The undersigned Global Union Federations express their full solidarity and support for the ongoing struggle for trade union rights and democratic freedoms in Algeria. For many years, independent unions have been bravely struggling to win legal recognition for their organizations and build a space for workers to freely join and form unions of their own choosing and bargain collectively. These unions have faced targeted dismissals, harassment and persecution of members and elected union leaders for many years, and since February 2019 have faced intensified repression in retaliation for their support for and participation in the mass movement for democracy, the Hirak.
Despite repeated calls from the supervisory bodies of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the government of Algeria has failed to reinstate all dismissed trade unionists, stop the harassment, register the unions and allow them to operate freely.
Since the Hirak emerged in 2019, hundreds of democracy activists and human rights defenders, including independent trade unionists, have been arrested, indicted, placed under police control or condemned to prison. Repression of journalists, media activists and political and human rights defenders has continued since measures to contain the COVID-19 emergency led to a ban on public gatherings and took the Hirak off the streets. The government has likewise ignored a European Parliament resolution ‘On the situation of freedoms in Algeria’ from 28 November 2019, calling for the release of all detained democracy activists and full respect for democratic and civil rights.
We stand in full solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Algeria fighting for trade union and democratic rights, and will pursue with all available means our efforts to bring the Algerian government to unconditionally release all those detained and sentenced for their trade union and civic engagement, fully respect democratic rights, including the right to freedom of association, and implement the decisions and recommendations of the ILO to ensure that independent trade unions can organize and represent workers without fear of harassment or retaliation.
Signatories:
Ambet Yuson, General Secretary, BWI
Valter Sanches, General Secretary, IndustriALL
David Edwards, General Secretary, EI
Anthony Bellanger, General Secretary, IFJ
Sue Longley, General Secretary, IUF
Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary, PFI
Pierre Habbard, General Secretary, TUAC
Christy Hoffman, General Secretary, UNI Global Union
Benoît Mauchel, General Secretary, IAEA
24.07.2020