2024: The Year of Gradual Collapse of Labor Rights

In a year when nearly half of the world’s population is expected to vote, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has released a report that goes beyond just another annual overview of labor conditions. The 2024 Global Rights Index doesn’t just map how labor rights are respected or violated in different countries—it also shows how the organized erosion of collective rights has become one of the foundations of the new political order taking shape.

Data from 151 countries reveals that 87% of the world’s nations have violated the right to strike. This means that in large parts of the world, workers not only lack the power to go on strike in response to their conditions, but also risk threats, dismissal, or legal prosecution if they do. Additionally, 79% of countries have blocked collective bargaining—meaning that in many cases, employment contracts are no longer the result of negotiations, but are instead dictated unilaterally by employers and governments.

The situation is even more alarming: in 74 countries, union activists have been arrested or imprisoned. This means that in almost half the world, union activity has become a security risk. Meanwhile, 43% of countries have restricted freedom of expression and assembly—meaning that even voicing discontent, outside of formal labor actions, is limited or punished.

The report emphasizes that these trends are not new, but the scale and intensity over the last decade are unprecedented. In 2014, when the first edition of the Index was released, only eight countries were placed in the worst category, Level 5+ (where labor rights are totally violated due to the collapse of the rule of law). In 2024, that number has risen to 12 countries. At the same time, the number of countries that had “relatively guaranteed rights” (Levels 1 and 2) has significantly decreased.

On the other hand, regions like Europe—previously seen as a model for labor rights protection—have seen the most serious decline in their ten-year ratings. In 2014, Europe had an average score of 1.84, suggesting relatively strong protections. But by 2024, the average has fallen to 2.73—a clear sign that even developed countries are increasingly restricting labor rights.

Middle East: The Structural Suppression of Labor Rights

Among all world regions, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) holds the worst record for workers’ rights. According to the ITUC’s 2024 Global Rights Index, this region scored 4.74 out of 5, showing a worsening trend compared to 4.53 last year and 4.25 in 2014. But this figure is not just a number—it reflects a deeply institutionalized system of repression in which union organizing, the right to strike, freedom of expression, and collective bargaining are nearly impossible.

The index data shows that every country in the MENA region has blocked the formation or membership of independent trade unions. In other words, the legal and administrative systems in these countries are deliberately structured to prevent any form of autonomous labor organization. 95% of countries in the region violate the right to strike, and 89% restrict freedom of assembly and speech. Even when rights exist on paper, the actual space to exercise them is closed off. In 84% of MENA countries, workers have no effective access to justice—meaning that when their rights are violated, there is no real legal or institutional recourse.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates continue to systematically exclude migrant workers from all legal protections, despite the fact that these workers make up the majority of the labor force. For example, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), in Qatar—despite claims of labor reform—over one-third of more than a million migrant worker requests to change jobs were rejected without explanation.

Meanwhile, countries such as Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine fall into the ITUC’s worst category: Level 5+. This rank is assigned to countries where the collapse of legal order, ongoing conflict, or military occupation means no real labor rights can be exercised. Although these conditions stem from war and humanitarian crises, the outcome for workers is the same: total absence of space for protest, organizing, or access to basic legal rights.

Iran: Rightlessness Embedded in the System

Among countries in the MENA region, Iran clearly ranks at the lowest possible level when it comes to respecting labor rights. Iran is classified as a Level 5 country—meaning that even if some labor rights are mentioned in law, there is no real way to enforce them. In such countries, the government actively and systematically blocks the realization of these rights, often using judicial and security tools to silence workers.

This rating is more than a statistical marker—it reflects an entrenched reality. In recent years, every effort to build independent labor organizations—from teachers’ councils and project workers’ unions to the Tehran Bus Workers’ Syndicate—has faced state pressure, threats, arrests, or outright bans. Well-known labor activists such as Reza Shahabi, Esmail Abdi, Jafar Azimzadeh, and many others have spent months or even years in prison simply for defending basic labor rights. The report also highlights the arrest and detention of 44 members of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association.

According to the ITUC, the crisis deepens when no legal path for protest exists. In Iran, the right to strike is not recognized, and in many cases where workers have staged sit-ins or protests over delayed wages, insurance issues, or unsafe job conditions, the state’s response has been intimidation, arrest, or summons by security agencies.

