgyzstan moved from 4 to 5, as the government repressed independent trade unions through raids, detentions and confiscations. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are reintroduced to the index in 2024, with a rating of 5.

There are examples across Europe in the past year of abuses of rights to which practically every government has signed up. In Belgium and France, strikes were criminalised and strikers stigmatised. An excessively broad definition of essential services was used to restrict or ban strikes in Albania, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro and the United Kingdom.

Employers in Armenia and Poland interfered in trade-union elections, while undemocratic, ‘yellow’ unions under undue influence from employers were created in Greece, the Netherlands and North Macedonia, to prevent independent, democratic worker representation. In Sweden, Tesla refused to engage in collective bargaining, which led to an historic show of solidarity from unions there and in neighbouring countries.

There were two bright spots. Romania has improved its score from 4 to 3, as the government extended the right to strike and rendered collective bargaining obligatory in companies with more than ten employees. And in Bulgaria, trade unions won a 25-year battle to guarantee in law the right of employees to organise in trade unions.

Nevertheless, across Europe, the figures do not lie:

• 73 per cent of countries violated the right to strike,
• 54 per cent of countries violated the right to collective bargaining,
• 41 per cent of countries excluded workers from the right to establish and join a trade union,
• 16 countries impeded the registration of unions,
• in 13 countries workers had restricted or no access to justice,
• six countries restricted free speech and assembly,
• workers were detained and arrested in 12 countries and
• workers experienced violent attacks in four countries.

Democratic crisis

This amounts to a democratic crisis for Europe. Trade unions, workers’ rights and democracy are intricately linked: one cannot have one without the others.

Over the past year, in the Nordic countries and across the region we have seen determined attempts by governments and businesses to dismantle fundamental pillars of democracy, such as the rights to strike and protest. Meanwhile, right-wing movements have employed regressive policies against unions and workers.

It is clear that the European, ‘worker-centric’ model is no longer a reality for millions, with serious implications for workers in the region and the risk of an accelerating, global ‘race to the bottom’ on workers’ rights. Across the world, the 2024 index shows that the democratic values and fundamental rights endorsed by most countries at an international level are atrophying.

Despite a few, modest improvements, the general picture is of a relentless attack on civil liberties, workers’ rights and so the interests of working people. This comes against a backdrop of growing inequality, technological disruption rapidly changing the world of work and worsening violent conflict, where working people face the catastrophic consequences of war.

The answer to this starts at work, with respect for trade-union rights in the workplace across Europe and the world. This will lead to greater democracy and social justice across society and at the global level—a central demand of the ITUC For Democracy campaign.

Workers are the beating heart of democracy and their right to be heard is crucial to ensure the health and sustainability of democratic systems. When their rights are violated, democracy itself is attacked.

The ITUC Global Rights Index also tells the story of courageous workers and trade unionists braving the gravest possible dangers to improve the lives of their colleagues and defend democratic rights. As the international trade-union movement strives together to defend democratic values and the rights that underpin them, our movement must continue to play an integral role in shaping a fairer and safer world for all.

The 2024 ITUC Global Rights Index will be launched at 13:30 (CET) today during the International Labour Conference at the International Labour Organization in Geneva. The event will include contributions from trade-union representatives from some of the worst countries in the world for working people, as well as the ITUC legal director and myself.

Luc Triangle is general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.