NEWSFEED: International Union Struggles

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Indonesian fast food chain escalates aggression against workers demanding basic rights


Leading fast food chain in Indonesia escalates repression against workers demanding basic rights



Champ Resto Indonesia, one of Indonesia's leading fast food chains, is escalating its aggression against workers and their union, who are demanding respect for basic rights. Last November, a Champ Resto worker's new-born baby died when the child was refused essential hospital care. Only then did workers become aware that they were not registered in the government health insurance program for employees and their families.

The father of the new-born child, who had worked at Champ Resto for fourteen years, was fired for missing 5 days' work while the family mourned the death of their child. When members of the national hotel and restaurant workers' federation FSPM demonstrated in Bandung in July to demand that Champ Resto register all employees for family medical coverage in accordance with government regulations, 83 workers were immediately dismissed.

Management refuses reinstatement and has responded to union protests by further pressuring union members. The union continues to hold weekly demonstrations to demand reinstatement of the dismissed workers, full respect for trade union rights and the inclusion of all company workers and their families in the government health insurance scheme.

You can support their struggle - CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO CHAMP RESTO!

E-mail: [email protected]
Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland)
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It happened again


It happened again. 34 workers died after a Bangladesh factory that makes Nestlé products burned to the ground.

Corporations need to start taking worker safety seriously. Tell Nestlé and British American Tobacco to compensate the victims of the Tampaco Foils fire and pay for safety renovations so this doesn’t happen again.

SIGN THE PETITION


Chris,

Last month at least 34 workers died in a fire that ripped through a factory in Bangladesh. The fire was so fierce it took fire crews 36 hours to extinguish -- and rescue workers still couldn’t enter the building afterwards for fear it would collapse. Crews are still clearing through the rubble.

The facility manufactured packaging for Nestlé and British American Tobacco (BAT). This avoidable incident was yet another reminder that super-rich multi-national corporations like Nestlé still prioritize profit over people's lives, and aren’t doing enough to make sure their supply chains treat workers safely and fairly.

Corporate greed puts workers’ lives on the line every day -- and we can’t keep letting it happen.

Tell Nestlé and British American Tobacco to compensate the victims of the Tampaco Foils fire and pay for safety renovations at all of their supply factories.

The Tampaco Foils fire is the worst industrial disaster in the country since the horrendous Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 -- where over a thousand workers perished. Now more than ever, we need global brands to commit to better oversight of their supply chains, to put an end to these unsafe working conditions.

In the aftermath of Rana Plaza, after massive public outcry from SumOfUs members and others around the world, dozens of companies came together to sign an Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. It was a huge victory for people power. We got major corporations to sign a legally binding five-year commitment to improve workers’ conditions and safety in Bangladesh.

The fire on September 10th proved that there is still much work to be done in factories in other industries. But we can help to ensure that happens. Together, we can call on Nestlé and other companies to improve working conditions in their factories and those throughout their supply chain, and ensure that the victims and survivors of this tragic fire receive full and fair compensation immediately. They don't need charity -- they need a proper Arrangement set up in the same way as done for Rana Plaza victims.

Demand that Nestlé and BAT compensate the victims of the Tampaco Foils fire and pay for safety renovations at all of their supply factories.

Thanks for all that you do,

Liz, Toni and the rest of the SumOfUs team



**********
More information:

Labour leader, rights group demand fair compensation to Tampaco fire victims, the Daily Star, Sept 19,2016
Bangladesh factory fire kills 23, injures dozens more, Reuters, Sept 10, 2016
Tampaco death toll rises to 33, Dhaka Tribune, Sept 13, 2016




SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

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IUF News

Another trade union victim of vigilante killing in the Philippines

Posted: 03 Oct 2016 04:41 AM PDT



Another union activist has been murdered in the Philippines. Edilberto Miralles, a former taxi union president, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on September 23 in front of the National Labor Relations Commission in Quezon City, where he was scheduled to attend a hearing. He is the seventh union and community activist to be murdered in September.


