Labour rights in Europe record worst score since launch of ITUC Rights Index

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Geneva (ILO News) - The ITUC's Global Rights Index for 2025, which ranks 151 countries based on the degree of respect for workers’ rights, shows that Europe reached its lowest point since the launch of the index in 2014, as the region's rating continued on a four-year decline. 

While Europe remains the least repressive region globally, the 12th edition of the report alerts to a continued deterioration in European workers' rights. According to the index, which ranks countries from 1 (best) to 5+(worst), the average rating for European countries fell to 2.78 in 2025, from 2.73 previously.  

Europe was one of the three regions globally which witnessed an erosion of workers' rights, along with the Americas and Africa. The Asia-Pacific and Middle East and North Africa regions showed marginal improvements over the year, even as the Middle East and North Africa remained the worst region globally.  

A mixed picture across Europe 

In 2025, Georgia's rating fell from 3 to 4, due to systematic violations of workers’ rights, according to the ITUC. The report notably cites a so-called “foreign influence” law, introduced in 2024 without consultations with trade unions.  

The country was one of the two European nations to see their ratings decline, as Italy also recorded worsening conditions, losing its top-tier rating in 2025. Elsewhere across Europe, workers' rights ratings held steady, though no ratings were raised.   

In Central and Eastern Europe, Slovakia and Moldova maintained relatively favourable ratings of 2, corresponding to “repeated violations” of rights. Meanwhile, after a rating increase in 2024, Romania remained at a score of 3, denoting “regular violations”, despite ongoing social dialogue initiatives. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Poland also maintained scores of 3. 

Hungary's rating was unchanged at 4, showing “systematic violations of rights” due to an environment that limits meaningful tripartite dialogue. In the Western Balkans, countries such as Serbia and North Macedonia also held ratings of 4, affected by limited access to collective bargaining and constraints on freedom of assembly. 

Long-term trends signal risks for workers 

Overall, in 2025, the ITUC Index found that workers in over half of European countries had limited or no access to justice, marking a sharp increase from less than a third of countries in 2024. According to the report, the right to strike was also restricted or denied in 73 per cent of European countries.  

The report illustrates the need for sustained efforts to promote social dialogue, ensure the enforcement of fair labour laws, and build an environment for collective bargaining. 

The ILO continues to support governments, workers' and employers' organizations across the region in their efforts to strengthen labour rights and build inclusive, democratic workplaces. 

In Serbia, Ukraine, Montenegro and Moldova, ILO projects are supporting efforts to align national laws and practices with EU and International Labour Standards and related EU acquis.  

In Georgia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, the ILO is focusing on strengthening trade unions’ capacity to provide services for workers and to contribute to political development through social dialogue.