Americas

3.48

Regular violations of rights

Same as last year

The Americas remained plagued by the pervasive climate of extreme violence and repression against workers and union members, with two trade union leaders murdered in Brazil, twenty-two in Colombia and six in Guatemala.

At a glance

88%

88% of countries violated the right to strike.

72%

72% of countries violated the right to collective bargaining.

72%

72% of countries excluded workers from the right to establish and join a trade union.

76%

76% of countries workers in the Americas denied workers access to justice.

56%

56% of countries arrested and detained workers.

40%

Workers experienced violent attacks in 40% of countries in the Americas.

88%

88% of countries impeded the registration of unions.

20%

20% of countries in the Americas restricted free speech and assembly.

Workers were murdered in Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala.

Workers' rights violations

Right to strikeProsecution of union leaders for participating in strikes

88%

88% of countries violated the right to strike.

Prosecution of union leaders for participating in strikes

In early June 2020, municipal workers demonstrating in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, for better salaries and working conditions were brutally attacked by provincial police who arrested over fifty protesters. As mobilisation continued, police repression increased, and on 5 June 2020, workers camping in the city centre were brutally dispersed by a hundred police officers. During this police intervention, several workers were injured and Sebastián Henríquez, general secretary of the Sindicato Unido de Trabajadores de la Educación (SUTE), was arrested.

Prosecution of union leaders for participating in strikes

In Saskatchewan, Canada, the protracted conflict over the renewal of the collective agreement at the Co-op Refinery Complex escalated, and in December 2019 the employer served a lockout notice to Unifor Local 594 while the union served a strike notice and began holding rallies and picketing. Soon after, the company sought an injunction from the court to impose restrictions on Unifor’s ability to picket, and over the next month, Co-op Refinery Complex accused union members of violating this order. Over the course of the next months, several union members were arrested for picketing: on 21 January 2020, the Unifor president, Jerry Dias, was arrested alongside thirteen other union members, while on 5 February 2020, four union members picketing outside the company premises were arrested and charged with mischief. On 5 May 2020, four more union members were charged for picketing. Unifor was also heavily penalised with a first fine amounting to Can$100,000 (US$80,142) in January 2020 and another fine of Can$250,000 (US$200,356) in February 2020. Meanwhile, the company flew in replacement workers.

Later in the year, union members stood trial. The president of Unifor Local 594, Kevin Bittman, was found not guilty, while vice-president Lance Holowachuk was found guilty and was required to perform 40 hours of community service.

A collective agreement was finally signed in July 2020. However, upon the return of union members to work, the management of Co-op Refinery Complex began questioning them about their role during the lockout. Unifor immediately filed an application with the authorities to bar the employer from asking such questions and retaliating against striking workers.

Right to strikeDismissals for participating in strike action

88%

88% of countries violated the right to strike.

Dismissals for participating in strike action

On 1 June 2020, Falabella, a Chilean multinational home retailer, unfairly dismissed 22 warehouse workers in Peru who had requested health and safety protections against the coronavirus. After a brief closure, the retailer had reopened its Peruvian distribution centre in early May 2020, despite workers’ and their union SUTRASAF’s concerns about inadequate health and safety protections. For example, the company only gave workers a single mask per week. These unsafe conditions led Falabella workers to exercise their legal right to refrain from work until the company enacted proper measures. When the workers returned to their jobs, they were handed out pre-dismissal letters and suspended, to be later summarily fired. Meanwhile, workers reported at least 30 COVID-19 cases in the facility of 300 people.

Dismissals for participating in strike action

In Costa Rica, employers often resort to courts to thwart workers’ attempts to organise strike actions; employers claim that the services of the workers are essential and therefore subject to restrictions with regard to strikes. On 18 October 2020, the labour court of San José upheld the claim of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), the Costa Rican Social Security Board, that workers in the laundry services of the public hospital should be regarded as essential. Their work stoppage, initiated on 23 September to protest workplace harassment by management, was therefore declared illegal by the court, and the judge allowed the application of disciplinary sanctions and sentenced their union, the Sindicato Nacional de Enfermería (Sinae), to pay the court costs.