Leading fast food chain in Indonesia escalates repression against workers demanding basic rights

Posted: 03 Oct 2016 02:49 AM PDT



Champ Resto Indonesia, one of Indonesia's leading fast food chains, is escalating its aggression against workers and their union, who are demanding respect for basic rights. You can support their struggle - CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO CHAMP RESTO!

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PepsiCo Workers Still Need Your Solidarity!


PepsiCo responds to formation of new union in Pakistan by attacking rights!



Knowing how busy everyone is in our common fight for justice and rights for workers around the world you might not have yet had the opportunity to respond to this appeal for support!

You can support their struggle- CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO PEPSICO!

PepsiCo management at the company's Frito-Lay plant in Lahore, Pakistan has responded to the formation and official registration of a trade union with 650 members by harassing and transferring union officers and seeking to violate the union's collective bargaining rights by creating a bogus union. Workers initially formed a union in response to the massive abuse of precarious employment through labour contractors, which denies permanent employment to workers who have worked for years at the plant.

Since the PepsiCo Workers' Union was registered and officially granted collective bargaining rights, union officers have been targeted for disciplinary procedures on false charges and the union president has been transferred out of the plant to prevent contact with members. The company has registered a fake national union claiming to represent workers at two different sites in order to undercut the Lahore workers' demand for a negotiated collective agreement.

A large number of workers, including women workers, have been holding protest actions at the factory gate, demanding the company cease its attack on rights and negotiate in good faith.
E-mail: [email protected]
Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland)
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Abercrombie & Fitch: Dangerous Factories


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Dear Chris,

Sign the Petition to Abercrombie & Fitch!



That's It Sportswear - Bangladesh, 2010

More than three years after Abercrombie and Fitch made a legally-binding commitment to worker safety, the workers sewing A&F clothing are still working in dangerous conditions. In the wake of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse that killed 1,134 workers, A&F signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and committed to improving conditions in all factories they source from in Bangladesh. This agreement was meant to prevent a repeat of what remains the deadliest disaster in the history of the global apparel industry. Now, more than three years after this commitment, thousands of Bangladeshi workers who sew A&F’s clothing continue to toil in multi-story factories that are at risk of being the next Rana Plaza.

Take action: Urge Abercrombie & Fitch to put an end to the safety delays!

Our review of the most recent corrective action plans for A&F supplier factories reveals that the brand has failed to meet mandated timeframes for repairs in most of its supplier factories. Many renovations, including the installation of proper fire safety exits and ensuring walls and columns are strong enough to hold up the floors, have yet to be completed. In half of the Abercrombie factories studied, workers may not be able to safely exit the building in case of emergency -- that’s over 10,000 lives in danger every day A&F waits to keep its commitments.

This is especially concerning because factory fires are not new to A&F. In 2010, A&F’s supplier That’s It Sportswear caught fire and cost 29 people their lives. This significant loss of life came from some of the same conditions found in their factories today: blocked exits, floors built illegally on top of another – in the case of That’s It Sportswear, so high that firefighters didn’t have ladders tall enough to save people on the top floors.

Join us in calling on Abercrombie & Fitch to immediately ensure the necessary renovations are made in Bangladesh, so that nightmares like That’s It Sportswear and Rana Plaza never happen again.

Thanks in advance for taking action and joining this movement!

In solidarity,

Sarah Newell
International Labor Rights Forum

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Liberia: Union rights now - reinstate fired union leaders


In February 2014, twenty-two union leaders across Liberia were fired without any hearing by the Health Minister following a nationwide strike against poor working conditions in the health sector. Twenty were later reinstated -- but not Joseph S. Tamba and George Poe Williams, respectively President and General Secretary of the National Health Workers' Association of Liberia.

The strike followed repeated attempts to seek change through negotiations and dialogue which the government rebuffed. These deplorable working conditions had fatal consequences: the lack of protective equipment, long working hours and the lack of medication in the fight against Ebola caused hundreds of deaths amongst health workers.

To date, it remains illegal in Liberia for public service workers to organise and form or join a union that represents them although the country has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

We have just launched a campaign together with Public Services International, the International Transport Workers Federation and ITUC Africa to send messages to the Liberian government demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed workers, the recognition of the right to organize for public service workers and respect for trade union rights.

