Trade Unions Criticise Outcome of Hong Kong WTO Ministerial
The global unions have condemned the WTO ministerial for
failing to progress a real development agenda and in any way to address the
issue of decent work. The General Secretary of the ICFTU, Guy Ryder stated
that “the industrialized countries have manipulated their way to a deal that
betrays development and yet again does not address the key issue of decent
work”. To read the statement
click here.
Trade unions call for employment issues
to be taken on
board by the WTO
John Evans from TUAC
and many TUAC affiliates are part of the trade union delegation in Hong Kong
that have called on governments attending the WTO Ministerial Conference to
introduce employment impact assessments into the trade negotiations on
services and market access. The trade unions, coordinated by the ICFTU have
issued a summary trade union proposals on this and other issues including the need for
coherence of WTO actions with the core labour standards of the ILO, the
need to give developing countries space in their trade policy to develop
their infant industries and stop moves to compulsion on services
liberalisation. The trade union group is also concerned at the lack of
progress by the EU and the US to make a firm commitment on dates to remove
different forms of export subsidisation. To read an additional statement by
the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
that supports these objectives click here.
Globalization fails to
create new, quality jobs and to reduce poverty according to a new ILO report
According
to a new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) on 9 December
2005 in Geneva, global economic growth is increasingly failing to translate
into new and better jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty. Within this
global trend, however, different regions show mixed results in terms of job
creation, productivity results, wage improvements and poverty reduction.
Taking a
global view, based on the forthcoming 4th Edition of the ILO’s
Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM), the study finds that while in some areas of Asia economic
expansion is fostering solid growth in jobs and improvements in living
conditions, other areas such as Africa and parts of Latin America are seeing
increasing numbers of people working in less favorable conditions, especially
in the agricultural sector. Moreover, for millions of workers, new jobs often
provide barely enough income to lift them above the poverty line, or are far
below any adequate measure of satisfying and productive work. The total number
of working women and men living on less than $2 a day has not fallen over the
past decade although at 1.38 billion it is a smaller share of global
employment at just below 50 per cent, a decline from 57 per cent in 1994.
The report
emphasizes that in many developing economies the problem is mainly a lack of
decent and productive work opportunities rather than outright unemployment.
Women and men are working long and hard for very little because their only
alternative is to have no income at all.
It is
obvious that there is a gap between the rhetoric on Globalization and the
related reality. Globalization has so far not led to the creation of
sufficient and sustainable decent work opportunities around the world. In
order to change that, the creation of new and better jobs, providing an
appropriate income for the world's workers and fulfilling requirements of
decent work, must be made a priority in policy-making. The new ILO report must
be used as a tool for promoting that objective.
To read
more about the new ILO report, click here:
U.I. & International Trade
Unions Call for Strong Climate Change Targets for Kyoto's 2nd Period
The United Steelworkers Union
has pledged a campaign with other US unions to persuade the American
Government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Speaking at yesterday's COP11 news
briefing, USWA Vice-President Jim Pannell said: "Failure to ratify Kyoto puts
US workers at a massive disadvantage. We will work with Trade Unions from the
United States and the rest of the world and to help build support for the
Kyoto Protocol with strong targets for its second commitment period after
2008-2012."
See more:
(5
December 2005)
For
agriculture and rural development to become truly sustainable and for global
food security to be increased, the women and men who work daily to produce the
world's food have to play even greater and more participative roles. The role
of farmers in sustainable development is well recognized, however, in the
processes of sustainable agricultural development and improvement of world
food security, both the needs and the contributions of the 450 million waged
agricultural workers have been virtually overlooked to date. They are a huge
and, in most regions of the world, a growing group of workers who account for
over 40 per cent of the total agricultural labour force.
This was
the main message of Sue Lawley of the IUF and John Evans of TUAC who addressed
the OECD Agriculture Committee consultations with civil society organisations
on 5 December. To read the full submission click here.
Largest-Ever Trade Union
Delegation Attends World Climate Change Meeting
(Paris, November 29, 2005)
The largest ever trade union delegation at
a climate change meeting is participating in the world conference on climate
change that opened on 28 November in Montreal. Nearly 60 trade union
representatives from fourteen countries are pressing national governments for
support of a few key principles that they say will make a significant difference
to the success of implementing the climate change provisions of the Kyoto
Protocol.
The Global Unions have released their written submission to government
delegations that will be in Montreal for the 11th Conference of the
Parties (COP11) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The trade union Climate Change submission is available at:
http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpP_8h.EN.pdf .
“Because of very positive initiatives over
the last few years between certain trade union bodies and the Governments of
Argentina, Belgium, E.U., Germany, Spain and the U.K, trade unions at
COP11 will advance specific proposals to strengthen the implementation of the
Kyoto Protocol, through national frameworks for social dialogue & consensus
building.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) along with the
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) as well as TUAC are together
coordinating the delegation at COP11.
Employment
& Social Transition is a Top Priority
The trade union bodies say they want
governments to promote joint ‘Trade Union-Employer’ workplace actions for
CO2 reduction, energy conservation and the promotion of alternatives that
support worker participation and ILO Core Labour Standards.
The trade unionists want governments to place “employment & social transition”
as a central feature of climate implementation. They will promote better
research to predict and address the employment and social impacts, in the face
of growing fears that climate change will disrupt the livelihood of large
segments of the world’s population.
Their submission calls for a strengthening of worker involvement in community
actions & decision-making and for support of worker capacity-building, through
training & education.
They call on climate change negotiators to design concrete provisions for social
& employment issues within the Kyoto’s Flexible Mechanisms, as well as
for worker participation and employer accountability.
New COP11
Country-By-Country Profiles Released
At COP11 “we will make contact with each
and every government delegation”, said their introductory note to them. A copy
of each county’s ‘Climate & Energy Profile’ will be hand-delivered to the
government delegations showing where they stand on certain climate indicators.
The new country-by-country Profiles for all countries are now available at.
http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpP_9b.EN.pdf.
Side-Event Planned: “National
Frameworks
For the World of Work”
The trade unions
expect to host a special side-event at COP11 from 1-3 pm on Wednesday 07
December in Room 1. Environment Ministers from Belgium and Spain
will underscore the value of landmark agreements with trade unions in those
countries. See the provisional programme for the side-event at
http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpP_8l.EN.pdf
.
TUAC Plenary Discusses
OECD and TUAC Future Role and Prepares for Upcoming WTO Ministerial
(Paris, 3-4 November)
The TUAC
Plenary Session, meeting in Paris on 3-4 November focussed on the future
vocation of the OECD. In a discussion with OECD Ambassadors a delegation led by
TUAC and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney delivered a paper entitled “Governing
the global economy – what role for the OECD?” This called for
the OECD to be at the centre of a debate on
the need for sensible rules and regulations that can help re-link economic
development and social progress. However it was pointed out that the OECD’s
image is often one of an organisation promoting a deregulation of markets - a
cheer-leader for globalisation, taking little account of social cost. Following
the consultations it was agreed to step up the consultation processes between
TUAC and the
different OECD bodies and to reinforce in particular consultation on employment
issues, the enforcement of the OECD Guidelines, Corporate Governance and work of
the organisation with China.
