HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights [Labor]: International Snapshot
INTRODUCTION
“Where’d You Get
Those Shoes?”
HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights [Labor]: International Snapshot
“In the state of nature…all men are born
equal, but they cannot continue in this
equality. Society makes them lose it, and they
recover it only by the protection of the law.”
Charles de Montesquieu (1689 - 1755)
INTRODUCTION
What are human rights?
INTRODUCTION
Merriam – Webster [1766]
Human Rights: rights (as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution) regarded as belonging
fundamentally to all persons
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human+rights
American Heritage Dictionary [2009]
The basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are
entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty,
freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the
law.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/human+rights
DOCUMENTS
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
United States of America: Declaration of Independence
“ … all men are created equal … with certain unalienable rights
INTRODUCTION
Labor Rights
INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT
RUSSIA
USA
INDIA
INDONESIA
UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
LABOR HISTORY
The Growth of New Nation
(1789-1830)
The Colonia Period (-1763)
The Revolutionary Era
(1763-1789)
Lack of opportunities in
Old World
Economic opportunities
in New World
Development of slave
system
(African slave trade in
1440s)
Sweatshops
Weak union
movement
Free trade ideologies
Growth of political
organization and action
Slavery continued
Expansion and
Sectionalism
(1830-1850)
Ten hour movement
Women’s labor organization
The National Trade Union
LABOR HISTORY
The Industrial Revolution
(1877-1913)
The Civil War and
Reconstruction
(1850-1877)
Formation of 12
national unions
Slavery ended
Eight hour movement
Great Depression
(1929-1939)
World War Ⅰ
(1914-1929)
Decline of
traditional
skilled worker
Struggle of
labor to secure
their lives and
health
Women at work
Growth in labor
movement
Strike strategy
Fair Labor Act
Wagner Act
World War Ⅱ
(1939-1945)
Women and
minorities at work
LABOR HISTORY
(1946-present)
Right-to-work Law
Equal Pay Act
Civil Rights Act
Age Discrimination
in Employment Act
CURRENT SITUATION
• threaten by employers of
Immigrant,
reporting their illegal status and
undocumented
give less wages
workers
• Domestic workers
 Labor Law
 Governmental restriction
 Union building
 Immigrant organizing
Workers
abroad
• MNCs violate human rights of
workers overseas
 NGOs
(Domestic, International level)
 Media
Workers in the
U.S.
• At-Will Employment: either
employees or employers can
break the relationship with no
reason
• Misuse of E-Verify
PARTICIPATORY INTERVENTION
Sanction
International Law
Vocational training
School program
Legal Action
Empowerment of workers
Mass media
Educate and raise
awareness
Inform labor rights
Campaign
Human Rights
Community organizing
Educate employers
Employers
involvement programs
Right to form union
Alliance with other
social movement
Monitor
International level
Individual level
Organizational level
Community level
Create long-term
programs
INDIA
Domestic Labor:
Manual Scavengers
INDIA
India - History
Brahmin
There are approximately
3,000 castes in India.
Chandala;
Kshatriyas
“Dalit”
Untouchables
; Harijans
Vaishyas
Shudras
INDIA
One
Woman’s
Story …
INDIA
Photos from Navsarjan Trust in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Community Response and
Participation
State of the art agency:
Navsarjan Trust
INDIA
Suggestions for Further
Development
•Better collaboration between
community agencies.
•A strong network of multi-caste
stakeholders.
•More international publicity
INDIA
INDONESIA
Indonesia - Overview
 Population: 240 mil.
 (4th largest)
 More than 18,000 islands




(not officially counted)
Capital: Jakarta
Official Language:
Indonesian
Ethnicity: 40% majority
Javanese
Religion: 86% Muslim
Indonesia – History
 BC – 18th century:
 Several kingdoms flourishing through trades with
South Asia, China, and then Middle East.
 19th century – Mid 20th century
 Dutch Colonization (late 18th C - 1942)
 Japanese Colonization (1942-1945)
 1945-1950
 Struggle for Independence
History
Continued
 Dictatorship by two presidents
 Sukarno (1945 - 1968)
 Failed democracy
Authoritarianism
 2 opposing powers: Military & Communist Party
 Armed conflict (1965)
 Suharto (1968 – 1998)
 Repressed opposing parties:
communists and separatists (East Timor etc.)
 Authoritarian development w/ corruption
 Growth until the Asian Financial Crisis
I
N
D
O
N
E
S
I
A
INDONESIA
 Democratization (1998 - current)
 Restoration of various rights
 Resisting the international trend of flexible labor laws
As a result…
 Both collective
and individual labor
rights protected through
legislations: Next to South
Korea and Taiwan
(Caraway, 2009)
Indonesia – Current
Labor Condition
 Even with the “state of art” legislations, “de
facto” protection of labor rights is weak.
 Very low union density (1.2% in 1995-1999)
 Anti-union discrimination
 Government regulation
 Little Political Power
Indonesia – Current
Labor Condition
 New Trend
 Indonesia = One of the largest supplier of
migrant labors (East & Southeast Asia,
Europe, and Middle East)
 Less expensive and
Organized (Ford, 2004;
Piper, 2004)
INDONESIA
YouTube - Indonesian maids 'face
abuse' in Malaysia - 11 July 09
Indonesia
Context and Future
 Context:
 Decent labor protection as a legacy of the nation’s
political history.
 Future:
 System that allows Indonesian workers to actively
protect and demand their rights.
 Inclusion of socially vulnerable population
(Women, Ethnic and Religious minorities, etc.)
RUSSIA
Russian Labor Statistics
Population – 140,041,247, 9th in the world
Labor Force: 75.81 Million
Labor
Force
by
Occupation

Agriculture – 10%
Industry
–
31.9%

Services – 58.1%
Unemployment
Rate
–
8.9%

Population below poverty line – 15.8%
20th Century Turmoil and
Labor Statistics
 WWI (1914 – 1917)
 Bolshevik Rule (1917 – 1991)
 Post-Soviet Society (1991-
present)
 Human Rights Definition
NPR Clip
http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?storyId=126144
791
RUSSIA
Past Participatory Efforts & Barriers
 Past Participatory Efforts
 Barriers to Participation
 Government Interference
 Laws – “Defense of the homeland shall
be a duty and obligation of the citizen.”
 Definition of Democracy
RUSSIA
Further
Resources
Memorial

http://www.memo.ru/eng/index.htm
Moscow
Helsinki
Group

http://www.mhg.ru/english
RUSSIA
The Dirty Work … PRA Begins!
INDIA
STOP
ANY QUESTIONS?
We welcome your thoughts and comments.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights [Labor]: International Snapshot
Human Rights First
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/index.aspx
International League of Human Rights
www.ilhr.org/
Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org
Global Rights
www.globalrights.org
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/
MADRE
www.madre.org
International Human Rights Group
http://www.ihrg.org/
RESOURCES
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1092
At-will employment. (n.d.). In The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Employment+at+Will
Caraway, T. L. (2004). Protective repression, international pressure, and institutional design: Explaining labor reform in Indonesia. Studies in
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RESOURCES
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Participatory Rural Appraisal and Participatory Learning methods: recent experiences from Myrada and South India.
http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/G01399.pdf
Piper, N. (2004). Rights of foreign workers and the politics of migration in South-East and East Asia. International Migration, 42(5). 71-97.
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