Please take a moment to support the campaign:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/liberia

And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee
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IUF News

The assault on the right to strike

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 08:51 AM PDT



The right of workers to collectively withdraw their labour underpins the right to join a union and to collectively bargain the terms of employment, but the right to strike is under increasing attack, by governments and at international level through the employer offensive at the ILO. The full breadth of the growing assault on the right to strike is newly documented in a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation published in the run-up to the October 7 World Day for Decent Work.

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World Federation of Trade Unions 17th Congress underway in South Africa



By Brad Sigal

Durban, South Africa - 1500 delegates from class-struggle unions from over 110 countries gathered in Durban, South Africa on Oct. 5 to begin the 17th Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). The WFTU represents 92 million workers in 125 countries.

The gathering is hosted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the historic trade union federation that helped lead the fight to defeat apartheid.

Delegates were welcomed by COSATU president Sdumo Dlamini, WFTU Secretary General George Mavrikos, and then were received with a speech by the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. There were speakers in several languages from unions leading important, large struggles around the world, including India, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Chile, Ecuador, Lebanon and many more. Union leaders from socialist countries China, Vietnam and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also spoke to delegates.

The WFTU 17th Congress is organized under the themes of “Struggle, internationalism, unity; Forward for the attainment of contemporary needs of the working class, for the emancipation of workers, against poverty and wars generated by capitalist barbarity.”

Speaker after speaker paid homage to the historic anti-apartheid struggle of the workers and people of South Africa. Delegates from African countries particularly expressed the importance of having this world Congress in Africa and particularly in South Africa, with its long history of struggles for national liberation and working class emancipation. The hundreds of COSATU members present brought the spirit of their struggle to the Congress, frequently leading the group in songs and chants from the South African anti-apartheid and workers’ struggles.

The Congress will meet for two more days, with speakers from many more countries, leadership elections, resolutions and cultural events.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

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20 trade union leaders in jail - demand union rights in South Korea now!




The assault on workers' rights in South Korea is intensifying, with more than 20 trade union leaders and members now imprisoned including 7 Korean Confederation of Trade Union leaders and officials including KCTU President Han Sang-gyun (pictured), KPTU vice president Cho, Sung-deok and KPCWU president Lee, Jong-hwa.

President Park Guen-hye’s government has been throwing people into prison simply for standing up for workers’ rights.

Enough is enough.

The international trade union movement has launched a major online campaign on LabourStart to press for the release of these union leaders and for union rights in South Korea.

It will take you just a minute to add your name -- please do so here.

And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee
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Fall Harvest


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MAKE A GIFT TODAY TO END CHILD LABOR


Photo Credit: Ferghana Ru

Dear Chris,

We know fall has arrived when pumpkins appear on porches and apple cider abounds in supermarkets.

Unfortunately, for far too many children, fall is about returning to harvest fields instead of the classroom.

As ILRF begins its strategic planning over the next 6 months, we are asking ourselves, how can we end child labor? United Nations data shows there are 168 million child laborers – 60% of them in the fields.

So how can a tiny organization like ILRF help change such a monstrous problem? By speaking truth to power and not backing down! Can you help us?

We need to change the debate. Solving child labor is not just about building schools. It’s about making sure there are teachers in the schools who are paid decently – not forcing them to take time off to harvest cotton the way they do in Uzbekistan. It’s about ensuring farmworkers’ rights and paying a decent wage – not duping thousands of families into subsistence tenant farming that leaves them deeply indebted as the tobacco industry does in cash-starved Malawi.

At the end of the day, ending child labor is about economic equality. In every country where we work, our grassroots partners tell us that most children work because their families are too poor to send them to school. This is a collective problem that global corporations refuse to address. Sure, they’ll build schools, but they want to continue using their market power to remain competitive, even if it means trapping millions of children in permanent poverty. Yes. Permanent. Because child labor is the crime that hits twice. First they lose in childhood. Second they lose in adulthood, invariably forced into subsistence living without an education.