The meeting also discussed the
future global environment facing trade unions with Robert Taylor former labour
editor of the Financial Times as a background to an initial discussion of TUAC’s
role in the international trade union architecture following the unification of
the ICFTU and WCL in 2006. They re-elected John Evans as general secretary for a
further term of four years.
The
Plenary Session also met for an informal discussion with the Director General of
the World Trade Organisation – Pascal Lamy and discussed both the trade union
input to the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong and future coherence between trade,
social development and employment.
To read a
summary of trade union positions on the WTO Ministerial, prepared by the ICFTU,
click
here
TUAC/PSI delegation takes part in
OECD Ministerial discussions on how to restore trust in government
A TUAC delegation composed
of Mike Waghorne of the Public Services International and John Evans of TUAC
took part in the OECD Ministerial meeting in Rotterdam on 28 November 2005 on
“Strengthening Trust in Government: What Role for Government in the 21st
Century?” The meeting recognized that over the past several decades, most OECD
countries have been implementing public sector reforms yet public confidence
is perceived to be
declining. It also raises questions as to how governments can strengthen
public trust and boost performance. A keynote address from the journalist
William Pfaff echoed many of the points in the
TUAC statement
presented to the meeting – namely that public trust cannot be restored by
top down communication but rather requires effective policies to allay public
concerns on issues such as globalization. The TUAC statement also argued for
more effective institution building and strengthened representative democracy
rather than relying e-government to reconnect citizens and government. In the
TUAC interventions and in an article published by Mike Waghorne in the
OECD
Observer the unions emphasized the essential differences
between providing public services to citizens and private services to
customers. Too often reforms had lost sight of this fact and with it the
public sector ethos.
TUAC and the PSI will follow
up the conclusions of the meeting with the OECD Directorate for Public
Governance and Territorial Development and the Public Governance Committee. To
read the conclusions of the Ministerial meeting click here
TUAC supports Australian Trade Unions in efforts to defend
workers rights in Australia
TUAC strongly supports the campaign of
ACTU, Australia, against the introduction by the Australian government of
legislation on workplace relations that would:-
- Replace collective bargaining
in the workplace by the negotiation of individual contracts;
- Remove protection for employees and their families;
- Severely constrain trade union representation of employees;
- Violate democratic principles of freedom of association and the right
to organise.
The TUAC Plenary Session called on
affiliates to support the ACTU campaign, and in particular to convey that
support and concern to representatives of the Australian government throughout
the OECD countries.
TUAC
supports calls for broader access
to post-school education and training
TUAC has welcomed the OECD’s
call to governments to do more to foster education and
training at all stages of people’s lives. Despite the broad agreement on
education and training as the key to participation in the global economy of the 21st century, the gap
between educational policy rhetoric and reality has not been bridged
sufficiently; many governments have failed to provide the necessary resources
required to build and maintain high quality education systems and to tackle
issues regarding inequality of access to education and training. This has been
revealed by the 2005 issue of “Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators”,
which look at who participates in education, what is spent on it and how,
education systems operate, and the results achieved.
To read more, please click here
Guidelines National
Contact Points not functioning correctly,
charges TUAC
(Paris 14-15 June
2005)
Governments
have now had five years to establish National Contact Points to ensure the
respect and follow-up of procedures implementing the OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises. But, according to the latest TUAC report on the
subject, a number of NCPs are not functioning properly for two main reasons.
First, they are not held accountable regarding monitoring procedures, and also
there is inadequate peer pressure on the way cases are dealt with.
The Committee
considers that National Governments are making insufficient efforts to make the
Guidelines well known. Since the revision of the Guidelines in 2000, about 60
cases of corporate malpractice have been raised with NCPs by trade unions, but
less than half of these have been concluded. In fact, the survey reports that
only one trade union was satisfied with the NCP’s handling of cases submitted
to it.
The NCPs of
Japan, Korea and the US are particularly criticised for failing to offer a forum
for discussion, and also failing to offer efficient and timely assistance to
interested parties when dealing with cases. Italy had no NCP until 2004, while
Ireland and Spain were examples of NCPs that remained passive in terms of
promoting and implementing the Guidelines.
The TUAC
assessment draws three main conclusions:
1 --
Increased efforts are needed to make the Guidelines better known in countries;
2 --
Treatment of cases is handicapped by many shortcomings, e.g. delays, lack of
transparency, failure to provide a forum for discussion;
3 --
Improved functioning of NCPs, in TUAC’s judgement, depends on governments being
made accountable, which would warrant the introduction of peer reviews of
adhering governments’ implementation record.
Click here
for full TUAC submission :
Click here
for list of cases :
UN Summit outcome – running to stand still
Trade unions and partners in the Global
Campaign Against Poverty had hoped that when the leaders of nations met at the
UN Summit in New York on 14-16 September they would act on poverty in the world,
building on the progress that seemed to have been made at the G8 meeting in
Gleneagles. From the time they met at the UN 5 years ago – in the year 2000 – a
great consensus had emerged, bringing together governments, the international
community, civil society, including the trade unions, business, development
organizations, and well-known personalities. That consensus called for
increasing aid resources, forgiving or restructuring debt and agreeing to fair
trade. The focus for this consensus has been the vision contained in 8 clearly
stated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Instead, the new Ambassador to the UN,
Robert Bolton, told the representatives of 190 other countries to set aside
their work, and focus instead on US demands for UN reform. The summit turned
into a salvage operation to keep a focus on poverty reduction. The Global Union
movement has described the summit outcome as “extremely mixed”.
On the up-side, Member States did
after much pressure reaffirm the importance of the MDGs, the decent work agenda
and respect for workers’ rights as poverty-reducing strategies, the
Peace-Building Commission, gender equality, and universal education. However,
they failed to agree on other equally important priorities such as setting up a
Human Rights Council, and a Security Council capable of delivering on peace and
security. More generally as commented by OXFAM after the summit that “We are
left clawing our way back to commitments made three years ago. When we start
defining progress as simply standing still, that’s a terrible situation to be
in.” Global Unions will continue their campaigning for anti-poverty strategies
in the months ahead and in particular be taking the demands for decent work to
be integrated into the broader policy agenda to the WTO Ministerial Council in
December.
