There are few union rights, widespread use of child labour and extreme poverty in Bolivia, says the latest International Confederation of Free Trade Unions report.
The ICFTU summarises Bolivia’s failure to measure up to internationally-recognised core labour standards in its report for the World Trade Organisation General Council Review of the trade policies of Bolivia taking place in Geneva, 2-4 November 2005.
The report says: ‘There are many legal restrictions on both the right to form and join a union and on the right to strike. Peasant farmers are denied freedom of association while public servants are denied the right to strike.
‘In addition, the current laws do not deter employers adequately from retaliating against workers.
‘This is a major source of concern since trade unions have been reporting for several years a high level of employers’ hostility to trade unions.
‘By stating that the proportion of female staff may not exceed 45 per cent in certain enterprises, the General Labour Act is not in conformity with ILO core labour standards.
‘In addition, women generally earn less than men for work of equal value.
‘Equally worrying is the societal discrimination against the indigenous population and the small Afro Bolivian minority, who generally remain at the low end of the socioeconomic scale.
‘The Ministry of Labour does not enforce child labour provisions.
‘Minimal governmental resources are devoted to investigating child labour cases.
‘As a result, UNICEF reports that the worst forms of child labour – such as mining, sugar cane harvesting and sexual exploitation – persist in the country.
‘Child prostitution remains a problem, with related law being poorly enforced and police raids ineffective and easily avoided.
‘By imposing criminal sanctions which can involve compulsory labour, in cases of peaceful participation in illegal strikes, the Bolivian government contravenes the ILO Conventions.
‘This is particularly preoccupying in view of the excessive requirements and the many legal restrictions attached to the right to strike, making legal strike actions almost impossible in the practice.’
The report adds: ‘The ILO estimated the unionisation rate in Bolivia at 16.4 per cent during the period 1996-2000.
‘The main labour confederation is the COB (Central Obrera Boliviana).
‘After two decades of structural adjustment, Bolivia is the second poorest country in South America with Gross National Income (GNI) per capita at US$900 per annum.
Over 60 per cent of Bolivians live below the poverty line and 30 per cent live on less than US$ 1 per day.
‘Agriculture’s contribution to GDP accounted for 15 per cent in 2003, industry accounted for 30 per cent and the production of services accounted for about 55 per cent of GDP.
‘There is a large amount of informal and unprotected employment in all three sectors.
‘Bolivian imports of goods and services represent 25 per cent of the gross domestic product while exports represent 26 per cent of the GDP.
‘Imports stood at US$ 2.07 billion in 2004. Capital goods accounted for 25 per cent of all imports.
‘The main imported products are petroleum products, plastics, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans.
‘Merchandise exports stood at US$ 2.15 billion in 2004. The main exported products are natural gas, soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore and tin.’
The report says: ‘Workers may form and join organisations of their choosing and bargain collectively. However the law contains many restrictions on these rights, in particular:
‘The General Labour Act, dating back to 1942, requires prior government authorisation to establish a union and permits only one union per enterprise.
‘The General Labour Act denies public servants the right to organise, with the exception of workers in the health, education and oil sectors. The ILO has insisted that civil servants not involved in the state administration be given the right to join unions, but the government has failed to act.
‘Peasant farmers are denied freedom of association despite repeated observations by the ILO Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.
‘Company or branch unions can only be formed with a minimum of 20 workers, whilst industrial unions need the support of at least 50 per cent of the workforce in order to be established. It is estimated that 70 per cent of workers are employed in micro or small enterprises with fewer than 20 employees.
‘The General Labour Act provides for labour inspectors to attend union meetings and monitor union activities.
‘Members of trade union executive boards must be Bolivian by birth, thereby clearly discriminating against foreigners and other workers who have acquired Bolivian nationality.
‘A decree on the application of the Labour Act enables the government to dissolve a union by administrative decree.
‘There are very strict conditions attached to the right to strike.
‘Strikes in public services, including banks and public markets, are banned by law. For other workers, the right to strike is subject to strict conditions.
‘In order for a strike to be declared legal within a company, the strike must be supported by three quarters of the workers.
‘General strikes and sympathy strikes are entirely prohibited and violators face prosecution.
‘Compulsory arbitration, which according to international labour standards should only apply to essential services, may be imposed in order to put an end to a strike in sectors that are not always essential.
‘Where a strike is declared illegal, those who took part in it may be sentenced to prison terms of one to five years, with forced labour as an additional punishment, in line with the Bolivian Criminal Code (art. 234).
‘In addition, there are no measures to protect unions from interference by employers. The current laws do not deter employers from retaliating against workers.
‘The ILO Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has requested the government on several occasions to take steps to update the amount of the fines established in Legislative Decree No. 38 of 7 February 1944, in order to make them sufficiently dissuasive against acts of anti-union discrimination or interference.
‘The Government has failed to act.
‘The sluggishness of labour law proceedings is typified by the National Industrial Tribunal, whose cases usually take more than one year to complete.
‘As a result, rulings on cases of discrimination against union leaders and members are frequently too late to have any effect.
‘The national trade union centre, the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), reports that for many years employers have discouraged union organising, notably by threatening workers with dismissal if they join a union.’
The report concludes that ‘there are excessive requirements and many legal restrictions attached to both freedom of association and the right to strike.’