A ban on independent trade unions in Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and Libya remained in place through 1999. Zimbabwe is yet another country that saw labor rights drastically deteriorate last year. The Zimbabwean union denounced that the country's export processing zones, where most workers are women, saw an increasing number of unfair labor practices. In these areas, which are under fiscal protection, workdays are long, overtime is paid at the normal rate, strikes are banned and workers are denied legal representation in disputes with employers. In Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries, workers do not enjoy union rights in the export processing zones, while in countries such as Fiji, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand unions are not allowed to operate in the zones.
China represses any attempt to create independent unions and imprisons labor leaders.
Hundreds of Chinese workers were injured during confrontations with the police as they protested factory closings that meant layoffs for millions of people, says the report. Unions are practically non-existent in the Middle East, where legal barriers prevent workers from organizing or staging strikes. In Europe, seven people died last year as the result of their trade union activities, and two others committed suicide to call the government's attention to labor problems. Four trade unionists were assassinated in Russia in 1999, and the authorities there ignored striking workers' demands for payment of back-wages owed.