Changing corporate behavior is not easy and it’s that much harder when international development bodies like the World Bank ignore their complicity as well. In Uzbekistan, the world’s 5th largest cotton exporter, the government is again forcing students, teachers and doctors to harvest cotton this fall. Yet the World Bank continues to invest in the sector, despite having committed to withdraw if the forced labor continues.

Last week, ILRF convened a panel at the World Bank to present our report Financing Forced Labor, a withering indictment of the World Bank’s complicity in forced labor in Uzbekistan. We know Uzbekistan can do better because in 2014 the government gave the word and municipalities across the country stopped forcing children into the field. Now the only children still harvesting cotton are those whose families can’t afford child care or desperately need their children’s help to make their quotas and avoid losing basic social benefits. Ironically, the World Bank continues to give loans to a government that these same children will be forced to pay down later.

ILRF is fighting hard to put an end to child labor once and for all. Please help us sustain this work by donating today.

Warm regards,



Judy Gearhart
Executive Director

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A shocking story of union-busting from Indonesia


Even in an age of widespread union-busting around the world, this story is truly shocking.

Champ Resto Indonesia, one of Indonesia's leading fast food chains, is escalating its aggression against workers and their union, who are demanding respect for basic rights. Last November, a Champ Resto worker's new-born baby died when the child was refused essential hospital care. Only then did workers become aware that they were not registered in the government health insurance program for employees and their families.

The father of the new-born child, who had worked at Champ Resto for fourteen years, was fired for missing five days' work while the family mourned. When members of the national hotel and restaurant workers' federation FSPM demonstrated in Bandung in July to demand that Champ Resto register all employees for family medical coverage in accordance with government regulations, 83 workers were immediately dismissed.

Management refuses reinstatement and has responded to union protests by further pressuring union members. Fourteen workers active in the union were transferred from Bandung to Jakarta - a distance of over 100 kilometers and 3 hours' travel. Without accommodation and separated from their families, 12 of the 14 resigned.

The union continues to hold weekly demonstrations to demand reinstatement of the dismissed workers, full respect for trade union rights and the inclusion of all company workers and their families in the government health insurance scheme.

The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) has launched a major online campaign in support of these workers. Please take a minute to sign up and join more than 5,000 people who have already sent messages of protest:

https://www.iufcampaigns.org/campaig...ign.cgi?c=1022

And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Thank you.




Eric Lee
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IUF News

Italy: new union initiatives to combat widespread abuses of migrant agricultural labour

Posted: 12 Oct 2016 07:35 AM PDT



The IUF-affiliated FLAI-CGIL has launched important new organizing initiatives to combat massive rights abuses in Italian agriculture by breaking the grip of the criminal networks of caporalato (gangmasters) on vulnerable migrant workers. The system of labour agents who provide workers and enforce discipline condemns workers to living in dangerous and degrading makeshift rural 'ghettoes' and working under hazardous conditions for payment below the minimum set by collective agreements and the law.


Korea: free imprisoned unionists!

Posted: 10 Oct 2016 08:30 AM PDT



Over twenty trade union leaders and members are now in prison as the government of Korea and powerful conglomerates escalate their attack on basic rights. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has launched an online petition on LabourStart calling on the government to free all jailed union leaders - CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION!

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IUF News

Fast food workers win guaranteed hours in New Zealand

Posted: 13 Oct 2016 04:47 AM PDT



The IUF-affiliate Unite Union and Restaurant Brands, which owns the rights to market KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Carl's Jr brands in New Zealand, have signed an agreement which fully guarantees workers' hours and shifts.

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Tell Turkey's government that journalism is not a crime


Hundreds of journalists have been arrested, sacked and harassed following Turkey's attempted coup.

The failed coup was followed by a state of emergency and excessive and indiscriminate measures to purge all individuals believed to be connected to the attempt.

The Turkish authorities are now jailing journalists, shutting down radio and TV channels and censoring the internet in an attempt to silence criticism.

90 journalists are in jail and more than 130 media have been banned since mid-July.

