Workers’ rights are in free fall across every continent around the world, according to the recently published 2025 edition of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index.
Published annually for the last twelve years, the Global Rights Index is a comprehensive review of workers’ rights in law, ranking 151 countries against a list of 97 indicators derived from ILO Conventions and jurisprudence, including access to justice, the right to free speech and assembly, and the right to collective bargaining.
The 2025 Index reveals a stark and worsening global crisis for workers and unions. In 2025, average country ratings deteriorated in three out of five global regions, with violations of the right to strike and the right to register a trade union remain at record levels, underscoring the intensifying crackdown on workers’ fundamental freedoms.
Furthermore, ITUC state that in this increasingly hostile environment, a growing number of state authorities are adopting legislation that criminalises civil society organisations – and, potentially, trade unions – as “foreign agents”, further delegitimising their role. Violations of the right to strike and the right to register a trade union remain at record levels, underscoring the intensifying crackdown on workers’ fundamental freedoms.
The key findings of the report include:
- The 10 worst countries for workers are: Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria (NEW), the Philippines, Tunisia, and Türkiye.
- Deaths of trade unionists were recorded in Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, and South Africa.
- 87% of countries violated the right to strike; 80% violated the right to collective bargaining.
- Workers’ access to justice was restricted in 72% of countries, the worst level ever recorded.
Worsening situation in export banana producing countries
Several of the major banana export production countries in Latin America and Asia regularly feature among the worst offenders, highlighted by the inclusion in the report of Ecuador and the Philippines among the top ten worst countries for workers in 2025. Also notable is that in two of these countries, Costa Rica and Panama, there has been a marked worsening of the situation in recent years, as shown in the table below of the scores for the major export banana producing countries since the start of the decade. Assassinations of trade unionists were also recorded in four key banana exporting countries: Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru, highlighting the challenging national context in which banana trade unions often operate.
Ecuador
Banana Link has, over the thirty years of our existence, documented violations of labour rights on banana and pineapple plantations. These range from poor sanitary conditions, lack of social security affiliation, lack of paid holidays, poor OHS standards, and punishments, dismissals and blacklisting for workers who attempt to organise.
In 2024 Banana Links’ report on wages, contractual conditions and freedom of association in Ecuador’s El Oro region found that workers surveyed lacked formal contracts of employment or knowledge of their terms of employment, and faced obstacles to their ability to exercise their right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Among the findings were that 76% of the workers interviewed stated that the company they work for does not allow workers to attend union activities. Only three of the participants indicated that they have a collective bargaining agreement, while most workers (83%) do not know who their union representatives are, while 33% confirmed the existence of obstacles to trade union membership.
Costa Rica
While Ecuador regularly features among the worst country for worker’s rights, Costa Rica – the “Switzerland of Latin America” – has seen a dramatic decline in respect for worker’s rights over the past two years, amid intensifying crackdowns within the country on workers’ rights and trade unions.
A recent Statement on the regression of Labour Rights by Costa Rican trade unions – including ANEP and SITRAP representing plantation workers – expresses deep concern at the alarming regression in labour rights taking place in our country and the unfair and regressive working conditions that continue to prevail.
Among other things, the statement calls for:
- The unrestricted respect for the right to strike as a fundamental tool for defence of labour rights.
- The strengthening of labour inspection and the effective sanctioning of companies that violate the rights of workers.
- Compliance with the international treaties to which Costa Rica is a party, and which categorically establish respect for human and labour rights of workers.
The unions are also planning the establishment this summer of a Labour Rights Observatory in Costa Rica, which would serve to monitor, analyse and report violations of labour and union rights, as well as promote compliance with national and international legislation on the matter.
Panama
That the other banana export production country facing worsening conditions is Panama is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that it is currently in the midst of a general strike by workers in the education, construction, banana, and health sectors in opposition to social security reforms that threaten a reduction in pension entitlements for workers.
This has included the mass sacking of striking workers at Chiquita plantations in the Bocas del Toro Province in an ongoing situation which could have dire consequences for a country where bananas represent 17% of foreign exports.
Alistair Smith, Banana Link International Coordinator said:
“This report paints a depressing picture of attacks on workers’ rights across economic sectors and geographical regions, and in many instances plantation workers are bearing the brunt of these attacks. Banana Link will continue to work with its trade union partners to redouble our efforts to defend workers’ rights and promote collective bargaining as the most effective route to sustainable and dignified livelihoods for plantation workers.”
Photo: SITRAP
