2015 ITUC Global Rights Index - Lebanon

2015 ITUC Global Rights Index Rating: 4

Domestic workers still denied union representation:

On 29 December 2014, six Lebanese workers submitted a request to the Labour Ministry to form a union for domestic workers, who are currently excluded from the protection of the Lebanese labour code. The proposed union would include domestic workers and others who provide care in homes for the elderly and those with disabilities, those who provide cleaning services in homes and offices, and some other similar categories.

On 25 January 2015, with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the Federation of Trade Unions of Workers and Employees (FENASOL) in Lebanon, approximately 350 domestic workers of various nationalities gathered for the union's founding congress. But union members said they had received no response to their request, and the Labour Minister Sejaan Azzi denounced the union as illegal, media reports said.

The 1946 Lebanese Labour Code specifically excludes domestic workers, both Lebanese and migrants, denying them protections afforded other workers. Families in Lebanon employ an estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and Nepal. Under article 92 of the Labour Code, all foreign workers are also explicitly denied the right to elect or be elected as representatives of a union.

As a result, thousands of workers have been denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and there are inadequate legal safeguards for migrant workers and some Lebanese labourers, leaving them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

The most common complaints documented by the embassies of labour-sending countries and nongovernmental groups include mistreatment by recruiters, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, forced confinement to the workplace, a refusal to provide any time off, forced labour, and verbal and physical abuse. Despite repeated public announcements by Lebanese officials that they would improve conditions for migrant domestic workers, reforms have been insignificant.

The ITUC Global Rights Index Ratings:

1 // Irregular violation of rights
Collective labour rights are generally guaranteed. Workers can freely associate and defend their rights collectively with the government and/or companies and can improve their working conditions through collective bargaining. Violations against workers are not absent but do not occur on a regular basis.

2 // Repeated violation of rights
Countries with a rating of 2 have slightly weaker collective labour rights than those with the rating 1. Certain rights have come under repeated attacks by governments and/or companies and have undermined the struggle for better working conditions.

3 // Regular violation of rights
Governments and/or companies are regularly interfering in collective labour rights or are failing to fully guarantee important aspects of these rights. There are deficiencies in laws and/or certain practices which make frequent violations possible.

4 // Systematic violation of rights
Workers in countries with the rating 4 have reported systematic violations. The government and/or companies are engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers putting fundamental rights under threat.

5 // No guarantee of rights
Countries with the rating of 5 are the worst countries in the world to work in. While the legislation may spell out certain rights workers have effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices.

5+ // No guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law
Workers in countries with the rating 5+ have equally limited rights as countries with the rating 5. However, in countries with the rating 5+ this is linked to dysfunctional institutions as a result of internal conflict and/or military occupation. In such cases, the country is assigned the rating of 5+ by default.