UN expert: right to strike is fundamental News
UN expert: right to strike is fundamental

[JURIST] The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association [official website] said [press release] Thursday that the “fundamental right to strike must be preserved.” Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai’s [official profile] remarks were in response to a Human Rights Council [official website] event about freedoms of association and assembly in the workplace in addition to an important meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) [official website]. Kiai said that the right to strike is an “intrinsic corollary” to freedom of assembly and has a long history as part of international law. He continued:

[P]rotecting the right to strike is not simply about States fulfilling their legal obligations. It is also about them creating democratic and equitable societies that are sustainable in the long run. The concentration of power in one sector—whether in the hands of government or business—inevitably leads to the erosion of democracy, and an increase in inequalities and marginalization with all their attendant consequences. The right to strike is a check on this concentration of power.

Kiai concluded by voicing his support for the goals of the ILO.

Labor rights are controversial issues in the US and abroad, and issues have arose within the last week. On Friday a UK court ruled [JURIST report] that London cab drivers must pass an English test. In the US, the Minnesota House approved [JURIST report] a bill last week to prevent cities from implementing labor laws. Last week the Missouri Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] Missouri’s minimum wage hike.

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