Category Archives: Workers’ rights

World Cup stadium workers ‘had their money stolen and lives ruined’, says rights group

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Report on conditions in Qatar alleges labour abuses are widespread and calls on Fifa to set up compensation fund

Migrant workers who constructed stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar have endured “persistent and widespread labour rights violations”, which include nationality-based discrimination, illegal recruitment practices and, in some cases, unpaid wages, according to allegations in a new report by the human rights group Equidem.

While the report also documents a number of cases of good practice, including “adequate channels for reporting concerns with working conditions”, good access to healthcare, satisfactory safety measures and decent living conditions, Equidem’s findings conclude that Qatar has been a “hostile environment” for stadium workers.

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Minister and trade union lawyer clash over post-Brexit ‘sunset clause’

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Nusrat Ghani accuses Unison representative of fearmongering after MPs hear laws could ‘disappear overnight’

The government has clashed with trade unions over claims that 20 days of statutory holiday and eight bank holidays, along with a “tapestry” of workers’ rights, are at risk under post-Brexit plans to remove EU laws from the UK’s statute books.

Shantha David, head of legal services at Unison, told a parliamentary committee examining the retained EU law (revocation and reform) bill that these rights “would no longer survive” if automatically removed via the “sunset clause” that will sweep away EU laws unless they are actively saved by a minister on 31 December 2023.

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Queensland police commissioner vows to do more to protect whistleblowers after inquiry revelations

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Officers who made complaints say internal witness support unit is understaffed and overwhelmed

Queensland’s police commissioner has vowed to do more to protect whistleblowers, after an inquiry revealed that officers who expose sexual abuse, misogyny and racism in the service often face reprisals from their colleagues.

Police who made complaints against their colleagues have told Guardian Australia that the internal witness support unit – established to support whistleblowers who report breaches of discipline, misconduct or corrupt conduct – is understaffed and overwhelmed.

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Rishi Sunak urged to scrap ‘undemocratic’ proposals to axe 2,400 laws

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Charities and trade unions among those calling on new PM to shelve bill that would scrap EU-era legislation protecting workers’ rights and the environment

Employers, trade unions, lawyers and environmentalists are calling on Rishi Sunak to scrap Jacob Rees-Mogg’s legislation that would sweep away 2,400 laws derived from the EU.

The retained EU law (revocation and reform) bill is due for its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday, which would scrap protections including the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, workers’ rights and environmental measures.

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Queensland police discipline failures in ‘clear breach’ of workplace health and safety laws, says lawyer

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Commissioner says not all officers have had a safe workplace as critics label complaints procedure a joke

The Queensland Police Service continues to employ frontline officers whose actions resulted in payouts worth millions of dollars to victims of bullying and harassment, Guardian Australia has learned.

The commission of inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence has revealed dozens of instances where officers were found to have engaged in racism, sexism, misogyny and bullying. In many of these cases, officers were repeat offenders and not subject to disciplinary action.

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Truss promises to slash EU red tape – what’s the truth behind the rhetoric?

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Experts take a forensic look at the PM’s promise to axe to up to 2,400 laws on British statute books

Liz Truss has promised to “consign to history” all EU red tape within the next year, axing to up to 2,400 laws on British statute books.

It was not just party conference rhetoric. Her government is planning to pass legislation to give itself the power to simply switch off 40 years of EU harmonisation legislation at the stroke of midnight 31 December 2023. No list of laws targeted has been published.

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Gig workers to get rights to workers comp under NSW Labor election promise

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Gig, disability and home care workers would also gain access to a portable entitlement scheme

Uber delivery drivers and casual employees will be able to claim compensation if injured at work and take entitlements from job to job if Labor wins the New South Wales election.

New entitlements would make gig workers more resilient and make the labour environment less precarious in general, the state opposition said on Sunday.

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California’s fast-food industry calls for referendum on new labor legislation

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Law provides for councils to represent workers, but opponents claim menu prices will increase and restaurants will close

The fast-food industry is seeking to overturn one of the most significant labor wins in recent American history by trying to scrap a new law in California that will establish an industry council for the sector on wage standards and other regulations, including safety.

The Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, AB 257, was signed into law by the California governor, Gavin Newsom, on 5 September in what is seen as a huge fillip to a US labor movement seeking to capitalize on a wave of unionization drives.

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Farmers fined for failing to comply with workplace laws as new minimum wage takes effect

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Compliance blitz by Fair Work Ombudsman has found many farmers continue to flout rules designed to protect workers from exploitation

Many farmers are continuing to defy workplace laws designed to protect vulnerable workers, including failing to provide them with proper payslips, a compliance push by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has found.

Since December, inspectors have targeted more than 200 farms across the country and found that in some areas as many as 60% were non-compliant with workplace laws. It’s a result the National Farmer’s Federation (NFF) described as “troubling”.

It comes after new laws requiring farmers to start paying a minimum wage to pickers under the horticultural award came into effect in April.

The FWO would not say if any of the infringements were to do with the award changes, but compliance notices are typically served to employers when they have underpaid workers.

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Oman ‘failing to stop trafficking and abuse of migrant domestic workers’

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Report finds widespread instances of forced labour, with women denied access to passports and subjected to physical or sexual abuse

Oman is failing to protect migrant domestic workers who are victims of human trafficking, trapped in abusive households and subjected to physical and sexual violence with no access to justice or a safe route home, a report has found.