At the same time, the only labor organizations allowed to operate are those approved and controlled by the state. These government-linked unions are often run by figures tied to official structures and do not play an independent role in protecting workers. This setup not only blocks genuine collective bargaining but also creates confusion and distrust among the working class.

Politically, Iran represents a system where control over social institutions—including labor—is key to preserving state power. In this environment, the elimination of labor protest and the depoliticization of economic struggles do not bring about economic stability. Instead, they deepen social tension and close off all public space.

Compared to other Level 5 countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines, Iran stands out for its combination of harsh security repression and the complete denial of any dialogue mechanism. While some of those countries still allow minimal room for negotiation or organizing, in Iran, almost any form of collective labor action is quickly criminalized.

ITUC’s Warning on the Rise of a New Fascism

Alongside its annual report, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released a powerful political statement on May 8, 2024, offering a deeper and more fundamental view of the current global trend. Addressed to governments, international bodies, and civil society, the statement features a stark warning from Antonio Blanco, the new General Secretary of ITUC, who speaks of the return of fascism in a new form—a fascism that, unlike in the past, is expanding through more modern, structured, and far-reaching tools.

The statement declares that the global order is collapsing—an order in which unregulated capitalism, right-wing governments, and transnational corporations are increasingly overlapping to gradually undermine democratic institutions. This is not just a theoretical analysis. ITUC links this to real-world developments—from the restriction of strike rights in Europe to the imprisonment of union activists across Asia and the Middle East—showing that labor repression is part of a broader political project: removing collective bargaining from the public sphere and shifting decision-making to closed, unaccountable spaces.

Blanco warns that new fascism, like its classical form, emerges from economic crisis and social inequality, but it no longer relies on bayonets and old-style censorship. Today, it uses technology, propaganda, loyal media networks, and fear tactics to label protesters as “anti-order,” “agents of instability,” or “illegitimate actors.” In this climate, unions, civil society organizations, and even independent media are no longer seen as intermediaries between society and state—but rather as threats to the system.

The statement plainly states:

“Democracy is in retreat—not through sudden coups, but through legal, media, and economic pathways. And workers are the first to suffer.”

This analysis changes the meaning of the annual report’s statistics. When a country bans the right to strike or imprisons labor activists, it’s not just a labor issue. It marks a shift in the structure of power—one that refuses to tolerate the organized voice of workers, knowing that such a voice can become a force of resistance, organization, and change.

Put simply: if the repression of workers becomes normalized today, democracy, freedom of expression, and social justice may lose all meaning tomorrow.

Political Proposal: A “New Social Contract”

The ITUC has called for the drafting and implementation of a “New Social Contract”—a global pact aimed at rebuilding the foundations of democracy, social justice, and economic security.

While the proposal rests on ten key pillars, three are especially highlighted in the political statement:

• First, restoring the role of governments in regulating the economy and curbing the growing power of multinational corporations. In many parts of the world, the privatization of public services, deregulation of labor markets, and the rise of corporate influence have pushed labor policy outside of democratic control. The new contract calls for a renewed state capacity to regulate—not to control the market for its own sake, but to protect the public interest.
• Second, the universal guarantee of the rights to organize, strike, and bargain collectively. The ITUC stresses that these rights must not remain abstract principles in international law—they require real enforcement mechanisms. This point is particularly crucial for countries like Iran or Egypt, where political structures themselves are the main barrier to labor organizing.
• Third, an end to the widespread privatization of essential public services like education, healthcare, and care work. According to the statement, states must ensure that these services are treated as public goods, not as commodities to be exploited through profit-driven logic or the free market.

Other pillars of the proposed contract include fair taxation, a just transition to a green economy, migrant protection, gender equality, and reduction in military spending. But the shared goal of all these principles is clear: to restore the voice of workers and marginalized groups to the center of economic and social policymaking.

The ITUC argues that without this kind of structural redesign, efforts to improve workers’ conditions—whether local or national—will remain ineffective, no matter how sincere or intense. The problem is not just flawed policies or abusive governments, but a global order that has pushed labor out of the decision-making space and reduced collective interest to private gain.

In this sense, the “New Social Contract” is not just a labor demand—it is a political proposal for rebuilding democracy from the ground up.