To read the evaluation of the summit
outcome prepared by the ICFTU’s New York Office click here
Outcome of the
Gleneagles G8 Summit
Evaluation by the TUAC
secretariat
(6-8
July 2005)
Heads of States and of
Governments from G8 countries met at Gleneagles Hotel
in Scotland from 6-8 July, together with leaders from African countries,
from China, Brazil, India, and Mexico as well as with representatives of the IMF,
World Bank, WTO, UN and the International Energy Agency (IEA), to discuss
policies fostering sustainable development in
Africa, in particular the eradication of poverty by
implementing debt relief and strengthening institutions and governance. A second
major item on the Gleneagles agenda focused on the urgent need to raise the
profile of climate change as a matter deserving the urgent attention in the G8
and outside it. The objective was to promote an international consensus on the
need for further action to control emissions of greenhouse gasses. The UK
government, hosting and chairing the summit, had suggested three broad aims for
climate change in the G8 in 2005: to set out a clear direction for policy, based
on scientific consensus; to agree a package of practical measures, focusing on
technology; and to work in partnership with the major emerging economies to
agree on how to deal with the challenge in the future. In addition to the main
themes of Africa and
Climate Change, the summit also discussed: the fight against terrorism;
restricting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and the promotion
of stability in the “Broader Middle East and North Africa”.
To
read more about the run up to the summit, the input provided by
national trade union centres from G8
countries and international union organizations, the outcome of the of the
summit as well as an assessment, click here…
G8: International Trade
Unions Welcome Aid Commitment,
Regret Inaction on Climate Change
Brussels 8 July 2005 (ICFTU
OnLine)
The ICFTU and the Trade
Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) today welcomed the announcement by
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of a commitment made by the G8 leaders to increase
development aid by up to US$ 50bn, but expressed regret at the lack of progress
on climate change.
Coupled with pledges by
industrialised countries to write off the debts of the 18 poorest countries, the
union bodies describe the aid commitment as a step forward in tackling poverty,
while recognising that the new pledge still falls short of what is needed.
Welcoming commitments by African leaders to democracy made this week, the trade
union bodies nevertheless voiced their concern that only countries which accept
stringent IMF/World Bank conditionality will be eligible for debt relief. Debt
relief and additional aid must not be used simply to push developing countries
to boost private sector development and attract foreign investment, but also to
meet urgent social and infrastructure needs.
The ICFTU and its Global
Unions partners are part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP),
which is seeking concrete and decisive progress on aid, debt relief and justice
in the world trade system.
While the outcome
concerning climate change is disappointing, the fact that there is now a public
recognition that it is a serious problem at least provides some hope that
progress may be made in the future.
The global trade union
movement and its allies in the GCAP will continue pushing the anti-poverty
agenda, including at two further major international events in 2005 – the UN
review of the Millennium Development Goals, and the WTO Ministerial Meeting in
Hong Kong in December. Creating decent jobs for all, as the best way to end
poverty, will be at the centre of the trade union campaign.
OECD Employment Outlook 2005 points to a "whole of government" response to trade
and adjustment
Growth and
employment prospects in the OECD area are alarming. According to the 2005 OECD
Employment Outlook, to be released today, unemployment rates are expected to
decline slowly from 6.7% OECD average in 2004 to 6.4% in 2005, representing over
36 million unemployed. Unemployment rates are likely to rise in the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands and New Zealand and will remain high in continental and
Eastern Europe. Only in the US and in the Nordic countries is decline in
unemployment rate expected.
The OECD
report also predicts moderate real wage growth to be outpaced by labour
productivity gains for 2005-2006. Accordingly, a decline in the pace of growth
per unit labour costs is expected, especially in Europe. The 2005 Employment
Outlook report has put in doubt the notion that decreasing labour costs means
stronger employment growth or that high
unemployment is associated with ‘excessive’ labour costs.
Sluggish
growth is a real concern in many OECD countries particularly in the Euro area.
Those economies are driven by external demand, not by robust domestic demand.
Structural reform policies have severely restricted household consumption and
thus overall demand. However, household consumption is also tempered by the
acceleration of international offshoring and the
relocation of industrial and service sector activities. These have heightened
job insecurity, and thus consumption behaviours of many groups of workers and
their families. The OECD claims that past trade and investment liberalisation
processes prove those concerns to be unfounded. On the contrary job losses and
unemployment are more serious than the Report suggests. It fails to provide
compelling evidence that new employment opportunities for trade-displaced
workers will be created.
Trade-displaced workers tend
to experience long unemployment spells before being re-employed. They also face
substantial wage cuts upon re-employment. These would be contributing factors to
the OECD’s conclusion that “growing trade with low wage countries has played
some role in increasing wage inequality in many OECD countries”.
In addition
to the “temporary”
winners and losers of the current adjustment to trade taking place on a global
scale, there will also be “permanent losers”, should current policies continue
to make displaced workers and their families pay for the adjustment process.
The right response to deindustrialisation and to
relocation must aim beyond targeted “activation” and other adjustment measures.
What is needed is a “whole of government” response to
employment consequences of globalisation, including active labour market policy,
industrial, innovation and regional policies. Governments and international
organisations must work hand in hand to guarantee core workers’ rights globally.
The proliferation of labour rights abuses in export processing zones and in key
emerging countries must also be stopped, notably in China.
At the
company and sector level, OECD governments must encourage dialogue and
negotiations between trade unions and business. They must also support targeted
regional and industrial policies along with active labour market policies.
Les
Perspectives de l’emploi de l’OCDE 2005 annoncent des plans d’action
interministériels pour répondre
aux coûts d’ajustement liés aux échanges
Les perspectives de croissance
et d’emploi dans la zone OCDE sont préoccupantes. Selon les Perspectives de
l’emploi 2005, que l’OCDE vient de publier, les taux de chômage ne devraient
baisser que lentement dans les pays de l’OCDE d’une moyenne de 6,7% en 2004 à
6,4% en 2005, ce qui représente plus de 36 millions de chômeurs. Les taux de
chômage vont probablement augmenter au Royaume-Uni, aux Pays-Bas et en
Nouvelle-Zélande et resteront élevés dans les pays d’Europe occidentale et
orientale. Seuls, les Etats-Unis et les pays nordiques devraient connaître une
baisse des taux de chômage.
Le rapport de l’OCDE prévoit
également une hausse modérée des salaires réels qui devrait rester en deçà des
gains de productivité pour la période 2005-2006. De ce fait, le rythme de
croissance des coûts unitaires de main-d’oeuvre devrait ralentir, surtout en
Europe. Ce numéro des Perspectives de l’emploi rend discutable la notion selon
laquelle une baisse des coûts salariaux signifie une plus forte croissance de
l’emploi ou qu’un chômage élevé est le résultat de coûts du travail ‘excessifs’.
La croissance atone dans de nombreux pays
de l’OCDE et en particulier dans la zone Euro est un vrai problème. Ces
économies dépendent de la demande extérieure, et non d’une demande intérieure
solide. Les réformes structurelles ont sévèrement restreint la consommation des
ménages et de ce fait la demande globale. Cependant, la consommation des ménages
est aussi affectée par l’accélération des délocalisations internationales et la
relocalisation des activités industrielles et du secteur des services. Ces
transferts ont aggravé l’insécurité de l’emploi, et modifié en conséquence les
comportements de consommation des travailleurs et leurs familles. L’OCDE déclare
que les processus passés de libéralisation des échanges et des investissements
prouvent que ces préoccupations sont infondées. Les pertes d’emploi et le
chômage sont au contraire plus graves que ne le suggère le rapport. Ce dernier
ne parvient pas à mettre en évidence les nouveaux emplois qui seraient créés
pour les travailleurs victimes de suppressions d’emplois dues à la concurrence
internationale. Ces travailleurs ont tendance à vivre de longues périodes de
chômage avant de réintégrer le marché du travail. Ils subissent également des
réductions substantielles de salaires. Ces éléments seraient des facteurs
contribuant à la conclusion du rapport de l’OCDE selon laquelle « l’expansion
des échanges avec des pays à bas salaires a contribué dans une certaine mesure à
accentuer les inégalités salariales dans de nombreux pays de l’OCDE ».