Dismissals for participating in strike action

Haiti’s garment workers have been struggling to survive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which further deepened the economic and social crisis in the country. Roughly a third of the 57,000 workers in the country’s garment industry were suspended or terminated and had yet to receive any compensation from the government in spite of earlier promises. The rest are working reduced hours in unsafe factories that lack even the most basic precautions to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

In August 2020, union leaders of GOSTTRA, the garment union, attempted to defend their members’ interests. At Premium Apparel, 43 union leaders and members were dismissed after protesting against the company’s decision to send them home.

Right to collective bargaining

72%

72% of countries violated the right to collective bargaining.

Right to collective bargaining

On 21 November 2020, Luis Samán, general secretary of the Sindicato Nacional de Obreros de la Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston, received a dismissal letter from the company (Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus and Johnston S.A.A). The Peruvian subsidiary ofAB InBev accused him of damaging the image of the company by pointing out the lack of health and safety measures provided for AB InBev Backus employees during the COVID-19 national emergency. On 23 November, the union’s press secretary, Jhon Gutarra, received a five-day suspension for no objective reason.

During the pandemic, the union worked to negotiate measures to mitigate the economic impact to avoid the lay-off of workers, but when negotiations failed, Backus and Johnson attempted to force workers to sign individual agreements. As a result of the union’s campaign, no worker signed.

Right to collective bargaining

In November 2020, the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria de la Bebida y Similares de Hondura (STIBYS) called on the Honduran Ministry of Labour to intervene to stop AB InBev-owned Cervecería Hondureña from violating the collective agreement. In the course of 2020, the company replaced 800 permanent employees with casual workers, in breach of the collective agreement, and failed to pay regular wages between March and November, leaving workers in extremely dire situations. The management further engaged in union-busting practices by summoning the STIBYS board of directors on 8 October 2020 to communicate the sanctions they intended to impose on some of its members for organising protest actions in front of the company's premises.

Right to collective bargaining

The São Paulo state government ignored the proposals of the Union of Subway Workers in four consecutive negotiation rounds and even dismissed the Regional Labour Court that tried to mediate an agreement to unilaterally apply wage cuts in the June 2020 payroll, thus violating the sectoral collective agreement.

Right to collective bargaining

Nestlé in Espírito Santos and Bahia refused to distribute profit sharing to workers, as had been agreed in the company-level collective agreement. The management also proposed to reduce the food allowance by 48.6 %, from 680 reals to 350 reals (US$124 – US$63). Nestlé withdrew these proposals after workers started to protest.

Right to collective bargaining

In Brazil, many companies used economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to violate collective agreements and union consultation, massively laying off workers. On 3 September 2020, Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace products company, announced the dismissal of 2,500 workers. The dismissals were carried out without negotiation with the metalworkers’ union of São José dos Campos, in violation of a job preservation agreement signed on 9 April 2020.

Right to establish and join a trade unionUnion-busting

72%

72% of countries excluded workers from the right to establish and join a trade union.

Union-busting

On 27 April 2020, food delivery service Foodora Canada announced that it would be leaving the Canadian market effective 11 May and filed for bankruptcy, stating its “inability to turn a profit and the saturation of the Canadian food delivery market” as the reasons for its departure. However, the timing was suspect, as the announcement came in the context of an ongoing application for certification by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which, on 25 February 2020, had handed down a decision recognising that Foodora couriers were dependent contractors and therefore entitled to collectively bargain. That decision allowed the union certification votes, sealed since August 2019, to be counted. In June 2020, the results were announced: almost 90 percent of Foodora couriers voted in favour of unionising with CUPW, becoming the first app-based workers in Canada to successfully unionise. In August 2020, CUPW and Foodora couriers celebrated a win as CUPW and Delivery Hero, the parent company for Foodora Canada, reached a settlement of Can$3.46 million to compensate the couriers.

