International Centre for Trade Union Rights

North-South solidarityAuthor(s): ANNIE WATSONSource: International Union Rights, Vol. 7, No. 3, Euroland: the future for workers' rights(2000), p. 26Published by: International Centre for Trade Union RightsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41937125 .

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REPORT □ COMMONWEALTH TRADE UNION COUNCIL

North-South solidarity

ANNIE WATSON is Director of the Commonwealth Trade

Union Council Contact the CTUC at Congress House, Great Russell Street,

London WC1B3LS email:

director@commonwealthtuc.org She reports on the Annual

Meeting of the CTUC in June 2000

SENIOR organisations tries attended

representatives in the

34 Annual Commonwealth

from

Meeting

trade

of

union coun-

the SENIOR organisations in 34 Commonwealth coun- tries attended the Annual Meeting of the

Commonwealth Trade Union Council during the International Labour Conference. At the time, there was political unrest in many Common- wealth countries - in particular in Fiji, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe - and delegates heard first hand accounts of the situation.

There were reports of continuing attacks against democracy campaigners in Zimbabwe - particularly farm worker members of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union - and it was already clear that the elections would not be conducted in a free and fair environment. Delegates condemned unreservedly the acts of violence, including murder, and called on the international community, and in particular Commonwealth institutions, member countries and social partners, to take all available measures to foster a return to peaceful and democratic processes.

The fears of delegates have been borne out by the findings of the Commonwealth Observer Group which travelled to Zimbabwe to monitor the elections. In their report they state:

"It was the violence and intimidation which most concerned our Group over the weeks lead- ing up to the elections. We received a substantial number of reports on violent incidents and our- selves met with many victims. We directly experi- enced the climate of fear and uncertainty which characterised the election in many parts of the country, especially in some rural areas, and we saw for ourselves that in some districts intimida- tion prevented open political campaigning, notably by opposition parties. While the picture was not uniform, we can only conclude that inci- dents of violence and threats impaired the free- dom of choice of the electorate."

Delegates also considered developments in Fiji where leaders of the People's Coalition Govern- ment, including the Prime Minister Mahendra Choudhury, continued to be held hostage by armed thugs. The Commonwealth trade union representatives expressed full support for the CTUC/FTUC submission to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on 6 June which stated that, should the democratically elected govern- ment not be restored within two months, the fol- lowing sanctions should be imposed: i) Fiji's expulsion from the Commonwealth; ii) A unified suspension of diplomatic relations with the illegal regime set up by the Fiji Military Forces by mem- ber states; iii) Suspension of technical assistance, development aid and other assistance or support by member states and the Commonwealth Secretariat; iv) Activation of a comprehensive trade, sporting, travel, cultural and educational regime of sanctions; v) Total freeze on all links with Fiji government, its public service, the mili- tary and other institutions; vi) A Commonwealth

commitment to pursuing further diplomatic, political and economic isolation of the illegal regime through the United Nations and other international agencies; vii) A commitment to pur- suing leaders of any unconstitutional government and Speight and his supporters for human rights abuses under international law, and a freezing of their assets in Commonwealth countries.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has urged Fijians to work within the framework of the widely-respected 1997 Constitution to ensure a speedy return to democracy and the rule of law.

Delegates also expressed concern about devel- opments in the Solomon Islands, which had been encouraged by the activities of the Speight gang in Fiji, and condemned those anti-democratic activities and their abhorrence at the violent acts which had been perpetrated.

The General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Kandeh Yillah described the outrages perpetrated against the people and in particular trade unionists murdered and maimed by the RUF. A call was made for the regulation of the diamond trade which forms the background to illegal activities and gangsterism. Represen- tatives welcomed the establishment of a new CTUC project in co-operation with the Sierra Leone Labour Congress. The project aims to enhance popular participation in peace-building and democracy, through building alliances between trade unions and other key players in civil society.

For the first time, a CTUC representative was invited to address the Plenary Session of the International Labour Conference. In her speech Annie Watson, urged greater co-operation between the Commonwealth and the ILO and urged Commonwealth countries to show greater respect for core labour standards. She described the CTUC's education and training programmes and said that raising funds to support them was a constant challenge. She noted that since the end of the Cold War there had been a scaling down in the resources available for solidarity activities. It was clear, she said, that if globalisation was to improve the lives of working people rather than increase their poverty, trade unionists in develop- ing countries needed resources to campaign for the issues which were important to them. She stressed the need for greater North-South solidari- ty to replace the old East-West model.

About the CTUC The Commonwealth Trade Union Council links trade union national centres, representing over 30 million union members, in 51 of the 54 coun- tries. It seeks to promote a democratic and pros- perous Commonwealth in which international labour standards are observed. The Chairperson is Gibson Sibanda, President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 26 Volume 7 Issue 3 2000

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