Outre les gagnants et les
perdants "temporaires" de l'ajustement lié aux échanges qui s'opère actuellement
à l'échelle mondiale, il y aura aussi des "perdants permanents" si les
politiques en cours qui consistent à faire payer le prix de l'ajustement aux
travailleurs victimes des suppressions d'emplois et à leurs familles devaient se
poursuivre. La réponse attendue aux phénomènes de désindustrialisation et de
relocalisation doit viser au-delà de programmes « d'activation » et autres
mesures d'ajustement. Il faut mettre en place des plans d'action
interministériels pour répondre à l'impact de la mondialisation sur l'emploi,
notamment des politiques actives du marché du travail, des politiques
industrielles, d'innovation et régionales. Les gouvernements et les
organisations internationales doivent agir de concert pour garantir les droits
fondamentaux du travail à l'échelle mondiale. La multiplication d'abus de droits
sociaux dans les zones franches d'exportation ainsi que dans les principaux pays
émergents, dont la Chine, doit cesser.
Au niveau de l'entreprise et au
niveau sectoriel, les gouvernements de l'OCDE doivent encourager le dialogue et
la négociation entre syndicats et patronat. Ils doivent également soutenir des
politiques régionales et industrielles ciblées et accompagnées de politiques
actives du marché du travail.
Offshoring has moved high
up the union policy agenda
Offshoring of jobs, with
its threat to labour standards, is high on the TUAC agenda for the plenary
afternoon session to be held at OECD on Monday November 22. A number of OECD
ambassadors will participate with trade unionists in the discussion which is
expected to cover a range of topics that include the undermining of labour
standards, the non-respect of labour rights, regulation of multinationals and
socially acceptable adjustment policies.
The topic is assuming
increasing importance with the expansion worldwide of Export Processus
Zones (EPZs), often favoured by multinationals that do not
hesitate to operate in conditions which flout legislative and industrial norms
that are widely respected in the world of work at large. Union leaders are
keen to hammer out a strategy to counter such policies.
To read the TUAC discussion paper click here
TUAC internal analysis of
cases raised by trade unions
under OECD Guidelines for MNEs
now available
A detailed
analysis of the
cases so far raised by trade unions with National
Contact
Points (NCPs) on grounds of transgressing the OECD Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises is now available from TUAC in Paris. Since the
OECD's set of expectations of corporate good conduct came into force in 2000,
Unions have raised more than 50 cases with NCPs.
Half of them were still unresolved as at end-February
2005.
The TUAC report is an instructive and
useful guide to procedures and practice in bringing cases of malpractice to
account and on ways of informing a wider audience. Further information can be
obtained on request from Ms Veronica Nilsson at TUAC Paris.
Global Unions urge world leaders to stay firm
on the Millenium Development Goals
When the leaders of nations meet at the UN in New York next
week, they must act on poverty in the world. From the time they met at the UN 5
years ago – in the year 2000 – a great consensus has emerged, bringing together
governments, the international community, leading economists and thinkers and
civil society, including the trade unions, business, development organizations,
and well-known personalities. That consensus calls for increasing aid resources,
forgiving or restructuring debt and agreeing to fair trade. The focus for this
consensus has been the vision contained in 8 clearly stated Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
Now, however, all that is under threat. The US Administration
has chosen in these last days to reject the worldwide consensus act on poverty,
rejecting a vision of clear goals and measurable indicators of progress.
Instead, the new Ambassador to the UN appointed recently by President Bush has
told the representatives of 190 other countries to set aside their work, and
focus instead on US demands for UN reform.
The trade union movement also wants a more effective UN. The
trade union movement wants a better response to violation of human rights, and
in particular the rights of exploited men and women. The trade union movement
wants more effective action on terror and security – for ordinary working people
are most often the victims.
But throwing out the MDGs will achieve none of these things.
This assessment has caused trade union leaders to express their concerns
regarding the policy stance of the US administration on how to act on poverty in
an open letter to the heads of states and governments.
To read more
about trade union concerns , click here
G8 must
deliver real benefits not fine words,
say world trade unions
(London 28 June 2005)
Global unions will be redoubling their
efforts between now and the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland to persuade world
leaders that decent work is the only way to combine solutions to poverty in
Africa and climate change, and make a real impact on people's lives.
After meeting G8 host and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair today (Tuesday), union leaders will be pressing their
governments to:
* recognise the role of unions in ensuring good
governance and strong civil societies and preventing corruption in Africa;
* provide a key role for the public sector in
education and health provision in Africa;
*
set up a permanent HIV-AIDS working group of the G8 (a demand which is also
endorsed by the International Organisation of Employers);
* involve unions in the process of managing
industrial adjustment to meet the challenge of climate change;
* protect
labour standards in trade agreements and the globalised economy; and
* create coherence between international
institutions, such as the WTO and the ILO.
John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO
(US), who chairs the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and led the
delegation of union leaders to meet Prime Minister Blair, said: "Meeting the
Millennium Development Goals and mitigating climate change are the greatest
challenges that the developed world faces. We are backing action by the G8 on
relieving debt and increasing aid and we are encouraged that Prime Minister
Blair recognised that we should be part of the solution to the problems of
global unemployment, poverty and climate change. Unions are the only sustainable
defence for working people against the global free market and the G8 must
recognise the contribution we could make."
The delegation met the Prime Minister at
Number 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 28 June, wearing special trade union white
wristbands saying 'Make Poverty History: respect workers' rights'.
Click here to read the TUAC submission
to the G8
Le G8 doit produire des résultats concrets, pas seulement
prononcer de belles paroles, déclarent les syndicats mondiaux
Les syndicats
mondiaux vont redoubler leurs efforts d’ici le Sommet du G8 à Gleneagles, en
Écosse, pour persuader les dirigeants du monde que le travail décent est le seul
moyen pour apporter des solutions tant à la pauvreté en Afrique qu’au changement
climatique et pour avoir une incidence réelle sur la vie des gens.
Après leur
rencontre avec l’hôte du G8, le Premier ministre britannique Tony Blair
aujourd’hui (mardi), les dirigeants syndicaux vont faire pression sur leurs
gouvernements pour :
*
reconnaître le rôle des syndicats pour veiller à la bonne gouvernance et à la
mise en place de sociétés civiles solides et pour empêcher la corruption en
Afrique ;
*
donner un rôle essentiel au secteur public dans le domaine de l’éducation et
des services de santé, en Afrique ;
*
créer un groupe de travail permanent du G8 sur le VIH-SIDA (une demande qui
est aussi appuyée par l’Organisation internationale des Employeurs) ;
*
faire participer les syndicats au processus de gestion de l’ajustement
industriel afin de relever le défi du changement climatique ;
*
protéger les normes du travail dans les accords commerciaux et l’économie
mondialisée ; et
*
instaurer une cohérence entre les institutions internationales telles que l’OMC
et l’OIT.