2500 journalists have lost their jobs and arrest warrants have been issued for dozens of media workers.

Some families of journalists, who are in hiding or have fled, have been arrested to force them to surrender.

Please sign up to the International Federation of Journalists campaign on LabourStart:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/ifj

And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow trade union members.

Thank you!




Eric Lee
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LabourStart
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IUF News

Nutella workers on strike in Turkey

Posted: 18 Oct 2016 03:58 AM PDT



IUF members at Ferrero's Nutella factory in Turkey have been on strike since 10 October. Management has responded to the strike by pressuring workers to resign. The 150 striking workers have vowed to continue until a new collective agreement is signed and their rights are protected.

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IUF News

European meat affiliates demand action to stop abuses

Posted: 25 Oct 2016 08:39 AM PDT

On October 19, the German Food Workers Union NGG organized a conference for IUF European meat affiliates at Rheda-Wiedenbrück, where Tönnies, Germany's largest meat processor is based. According to the NGG, 3500 of the 4000 employees in the production line at the local factory are employed under temporary work contracts.


Korea: Police aggression continues at funeral of farmer union leader Baek Nam-gi

Posted: 25 Oct 2016 02:41 AM PDT



Today police were deployed at the funeral hall where the family of Baek Nam-gi is attempting to hold a ceremony following his death on September 25 after 317 days in a coma.

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Procter & Gamble


Procter & Gamble buys palm oil produced by modern day slaves in Malaysian plantations. The company is well aware of the situation and has the power to put an end to it.

Demand Procter & Gamble end modern slavery in its supply chain -- NOW.

SIGN THE PETITION

Chris,

What’s the link between household brands Head & Shoulders, Covergirl, and Gillette?

Modern slavery.

The brands’ parent company, Procter & Gamble (P&G), purchases conflict palm oil from the world’s largest palm oil plantation operator, Malaysian company Felda Global Ventures (Felda). Felda deals in the human trafficking of its plantation workers, confiscating close to 30,000 passports, and still works with labor contractors and recruiters who charge enormous fees to trafficked foreign workers.

Plantation workers are trapped in modern day slavery, all to produce palm oil that ends up in P&G products. The multinational consumer goods company is well aware of the problem, and yet still buys conflict palm oil from its joint venture partner Felda.

P&G is getting ready to publish its 2016 sustainability progress report, and the company knows that customers and investors are watching. Now’s the perfect moment to force P&G to pressure its supplier and business partner to do the right thing and stop this human catastrophe. Felda can’t afford to lose a partner like P&G.

Tell Procter & Gamble: cut conflict palm oil from your company’s supply chain and ensure that modern day slavery does not continue in Felda Global Ventures’ operations.

Procter & Gamble can’t pretend to ignore the plantation workers’ ordeal. A 2015 Wall Street Journal article documented the human rights violations happening in Felda palm oil plantations. Because they’re complicit, companies like Procter & Gamble are responsible for the plight of modern slaves either working on palm oil plantations or dying on their way there. Last year, Thai and Malaysian police found nearly 150 bodies of people thought to have died in human traffickers’ camps at the border.

Mohammad Rubel, who was smuggled into Malaysia by traffickers and was later held captive in a jungle camp, says he worked on a palm plantation for six months without receiving a salary. Muhi, another worker, says that “there is no escape,” and that Felda contractors “bring policemen and threaten to send us to jail.” In Malaysia illegally and without passports, these workers are trapped for the sake of cheap palm oil.

Over the past two years, we pushed companies like McDonald's and Starbucks coffee to adopt zero deforestation palm oil policies. We've also focused our efforts on the improvement of human and workers’ rights in the palm oil sector with campaigns targeting PepsiCo and Unilever. It’s time for Procter & Gamble to stand by its principles and save close to 30,000 palm oil workers from modern slavery.

Tell Procter & Gamble: cut conflict palm oil from your company’s supply chain and ensure that modern day slavery does not continue in Felda Global Ventures’ operations.

Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, Fatah, and the team at SumOfUs



More information:

Palm-Oil Migrant Workers Tell of Abuses on Malaysian Plantations, The Wall Street Journal. 26 July 2015
Malaysian Palm Oil Giant Felda Global Ventures (FGV) Remains Embroiled in Modern Day Slavery Controversy, Rainforest Action Network. 17 March 2016.
Customer letter to FELDA, 23 September 2016




SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

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Leaked: Samsung’s Anti-Union Documents


Dear Chris,

The founder of Samsung once reportedly declared the company would "recognise trade unions over my dead body!" Now, leaked internal documents at Samsung reveal the extreme lengths the company will go to exert total control over workers’ lives – especially those who want to form a union.

The PowerPoint presentation – intended for the eyes of corporate bosses only – decrees specific "countermeasures" to be used to "dominate employees". And the language is shocking. The leaked material instructs managers to "isolate employees," "punish leaders," and "induce internal conflicts".

Will you join people from around the world demanding Samsung end worker abuse and abolish its "no-union" policy?

With a precariously-employed workforce, inhumane conditions are rife. According to China Labor Watch, employees at Samsung factories, some under-aged, suffer through 100 hours of forced overtime per month, unpaid work, standing for 11 to 12 hours, verbal and physical abuse, severe age and gender discrimination, lack of worker safety.... During a three-month period while the Samsung Galaxy tablet was being rushed out, one worker testified that she “slept about two or three hours a night”, and had to stop breastfeeding her three-month-old infant to keep up with schedule.

Samsung has a reputation for modern technology, but also a history of medieval conditions for the estimated 1,500,000 workers entrenched in a vast and shadowy web of subcontractors and subsidiaries that runs deep throughout the region. What's more, the Asia Resource Monitor Centre reports that Samsung's "no-union" policy affects the entire Asian electronics industry, "because Samsung Electronics intervenes actively to prevent the formation of unions at its suppliers".

Samsung is everywhere. If you have a smartphone – an Android or iPhone – there's a good chance that parts in your phone are produced on factory floors controlled by Samsung and its affiliated companies. Now it's up to all of us to tell Samsung enough is enough.

Samsung shareholders are meeting today! Send them a message now!

Thank you for all you do,
Sharan Burrow



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The deadly practice of pa-aling fishing


Dear Chris, Right now, an important, harrowing story is missing amidst reports of modern slavery in the fishing industry.


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TAKE ACTION





Dear Chris,

Right now, an important, harrowing story is missing amidst reports of modern slavery in the fishing industry. The media has given little attention to pa-aling – a dangerous deep-sea fishing method. Men – and even boys – are made to dive with makeshift equipment 100 feet down to the ocean floor, putting their lives at grave risk.

Call on the Philippine Labor Secretary to create national protection measures.

Cecilia Oebanda, our partner at Visayan Forum said "One victim was forced into pa-aling fishing at the age of nine and has already lost three fingers."[1]

Visayan Forum have been working with local authorities in one hotspot region for vulnerable fishermen. They have made great progress so far, acting on reports of fishermen being drugged to stay awake and beaten when they refuse to follow instructions.[2]

The Philippine Department of Labor has pledged initiatives to recognise these fishermen’s rights and protect them from modern slavery but we are still waiting for desperately needed laws and policies to secure positive change throughout the country.[3]

Show your support for fishermen under threat right now, diving deep down to the ocean floor.

In solidarity,

Joanna and Zoe and the rest of the teams at Walk Free and Visayan Forum Foundation

TAKE ACTION




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[1] http://news.trust.org/item/20160910122147-86kel
[2] http://archive.skoll.org/2014/07/28/...-gets-results/
[3] http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/ra...2fef7e6a5/file

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IUF News

Uzbekistan: government ratifies ILO Convention 87, forced labour and repression continue

Posted: 02 Nov 2016 08:49 AM PDT



In 2016, as in previous years, the government of Uzbekistan continues to rely on the massive use of forced labour in the cotton harvest and harsh repression of rights activists. On October 13, the day the government ratified ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association, the authorities detained four journalists reporting on forced labour.

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