Union-busting

In 2020, Uber, Lyft and Doordash mounted the most expensive campaign in California’s history, Proposition 22, to fight AB5, a new state law that classified certain categories of gig workers as employees. AB5 would have mandated that platform companies employ drivers and pay for health care, unemployment insurance and other benefits. Spending over 200 million US dollars to blanket the state with ads to get its message to voters, the platform giants managed to win the ballot on 5 November 2020, allowing gig economy companies to be exempt from AB5 and to continue treating drivers as independent contractors. As a concession to labour advocates, the initiative offered limited benefits, such as a wage promise and health insurance stipend. In early January 2021, the Service Employees International Union and a group of ride-hailing drivers petitioned the state Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 22.

Union-busting

Despite huge profits earning producers US$10 billion annually, Ecuador’s banana industry remained unchallenged by the demands of workers’ unions. Unionising remained difficult in Ecuador, with only one per cent of banana workers involved in labour unions due to fear of blacklisting and threats of violence, including in multinational companies like Fyffes.

Meanwhile, working conditions in the banana industry were dismal. Half of the workers exceeded 14-hour workdays and were paid an average of USD$3.50 each day – less than the minimum wage. They were also required to meet certain production targets to be paid at all. Producers also reduced costs and took advantage of lax labour laws by hiring employees as “permanent temporary” workers. These poor working conditions affected more than 200,000 Ecuadorians in the industry.

Union-busting

In Costa Rica, the bus company Tapachula retaliated against a group of drivers for joining the ANEP union and summarily dismissed them from their posts.

Right to justice

76%

76% of countries workers in the Americas denied workers access to justice.

Right to justice

In 2019, Moisés Sánchez, general secretary of the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS) at Fyffes melon fields in Choluteca, Honduras, was indicted on fabricated criminal charges for “land usurpation” following his support for the construction on an access road through his village of La Permuta, in November 2018, to facilitate access of locals to farms and fields. Sánchez faced up to thirty years in prison. The trial scheduled for 22 January 2020 did not take place due to national and international pressure. These spurious charges were the latest attempt in the long-standing campaign to destroy STAS.

Sánchez, who survived a machete attack by assailants in 2017, the year he was also fired by Fyffes, has again been the target of surveillance and threats since October 2019. The fruit company Fyffes employs more than 6,500 people on insecure contracts in melon cultivation in Honduras. The company has always been hostile towards the STAS.

Right to civil liberties

56%

56% of countries arrested and detained workers.

Right to civil liberties

In Haiti, teachers answered the call of several unions in the education sector and went on a general strike in September 2020 to demand better pay conditions. In the country, teachers receive less than US$200 per month while in three years their purchasing power decreased from more than 40 per cent due to the loss of value of the gourde, the national currency.

Following the general strike, several trade union leaders were subjected to retaliatory measures, including Magalie Georges, secretary general of the National Confederations of Educators of Haiti (CNEH); Georges Wilbert Franck, secretary general of the National Union of Normaliens and Educators of Haiti (UNNOEH); and four leaders of the Union of Employees of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP). According to national unions in Haiti, teachers active in the trade union movement are being hunted by the police and some are now hiding for fear of being arrested.

Right to civil liberties

In Canada, during the protracted conflict between the Co-op Refinery Complex and Unifor Local 594 regarding the negotiation of the collective agreement, union members began holding rallies and picketing while the company locked them out.

On 16 December 2019, the employer sought a court injunction against Unifor to impose interim restrictions on Unifor’s ability to picket, including restrictions on the amount of time picketers could detain vehicles from entering the premises. Over the next month, there were accusations of union members violating this order, and on 21 January 2021, Unifor president Jerry Dias and thirteen other union members were arrested.

In the early morning of 5 February 2020, union members were arrested and charged for picketing outside of the Co-op refinery’s petroleum distribution department in Regina, Saskatchewan. Those arrested included Ryan James David Briggs, James Peter Robert Cheeseman, Scott McKinnon, and Steven Angus Vargo. All four trade unionists were charged with mischief under Can$5,000 (US$ 4,002) and disobeying a court order. Their scheduled court date was 23 March 2020.

On 12 February, Unifor was ordered to pay Can$250,000 (US$200,084) for “repeatedly violating the court injunction” between 28 December 2019 and 27 January 2020. The Unifor Local 594 president, Kevin Bittman, was found not guilty, while vice president Lance Holowachuk was found guilty and required to perform 40 hours of community service.