John Sweeney,
Président de l’AFL-CIO (États-Unis), qui préside la Commission syndicale
consultative auprès de l’OCDE et conduisait la délégation de dirigeants
syndicaux pour la rencontre avec le Premier ministre Tony Blair, a déclaré :
« Atteindre les Objectifs de développement du millénaire et atténuer les effets
du changement climatique sont les plus grands défis auxquels le monde développé
est confronté. Nous soutenons l’action du G8 à propos de l’allègement de la
dette et de l’accroissement de l’aide et nous sommes encouragés par le fait que
le Premier ministre Tony Blair a reconnu que nous devrions faire partie de la
solution à apporter aux problèmes de chômage mondial, de pauvreté et de
changement climatique. Les syndicats constituent le seul moyen de défense
durable des travailleurs contre le marché libre mondial et le G8 doit
reconnaître la contribution que nous pourrions apporter. »
Les membres de la
délégation qui ont rencontré le Premier ministre au 10 Downing Street, le mardi
28 juin, portaient des bandeaux de poignet syndicaux spéciaux blancs avec
l’inscription : « Faites de la pauvreté une histoire du passé : respectez les
droits des travailleurs. »
Pour lire la
déclaration du TUAC au G8, cliquez ici
G8 trade union leaders
to meet UK Premier Blair,
call for global action on jobs, poverty and climate change
(Paris, 24 June
2005)
A group of trade union leaders from G8
countries, headed by TUAC President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO, is to meet
British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on 28 June, two weeks prior to the
Gleneagles G8 July summit. Union leaders are expected to press the need for a
“whole of government” policy response to the employment impact of globalisation,
the need to reinforce workers’ core rights and the strengthening of corporate
accountability.
Union delegates will emphasise the need
to increase development finance, to put poverty at the centre of the G8 agenda
to meet Millennium Development Goals, and urge the implementation of policies to
tackle climate change as a serious priority for G8 and all other nations.
On upgrading global governance,
delegates will stress the need to:
-
Place decent work and quality employment at the heart of an agenda
combating the unemployment, poverty, and economic insecurity that hit workers;
-
Build a global economy that works for working people;
-
Press governments to deliver on past commitments, including higher flows
of aid to developing countries through a mix of front-loaded financing
instruments and meeting the UN ODA target of 0.7 per cent of GNP;
-
Improve access to education and health, and create a G8 working group to
monitor action to defeat AIDS;
-
Better integrate employment and workplace programmes into the heart of
balanced energy policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Union leaders will emphasise that global
warming is now a reality that needs to be addressed immediately. They will urge
that G8 deliver a clear and convincing action plan with identifiable targets and
measurable implementation.
Click here to read the TUAC submission
to the G8
Rencontre des
responsables syndicaux du G8 avec le Premier Ministre britannique Tony Blair,
Appel à une action mondiale sur l’emploi, la pauvreté et le changement
climatique
(Paris, 24 Juin
2005)
Une délégation de responsables
syndicaux des pays du G8, conduite par le Président du TUAC, John Sweeney de
l’AFL-CIO, va rencontrer le Premier Ministre britannique Tony Blair, le 28 juin
à Londres, deux semaines avec le Sommet du G8 de Gleneagles. Les dirigeants
syndicaux devraient insister sur la nécessité de plans d’action
interministériels pour répondre à l’impact de la mondialisation sur l’emploi, la
nécessité de renforcer les droits fondamentaux du travail et la responsabilité
des entreprises.
Les délégués mettront l’accent
sur la nécessité d’améliorer le financement du développement, de placer la
pauvreté au cœur de l’action du G8 pour parvenir aux objectifs de développement
du millénaire, et de mettre en œuvre rapidement des politiques s’attaquant au
problème du changement climatique en tant que grande priorité pour le G8 et pour
toutes les autres nations.
En ce qui concerne
l’amélioration de la gouvernance mondiale, les délégués insisteront sur les
impératifs suivants :
- Placer le travail décent et l’emploi de qualité au cœur de l’action
pour lutter contre le chômage, la pauvreté et l’insécurité économique qui
frappent les travailleurs ;
- Développer une économie mondiale favorable au monde du travail ;
- Presser les gouvernements d’honorer leurs engagements précédents,
notamment augmenter les flux d’aide publique aux pays en développement via des
mesures de financement à effet immédiat et atteindre l’objectif des Nations
Unies d’une APD à 0,7% du PNB ;
- Améliorer l’accès à l’éducation et à la santé et créer un groupe de
travail du G8 sur le suivi des mesures de lutte contre le SIDA ;
- Mieux incorporer au centre de politiques énergétiques équilibrées et de
mesures d’atténuation du changement climatique et d’adaptation des programmes
d’emploi sur le lieu de travail.
Les responsables syndicaux
souligneront que le réchauffement climatique est maintenant une réalité qu’il
faut immédiatement affronter. Ils feront pression pour que le G8 lance un plan
d’action clair et convaincant comportant des objectifs identifiables et
mesurables.
Pour lire la déclaration du
TUAC au G8, Cliquer
Trade unions welcome G8 action
and call for extended debt relief
(Paris, 15 June 2005)
TUAC,
together with the ICFTU,
today welcomed the announcement of debt cancellation by G8 finance ministers.
Following a 2
day meeting in London (10-11 June), Ministers announced a package which will
mean that 18 countries will have 100% of debts cancelled which they currently
owe to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and African Development
Bank. The ICFTU has called for debt cancellation for low-income indebted
countries for over a decade and earlier this year joined the world's largest
ever anti-poverty coalition, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP),
which is campaigning for debt cancellation, more and better aid, and trade
justice.
In hailing
the development as a "significant step", the ICFTU also recalled that the 18
countries that would benefit from the plan - provided it is approved at next
September's annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank -- constitute less than
one-third of the low-income countries with an unsustainable debt burden.
For example,
Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Americas, is not among the 18. In
January 2005, the almost-bankrupt government of Haiti was obliged to reimburse
$52.6 million to the World Bank in order to become eligible for renewed World
Bank lending. Therefore, last weekend's debt cancellation plan must be a first
step towards further debt relief for an increased of heavily indebted countries.
