Bearing the Brunt of the Asian Economic Crisis

The collapse of the Asian economy has given rise to massive layoffs of workers and wage and benefit cuts, not only in those countries worst affected by the economic crisis, but region-wide. Human Rights Watch is concerned about the likelihood of increasing violations of workers' rights as a direct consequence of the crisis in countries where labor conditions already fell well below the International Labor Organization's (ILO) core standards. Workers in most countries in Asia are denied freedom of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively, or are severely restricted in their exercise of these rights. In many enterprises, both state and private, wages are being slashed. With little or no legal channel to voice their grievances or represent their interests, workers whose jobs are threatened or who have been laid off already have little choice but to take to the streets to protest. Labor activists are in an even more vulnerable situation than during times of economic prosperity as they speak out for workers' rights.