"The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the workplace," 20 Oct 2016

…[G]lobalization has led to…a dramatic increase in the power of large multinational corporations and…States’ power to regulate these business entities has eroded…This new global economic order has had a profound impact on workers’…rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association…The majority of the world’s workers find themselves excluded from national legal protective frameworks, while some are not even defined as “workers.”…In this report, the Special Rapporteur examines how and why this has happened, focusing on the most marginalized portions of the world’s labour force…He finds that although States are obligated under international law to respect and promote workers’ rights…many are dismally failing at this task. The implications…are grave. Assembly and association rights are a critical tool in leveling the unequal relationship between workers and employers…[T]he Special Rapporteur concludes that the trend of prioritizing economic and corporate interests at the expense of workers’ rights is not only a rights issue; it has the potential to undermine the viability of the world’s economic system…