The G8 plan
requires that countries must abide by the terms of the Highly Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) programme, which includes a requirement to observe the
structural adjustment programmes designed by the IMF and World Bank. Such
programmes include conditions such as privatisation of public services and rigid
ceilings on government expenditures, regardless of the social costs. These
conditions, imposed on poor countries on the doubtful premise that they enhance
growth, frequently reduce services to the poor and will impede achievement of
the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The ICFTU and
TUAC therefore call on industrialised countries to extend full debt cancellation
to all low-income countries respecting human rights that have a shortfall of
resources to meet the MDGs. The debt write-off should not be dependent on
structural adjustment conditionality and should not reduce the aid they receive
from multilateral donors or other sources. Furthermore, debt relief must be
accompanied by the adoption of new mechanisms to increase financial flows to
developing countries, for example through international taxation such as a Tobin
tax. All these proposals were highlighted in the trade union statement to the
G8 Summit, which an international trade union delegation will be discussing at
an upcoming meeting on 28 June in London with British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
host of the 2005 G8 Summit.
Unions
question validity of OECD deregulation study
The OECD issued on 7 June a study claiming that removal of
product market regulation (PMR) - specifically state ownership and regulation of
enterprises, barriers to competition, barriers to FDI and tariff and non-tariff
trade barriers - would permanently raise output in the OECD by between 1 1/4 and
3%. These results are calculated in a simulation exercise in which all forms of
regulation in these areas are reduced to the minimum level prevailing in the
least-regulated OECD country. The OECD claims that workers would gain a full
year’s income over their working lives if barriers were reduced. Few workers
would turn down such an offer if it were true. The question is: is it true?
Three key points need to be made regarding this study.
First, the OECD analysis does not cover possible positive
effects of regulation. While no-one would deny that certain regulations distort
competition, is it really the case that each and every government regulation in
the areas listed merely imposes costs on economic growth? Have OECD governments
in the past really been so stupid? Even if these regulations really do impose
costs on growth, is it not far more likely that they also have other socially
desirable effects that would also be lost if they were abolished? A balanced
assessment of such a study would require that an attempt be made to describe the
nature and size of these effects. Policy-makers would then be able to weigh the
costs and benefits of regulatory reform.
Secondly, the alleged benefits are hypothetical. They are
calculations based on econometric simulations. Policymakers would be
well-advised, especially given the scale of the reforms, to require detailed
study of the assumptions and methodology used to generate such results. Such
caution is especially warranted given the fact that, as the OECD itself notes,
member countries have in recent years already initiated a large-scale programme
of liberalisation and deregulation. Past liberalisation efforts have been
preceded by similar studies claiming positive effects from reforms. Particularly
sobering is that, during this period, productivity in the European Union has
fallen by half, whereas rising productivity is key to reaping the promised
output increases. At the sectoral level, the impact of privatisation and
liberalisation has been mixed, at best. In the light of such evidence it is
surprising that the OECD expresses such confidence in its predictions: a more
in-depth assessment of the impact of past liberalisations is an urgent
requirement.
Thirdly, the dimensions of the envisaged reforms must be made
apparent: because the 'benchmark' country is different for each regulation, the
result would be an OECD area in which every single country is far more
deregulated than any one OECD country is at present. Given the massive scale of
such reforms, the postulated benefits are very limited, even if they were to
materialise.
At a time when the OECD has taken a strong position on the
need for a more expansionary macroeconomic policy, especially in Europe, and has
increasingly taken a more nuanced view on the costs and benefits of labour
market regulations, it is disappointing that the Secretariat has published a
study that appears to reflect a simplistic view of the virtues of 'markets' and
'competition'. The trade union movement is not opposed to reforms of product
markets. It recognises that there is scope to remove inefficiencies and
distortions. However, it rejects a blanket attempt, as in this study, to suggest
to policymakers that the abolition of all forms of product market regulation
constitutes a viable path forward for higher growth.
International Union
Organisations mobilise for
Action against Poverty in the run-up to G8
Summit
TUAC, Global
unions and the ICFTU are keeping up their combined efforts to intensify the
fight against world poverty in the run-up to the G8 Gleneagles Summit in
July. Three special action days have been set aside to bring home the message
on fighting poverty: July 1, and then in connection with the Gleneagles G8
summit due to be held on July 6 to 8.
The first of
these occasions, organised by the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP)
on July 1, is intended as a widespread day of action around the world with
national union organisations putting on events to raise public awareness about
poverty and the absolute necessity of acting to combat it by putting pressure on
governments to alleviate the issue through strong action in a spirit
of widespread solidarity.
The GCAP
initiative was launched at Porto Alegre and Davos in January 2005. It is
closely linked to unions' efforts to raise public consciousness about the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Regarding the actions being taken on July 6
- 8 in connection with the G8 Gleneagles summit, TUAC has prepared the annual
Trade Union Statement to the G8 leaders which puts a combined focus on
accelerating development, particularly in Africa, and on stopping further
deterioration in climate change. Trade unions are key actors in building
funding support for actions on these two fronts. The Statement will be presented
to the host of the Summit, Prime Minister Tony Blair at the meeting of G8 trade
union leaders organised by the TUC in London on 28 June.
Click here to
read TUAC G8 Summit statement prepared for Gleneagles.
Trade Unions Support OECD
Call for Interest Rate
Cut in Europe
(24 May
2005)
TUAC and the European
trade Union Confederation (ETUC) have supported the call in the OECD Economic
Outlook published on 24 May for a cut in European interest rates against the
background of falling growth forecasts in Europe.
To read the ETUC Press release Click
here :
TUAC welcomes governance
and social responsibility requirements included in the new OECD Guidelines on
Corporate Governance
of State-Owned Enterprises
Statement by the TUAC Secretariat
Paris, 4 May 2005
A new set of
Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises was released
by the OECD on 28 April 2005 (see
www.oecd.org/daf/corporate-affairs/ ). They are intended for state-owned
enterprises (SOEs) that are separate from public administration and have a
commercial activity. In contrast with the OECD Principles of Corporate
Governance (the general standard of the OECD, revised in 2004), they include
considerable improvements as regards corporate governance and responsibility.
These concern notably :
As regards the public
services that some SOEs are required to fulfil, while not meeting all TUAC’s
expectations, the Guidelines nevertheless include several safeguard clauses.
Overall, these new
Guidelines should contribute to better governance and more accountability. TUAC
calls for the OECD to commit itself to work with trade unions on the
implementation of these Guidelines, within and beyond the OECD. They have a role
to play in countries where SOEs represent a large proportion of the economy,
such as in China and in Russia.
Contact in the TUAC Secretariat: Pierre
Habbard - habbard@tuac.org
Outcome
of the Meeting
of the
OECD
Council
at Ministerial
level
(Paris,
3-4 May 2005)
In
evaluating the outcome of the OECD Ministerial Council TUAC welcomed the fact
that the Ministerial included a debate about “economically, socially and
environmentally sustainable policies” in the globalisation discussion. Overall
however the
conclusions of the meeting are criticised for being
excessively bland, giving little indication of the substantive policy line that
the OECD will be taking on key issues other than keep the status quo.
At the
consultations with the Ministers, TUAC had called for employment to be centre
stage in the discussions and said that trade unions
would judge the effectiveness of the Ministers by the progress they made in
promoting good employment in five key policy areas: - economic policy
coordination; offshoring and structural adjustment; development assistance;
investing in people; and energy and climate change. Against this benchmark the
Ministers’ conclusions fall short on key issues.