Do Bold, an organisation that works to assist and repatriate migrant workers trapped in the Gulf, interviewed 469 domestic workers from Sierra Leone working in Oman, for the report. It concluded that all but one of the women interviewed were victims of forced labour and human trafficking.

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Growers and immigration experts slam proposal to allow workers to be part-paid in fruit and veg

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National Farmers’ Federation wants ‘non-monetary benefits’ such as food and board to be considered in pay deals

The National Farmers’ Federation proposal to take “non-monetary benefits” into account when negotiating pay deals has attracted strong criticism from farmers and immigration experts who claim it could erode workers’ rights.

Chris Kelly, a Victorian grain grower, said the proposal was “appalling” and called it an attempt to “stretch the boundaries” of what was reasonable and fair.

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End to Covid leave payment and RAT subsidy ‘disincentives’ for casuals to be tested

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Australian Council of Social Services says end of supports amid new wave of virus leaves insecure workers more exposed

Lilly Hallett has become accustomed to regular lentil meals amid recent spiralling costs of living as a way to curb everyday expenses.

But the Melbourne-based casual call centre employee is also now trying to stash away part of her income in case she becomes reinfected with Covid, amid a surge in cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

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TUC issues workers’ rights warning over post-Brexit trade deals

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Exclusive: Union organisation says ministers in talks with 13 countries with poor track record

Ministers have been accused of pushing for post-Brexit trade deals with more than a dozen countries around the world that do not guarantee workers’ rights or systematically violate employee protections.

The Trades Union Congress said ministers were in active talks with 13 nations with a worrying track record on employment rights, including Brazil, Burundi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in order to secure trade deals after leaving the EU.

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Hong Kong NETs – foreign teachers of English – forced to take allegiance oath

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Authoritarian measures are widened to meet Chinese loyalty requirements, despite fears it will worsen teacher shortages

Foreign English-language teachers working in Hong Kong government schools will need to swear allegiance to the city, officials have ordered, as fears grow about the territory’s ability to retain educators in the face of increasing restrictions.

Hong Kong’s education bureau said on Saturday that native-speaking English teachers (NETs) and advisers working in government-run schools must sign a declaration by 21 June in order to continue working.

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Victoria’s Secret pays sacked Thai workers $8.3m in ‘wage theft’ settlement

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The sacked garment workers had fought for fair compensation since the factory closed in March 2021

More than 1,000 sacked Thai garment workers who made bras at a factory supplying lingerie firm Victoria’s Secret have received a landmark $8.3m settlement, labour rights activists have said.

Brilliant Alliance Thai closed down its Samut Prakan factory in March 2021 after going bankrupt.

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H&M pledges to end shopfloor sexual violence in India after worker killed

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Landmark agreement to protect garment workers from violence follows last year’s murder of Jeyasre Kathiravel, a Dalit woman

H&M has signed a legally binding agreement with one of its largest Indian clothing suppliers that pledges to end sexual violence and harassment against women on the factory floor after the murder of a young garment worker by her supervisor last year.

In January 2021, Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old Dalit woman, was found dead on farmland near her family home after finishing a shift at Natchi Apparel, a factory making clothes for H&M in Kaithian Kottai, Tamil Nadu.

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Revealed: migrant workers in Qatar forced to pay billions in recruitment fees

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Guardian investigation finds labourers – including those on World Cup-related projects – were left with huge debts

Low-wage migrant workers have been forced to pay billions of dollars in recruitment fees to secure their jobs in World Cup host nation Qatar over the past decade, a Guardian investigation has found.

Bangladeshi men migrating to Qatar are likely to have paid about $1.5bn (£1.14bn) in fees, and possibly as high as $2bn, between 2011 and 2020. Nepali men are estimated to have paid around $320m, and possibly more than $400m, in the four years between mid-2015 to mid-2019.

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Britain hands billions to projects linked to labour abuse and climate damage

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UK Export Finance used £5.24bn of taxpayer money to fund overseas energy and infrastructure ventures – despite its own review raising concerns

The British government has provided more than £5bn in the past three years to overseas energy and infrastructure projects linked to labour abuses and environmental damage, according to documents and interviews with workers.

The funding – a combination of loans and guarantees – comes from the government’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), a government department to help UK companies access business contracts overseas.

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Low turnout for India’s national two-day strike as 50 million join protests

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Unions say strike over ‘anti-worker’ government policies a success despite limited impact, with far fewer than predicted taking part

An estimated 50 million people joined India’s two-day national strike this week, a fraction of the number expected to protest.

Bank, factory and public transport workers disrupted services in six states on Monday and Tuesday, but the strike had limited impact across the rest of the country.

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Up to 10,000 Asian migrant workers die in the Gulf every year, claims report

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Campaigners say not enough is being done to prevent loss of life and the causes of death are not being properly investigated

As many as 10,000 migrant workers from south and south-east Asia die every year in the Gulf countries, according to a report by a group of human rights organisations.

More than half of the deaths are unexplained, said the report, and are commonly recorded as due to “natural causes” or “cardiac arrest”. But Gulf states are failing properly to investigate why so many migrant workers are dying.

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