dimension under Article 8, the right to work includes freedom of association rights relating to trade unions. The right to work does not imply an absolute and unconditional right to obtain employment. Rather, it implies three specific rights: (1) the right not to be forced in any way whatsoever to exercise or engage in employment; (2) the right of access to a system of protection guaranteeing each worker access to employment; and (3) the right not to be unfairly deprived of employment.122 The first right reflects the prohibition on forced labour, which is defined as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”123 The second right implies the establishment of a system of access to employment providing “specialized services to assist and support individuals in order to enable them to identify and find available employment” (availability); an open labour market that is accessible to all without discrimination (accessibility); and the right to just and favourable conditions of work, as well as the right to join and form trade unions (acceptability and quality).124 The third right imposes “the requirement to provide valid grounds for dismissal as well as the right to legal and other redress in the case of unjustified dismissal.”125 Obligations of State Parties The core obligation that State Parties are bound to respect under Article 6 is the obligation to ensure non-discrimination and equal protection of employment, including the obligations: (a) To ensure the right of access to employment, especially for disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, permitting them to live a life of dignity; (b) To avoid any measure that results in discrimination and unequal treatment in the private and public sectors of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups or in weakening mechanisms for the protection of such individuals and groups; (c) To adopt and implement a national employment strategy and plan of action based on and addressing the concerns of all workers on the basis of a participatory and transparent process that includes employers’ and workers’ organizations.126 In terms of the progressive realization of the right to work, States parties are obliged to take steps: • to respect the right to work by prohibiting forced or compulsory labour and refraining from denying or limiting equal access to decent work for all persons, especially disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups; • to protect the right to work by ensuring equal access to work and training, ensuring that privatization measures do not undermine workers’ rights; • to fulfil the right to work by formulating and implementing an employment policy which seeks to counter underemployment and unemployment, by taking positive measures to enable and assist individuals to enjoy the right to work and to implement technical and vocational education plans to facilitate access to 37