To read the
TUAC evaluation Click here :
TUAC delegation to OECD
Ministerial Meeting presses for OECD action on jobs and poverty
(Paris 3 May 2005)
John Sweeney headed a
TUAC delegation in a session of consultations on May 3 with a panel of OECD
Ministers at the start of the Paris-based organisation’s annual Council
Ministerial and Forum sessions. Using the opportunity to press trade union
concerns about the current worldwide social and economic picture, the TUAC
President made the following points:
Decent work and quality
employment must be at the heart of an agenda to reduce economic insecurity for
working families whose jobs are increasingly threatened by globalization;
Any real commitment to
cut global poverty will have job creation at the core of creating sustainable
livelihoods, which will be a key element in meeting the Millennium goals.
The TUAC delegation
attending the three days of OECD Ministerial and Forum debates pointed out that
after three years of so-called “recovery” there were 36 million workers
unemployed in the OECD countries. In his
remarks
Sweeney noted that “Growth remains imbalanced and fragile, and unemployment has
started to increase in some countries. Europe is on the edge of moving back
into recession unless more expansionary policies are taken. Worldwide, more
than a billion men and women are unemployed or under-employed, while 535 million
are working in extreme poverty on less than a dollar a day.”
“To overcome the forces
of reaction and turn back the rising tide of resentment, we must have a clear
and compelling answer on how to make this global economy work for working
people,” he said, promising that trade unions would judge OECD Ministers’
effectiveness by the progress made in five key policy areas. These are:
(i)
Economic policy coordination to raise job growth; (ii)
government policy responses to counter the negative employment impacts of
off-shoring and bring about a restoration of workers’ rights; (iii) putting
decent work at the core of national plans to meet the Millennium Development
Goals through improved development assistance; (iv) investing in people by
achieving improved access to education and health care; (v) integrating
employment programmes at the centre of balanced energy policies and climate
change mitigation.
At the same time as the
Ministerial meeting nine trade unionists took part as panel discussants in the
OECD
Forum, whose main theme this year was “Fuelling the Future – security,
stability and development”, while in all some 40 trade unionists attended Forum
discussions. These meetings took place back to back with the TUAC main annual
plenary session.
To read the TUAC statement to the
Ministerial meeting click here :
Helsinki Process arouses
interest at OECD Forum
Among the sessions to
arouse substantial interest among participants at the OECD Forum held in Paris
on 2-3 May was one devoted to the subject of "Achieving the Millennium
Development Goals" in which a mix of civic society specialists (including the
TUAC's General Secretary John Evans) assessed where the Helsinki Process stood
at this point.
Created at the
initiative of the Finnish Government in co-operation with the Tanzanian
Government at a conference in Helsinki on the problems of global governance and
the future of North-South relations, the Helsinki Process was launched in
December 2002. Known in full as the Helsinki Process on Globalisation and
Democracy, the process looks for novel and empowering solutions to the dilemmas
of global governance and offers a forum for discussion among major
stakeholders. It is due to issue its first major report this summer.
The Forum session
offered some encouragement in regard to reporting on the quality of the group's
discussions since its inception three years ago, but there were also some more
sombre impressions suggesting that a great deal remains to be done, notably
evidence that supporting countries are putting not yet all following their words
with actions. One of the civic society discussants referred to a "coherence
and compliance deficit", with Western countries holding back on delivery of
promised help, while a Tanzanian speaker said that the private sector's role in
the process was "absolutely crucial" at the same time expressing his concern
that "Africa has been the missing link of the globalisation chain." He said
"In the North companies are getting bigger and bigger while in the South they
are becoming weaker and weaker."
Evans said people all
over the world had feared that globalisation would get rid of their jobs. It
was now quite clear that workers from the North and the South belonged on the
same side of the negotiating table, and one immediate target they shared was to
ensure that governments kept their promises of putting extra resources into
development. Clearly discernible in the discussions too was the undercurrent
of concern felt by many participants at the aggressive entry of China in world
markets , a factor which was far from reassuring given the non-respect for core
labour rights especially after the ending of the textile agreements.
TUAC Statement to OECD Ministerial
Council
(Paris, 03 May 2005)
The Trade
Union Advisory Committee to OECD (TUAC) has called on OECD Governments to
implement a coordinated package of measures to create employment and reduce
economic insecurity for workers whose jobs are threatened by globalisation.
In a
statement issued on the eve of the annual meeting of the OECD Council at
Ministerial level (3-4 May 2005), the trade unions’ representative body also
identified other issues on which it called for Governments to take action. These
included:
- Higher sustainable growth built upon domestic demand
in most developing countries;
- The WTO negotiating process in Hong Kong to show
that structural change is not a zero sum game and change in firms, industries,
regions and labour markets can be managed in socially equitable ways;
- The employment consequences of offshoring make it
essential to introduce more effective international rules to shape globalisation
and its social input through government guarantees of core workers’ rights plus
increased agreements between trade unions and business and a framework of active
labour market policies;
- Significant improvement needed in government
implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, as well as
the creation of an effective programme to raise compliance with the OECD
Principles on Corporate Governance, and re-engage trade unions in their
follow-up;
- In the development field, action is urgently
required in a number of areas, notably meeting the Millennium goals, especially
in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as on debt relief, post-tsunami reconstruction,
trade union participation in the African NEPAD agreement, and action to tackle
the unfolding problems related to employment and climate change.
The TUAC
statement recalls that even after nearly four years of “recovery”, 36 million
OECD workers are still out of work, while worldwide more than one billion
workers are unemployed or underemployed, and a further 535 million are working
in conditions of extreme poverty on less than a dollar a day.
Globalisation reflected in the offshoring of jobs is only one among many factors
responsible for the absence of job growth and/or job losses in some OECD
countries. Moreover, threats by employers of relocating activities to other
countries, plus hype by many commentators about the scale of changes actually
taking place is destroying confidence in the long-term relationship between
companies and their employees, with the danger that it will provoke a backlash
against more open economies.
The OECD has
called 2005 the “year of accountability for delivering on international
development assistance”. The cycle of meetings that begins with the OECD
Ministerial gathering, and continues with the G8 Gleneagles summit, the UN
Millennium “plus five” summit, and concludes with the WTO Ministerial Council in
December, must show that governments are prepared to deliver on development
assistance and at the same time put in place the framework and policies that
create the decent jobs that the world urgently needs.
To
read the full statement click here
WTO report "a disgrace"
TUAC General Secretary
John Evans reflected widespread indignation among trade unionists when
he recently denounced as "a disgrace" a World Trade Organisation report which
described trade unions as "one of the main obstacles to adjustment" to
international trade.
The statement was made
in the WTO's 2004 World Trade Report, prefaced by WTO Director-General Supachai
Panitchpakdi. Addressing an ICFTU event at the WTO's 2005 annual public
symposium held in its Geneva headquarters, John Evans commented: "God help us if
that is all the WTO can come up with in analysing the social adjustment problems
created by globalisation. The ICFTU seminar focused on the huge job losses
caused by the end of quotas on textile and apparel trade at the beginning of the
current year.
