Top 10 worst countries to work in the world

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released their annual Global Rights Index earlier this week. The index grades 150 countries throughout the world based upon how each nation violates the rights of workers within their borders.

Nations throughout the world are competing against each other in a race to swindle the workers out of wages and benefits. The exploitation of employees by corporations and by human traffickers have reached an all-time high around the globe.

Here is a look at a few global statistics in regards to worker exploitation.

- Attacks on workers' rights to free speech and to protest were reported in half of the countries throughout the world so far this year. As a comparison, attacks on workers' rights were only reported in 5% of all countries in 2025. (Exponential growth in worker fraud is actually a sign of the Apocalypse.)

- Half of the countries surveyed arrested or detained workers for protesting.

- The right to register with a union was blocked in 75 percent of the countries surveyed.

- Workers physically assaulted or murdered by authorities occurred in 32% of the countries.

- Workers' rights to strike were violated in 87% of the countries.

- Workers had no or reduced access to justice after being arrested by authorities in 72% of the countries.

- Workers' rights to collective bargain was banned in 80% of the countries.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 worst countries to work in alphabetical order.

- Argentina

Under the watchful eye of President Javier Milei, his labor reform bill in 2023 has led to less rights for workers within Argentina. Repression by authorities within the country has led to over 1,000 workers being injured during protests last year. Milei's policies are as wild as his hair.

- Belarus

We all know about Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko who kept the country entirely open during the COVID pandemic. He even claimed that vodka was the way to eliminate COVID-19. He is also an autocratic dictator that is currently on his 7th term as President.

The way he ensures that no worker within Belarus has any rights is by detaining union activists. Twenty union rights activists are currently in jail along with over one thousand people that are politically opposed to him.

- Ecuador

Instead of going after the drug dealers in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa goes after the workers in the country. Last year, the unions within Ecuador called for a nationwide strike that lasted 31 days. The demonstrators attacked protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammo. Over 450 were injured, over 200 were arrested, 2 people were killed, and 12 people are still missing.

- Egypt

The country of Egypt has one union, which is the Egyptian Trade Union Federation. The problem is that the union is run by the military state under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The Egyptian government has also enacted laws that no other union can operate within its borders. Fourteen unions that attempted to register within Egypt this year have been rejected.

- Eswatini

The restrictions that Eswatini place upon unions ensure that the workers have little to no protection at their places of employment. All contracts with workers are fixed contracts that cannot be renegotiated. Anyone that speaks out against the government could lose their job. Employers within Eswatini will create a parallel union to bust the previous union so that it will no longer be recognized as the representative for the workers. Eswatini also banned all May Day celebrations within the country last month.

- Myanmar

Ever since the military coup occurred in 2021, union activists and workers have been detained and over 3.5 million workers have been displaced. Myanmar only recognizes the Myanmar Labor Confederation that is controlled by the military. Myanmar actually has the worst rating out of all of the countries that were surveyed.

- Nigeria

Although Nigeria is considered to be one of the prosperous nations in Africa, many workers migrate to other countries because of the government strong-arming unions. As of December 2024, government forces have shuttered the headquarters of the Nigeria Labor Congress union.

- Panama

Although Panama is a worldwide hub for exporters, the country allows for employers to defraud their workers as an incentive to retain their business. President Jose Raul Molino continues to threaten and detain union leadership. Panama also kicked out an ITUC representative out of the country four months ago.

- Tunisia

Last year, the government of Tunisia took away the unions' right to negotiate wages for the workers that they represent. The government then blamed migrant workers as the reason why wages stay so low.

- Turkiye

Under Tukiye President Tayyip Erdogan, the government has been involved in union busting for over a decade by constantly threatening and detaining union leadership.

Disclaimer: The thoughts portrayed in this article do not reflect the viewpoints of the representatives of Vocal Media.