Violent attacks on workers

40%

Workers experienced violent attacks in 40% of countries in the Americas.

Violent attacks on workers

Violence against trade union leaders and workers is endemic in Honduras, especially in the agricultural sector, where companies do not hesitate to resort to thugs to threaten, harass and assault workers who attempt to form or join a union. In a recent study conducted among workers in the banana industry, 59% of women surveyed in non-union banana packing plants said that they faced sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence at work compared with nine percent of women at unionised packing plants. Non-union workers are 81% more likely to face verbal abuse than union workers.

Violent attacks on workers

On 22 July 2020, several people were injured when police repressed a peaceful protest at the Port of Belize Limited (PBL) in Belize City. The demonstration was organised by unionised workers of the Christian Workers’ Union (CWU) to protest pay cuts and the dismissal of thirty-six employees. Mеmbеrѕ оf thе Gаng Ѕuррrеѕѕіоn Unіt intervened, using tеаr gаѕ аnd rubbеr bullеtѕ tо dіѕреrѕе thе сrоwd. Several people were injured, іnсludіng оnе whо wаѕ ѕhоt in thе hеаd with а rubbеr bullеt.

Right to trade union activities

88%

88% of countries impeded the registration of unions.

Right to trade union activities

In 2021, many unions in Haiti could not operate pending the long-awaited issuance of their registration certificate, including the two CODEVI workers' unions (SYNTRAC and USOCO); the Syndicat des Travailleurs-euses du Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (STMSPP) and the Syndicat des Employés de l'Institut Haïtien de Statistiques et d'Informatique (SEIHSI); the Syndicat des Ouvriers MAS-AKANSYÈL (SO-MA-AKAN); the Syndicat National des Employés de la DGI (SYNATE-DGI); the Syndicat des Employés du Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Ressources Naturelles et du Développement Rural (SEMARNDR); and the Syndicat du Personnel de la Primature (SYPP).

Right to trade union activities

In October 2020, a group of people violently broke into the headquarters of the Asociación General de Empleados Públicos y Municipales (AGEPYM), a union that brings together state and municipal workers in the city of San Salvador. The intruders proclaimed themselves as the "new" board of directors and evicted the legitimate board members.

Right to trade union activities

In 2021, the government of El Salvador increased pressure against trade unions, ultimately deciding in March 2021 to revoke the credentials of all democratic unions and effectively blocking their participation in all tripartite consultations. This arbitrary cancellation deprives unions from any rights and prevents them from operating normally in the country.

Right to trade union activities

In Haiti, registration has always been an arduous process for trade unions. The Labour Directorate illegally and arbitrarily demands that the statutes of trade unions be amended before they are registered. Furthermore, the Labour Directorate informs the employer, prior to registration, of the filing of an application, asking the company to indicate whether the workers listed are part of the company. This leaves the employers ample time and opportunity to dismiss these workers before the establishment of the union. This anti-union policy has prevented many independent unions from obtaining their registration.

Right to trade union activities

In Canada, the province of Alberta introduced Bill 32, an omnibus bill which makes it more difficult to form unions: the bill eliminates timelines for certification votes and removes the option for the Labour Relations Board to automatically certify unions in the case of unfair labour practices by the employer. In addition, the bill also requires unions to receive each member’s consent to collect dues that are not related to core representational activities. The bill received royal assent on 29 July 2020.

In the province of Manitoba, the government tabled Bill 16 which, among other regressive changes, would give authorities more power to refuse to certify unions, to scrutinise unions’ use of funds and to dissolve them.

Right to free speech and assembly

20%

20% of countries in the Americas restricted free speech and assembly.

Right to free speech and assembly

On 15 May 2020, Brinks Colombia terminated national union president Frank Gualdron, claiming that he had posted images of a work-related protest on Facebook. Gualdron was among eight union officers at Brinks who had been notified of their termination since Colombia declared a COVID-19 health emergency in March 2020, in what appeared to be a deliberate anti-union strategy.

Health workers in El Salvador demand action to fight the pandemic. The government violated the right to trade union activities by decertifying all democratic unions.Yuri Cortez / AFP

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