Violating freedom of association

A new report by the Human Rights Watch has just been published on the much discussed subject of Wal-Mart and their seemingly endless struggle to avoid unionisation.

The basis of the report is to suggest the United States’ has failed to uphold international law in relation to workers’ rights.

As a consequence of such governmental inaction, employers have been allowed to breach their own obligation to respect workers’ rights.

What is more, the report argues, employers such as Wal-Mart can violate their employees’ basic rights with virtual impunity.

A short paragraph sums up the nature of the report:

"Wal-Mart is a case study in what is wrong with US labor laws. It is not alone among US companies in its efforts to combat union formation, following the incentives set out in unbalanced US labor laws that tilt the playing field decidedly in favor of anti-union agitation. It is also not alone in violating weak US labor laws and taking advantage of ineffective labor law enforcement. But Wal-Mart stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus and actions."


Further details and multi-media reports can be found here.

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