Neil Kearny, general
secretary of the global union for textile workers, said "The poorest countries
have been hit hardest". He added "The WTO created the problem; it must now do
something to help clear it up". Trade unionists from Bangladesh, Cambodia and
South Africa described the plight of textile workers in their countries, and
warned that the same fate awaited other industries if uncontrolled trade
liberalisation in goods and services was further boosted in the current round of
WTO trade negotiations.
At the conference,
unions also expressed concern at the rapid growth of Export Processing Zones
which now number more than 5 000, compared with only a few hundred in 1980.
Some 50 million people work in EPZs but many of the zones refuse to allow normal
widely accepted labour rights and social protection provisions.
Privatization no magic
bullet for the provision of social protection, according to OECD Forum at Social
Affairs ministers meeting
During the meeting of
OECD social affairs ministers in Paris on March 31 a special forum debated the
issue of whether social protection should be provided only by government.
Neil Gilbert, Professor of Social
Welfare, University of Berkeley, California, was the
keynote speaker focusing on ‘The
Enabling State. From public to private responsibility for social protection:
Pathways and pitfalls.’ He outlined five different
routes on how to increase the private contribution to
social protection, namely:
·
encouraging voluntary private financing through
tax incentives;
·
requiring private financing via charging
partial fees for subsidized services;
·
mandating private financing through regulatory
legislation;
·
providing public benefits in the form of cash
or vouchers;
· advancing
private production and delivery of social provisions directly through purchase
of-service arrangements.
These pathways were
presumed to offer certain advantages over public provision by reducing costs
through competition and innovation, improving quality of services and promoting
consumer choice, but, he said, they would require critical examination as some
outcomes of private provision were less beneficial than claimed.
The subsequent debate
showed it was appropriate to be cautious about many assertions made about
economy-wide effects resulting from a greater reliance on the private sector in
financing and delivering social protection. There is a
lack of evidence to suggest that increased use of private provision has led to
major cost savings and to efficiency gains. Thus, one can seriously dispute the
assertion that outsourcing services to private producers will boost efficiency.
Moreover, the
distributional effects of private provision are increasingly a cause of concern.
This applies in particular to policies encouraging take-up of private health
insurance and private pensions based on tax relief, which clearly work to the
disadvantage of low-income groups. According to an intervention at the Forum by
the Secretary General of the International Social
Security Association (ISSA), D. Hoskins, there is doubt whether citizens really
want as broad a range of choice on social security provision as is generally
assumed by many policymakers and representatives of for-profit providers. In
everyday life, it seems that high information costs and information asymmetry
prevent consumers from being able to choose between different options available.
The debate also
indicated that some champions of privatization may talk about increasing
choices, offering vouchers and contracting out, but are pursuing a totally
different objective. They are trying to gain support for wholesale government
disengagement from providing services. These advocates tend to look at the
economy in zero-sum terms, where more government spending means less economic
growth in the private sector. However, this picture is not accurate. A number of
countries that have high government spending have also high growth rates
regarding productivity, employment and GDP; especially among the Nordic
countries. Moreover, public spending often represents investment in human
capital and other intangibles that are not quantified in any budget. Despite the
ongoing hype about private markets, we still rely on government for economic
stability and for intervention when necessary.
TUAC delegates,
attending the forum, did not argue the case that there
is no role for private provision of social protection. It may play a role when
agreed by the social partners. But they emphasized the need to consider its
various forms carefully, as there is no single remedy for problems related to
the provision of social protection. We face not a simple choice between public
or private provision, but one between an extensive variety of options in
organizational forms and modes of ownership, control, and finance.
To read the TUAC report and evaluation of
the Social Policy Ministers meeting click here.
TUAC delegation to OECD Social Ministers Meeting to call for
a new agenda for social policy
(Paris 30 March 2005)
A
TUAC delegation, led by Lodewijk
de Waal,
president of the Dutch
trade union confederation
FNV, will be holding
consultations on 30 March with the Bureau of the
OECD Social Policy Ministers meeting. The delegation will emphasize that
public social security and
welfare state commitments, based on the principles of social justice and equity,
are a basis for productivity and economic competitiveness. Furthermore, the
delegation will point out that welfare regimes are also required to provide
protection against social risks that private insurance cannot adequately cover.
With regard to the urgent need to reinforce social
policy and to draw up a new agenda, delegates will emphasize in particular that
-
activation policies will only work if quality jobs are
available.
New links between employment and social policies must be
established. The creation of jobs, growth that is socially and environmentally
sustainable, leading to a high-wage, high-skill society, is a prerequisite for
activation policies;
- in order
to overcome labour market segregation and to increase employment rates of older
workers and women, particular attention must be given to the quality and
security of jobs;
-
providing a better work-life balance, focusing not only on mothers but on
parents is a prerequisite for increasing job satisfaction, productivity and
employment;
-
the fight to abolish child poverty and to overcome inherited social disadvantage
cannot be based exclusively on benefits. It must be
linked to the promotion of employment, job security and decent wages as well as
to improvements in education, particularly in teaching and learning;
-
providing a better work-life balance, focusing not only on mothers but on
parents is a prerequisite for increasing job satisfaction, productivity and
employment.
Trade union representatives will also be taking part in the OECD Forum on “Does
Social Protection have to be provided only by government?”
to be held in Paris on 31
March. A key message to be conveyed and outlined in
more detail will be that privatizing the provision of social protection is not
an option to produce substantial cost savings or strengthen social cohesion and
social justice.
To
read the TUAC statement on social policy issues click here
G8 Labour and Employment
Ministers Discuss with Unions and Business the Policy Mix to Face Challenge of
Demographic Change
Labour and Employment
Ministers from G8 countries and the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal Opportunities met in London on March 10-11, together with ILO
and OECD representatives to discuss the theme “Meeting the Challenge of
Demographic Change”. The Conference was part of this year’s cycle of G8 meetings
chaired by the UK leading up to the G8 Gleneagles Summit in July. Trade union
and business delegations coordinated by TUAC and BIAC took part in the first
afternoon session of the conference and submitted written
statements.
The Chair’s
conclusions of the meeting focus primarily on the
how to extend the effective age of retirement for older
workers against the background of an ageing workforce. The trade union
delegation indicated that they would have more confidence in this discussion if
Ministers also recognised the value of retirement at the legally recognised age
on a decent income. However, more positively in paragraphs 4 and 5 the Ministers
do call for a comprehensive approach to policies for increasing opportunities
for older workers. This represents an improvement in the traditional approach to
increasing labour market flexibility. They also call for effective partnerships
between Government, employers and trade unions.
The issue of youth
unemployment in developing countries is to be raised in the context of the
International Labour Conference. However it is disturbing that the agenda did
not include follow up to the 2003 G8 Employment Ministers’ Conference in
Stuttgart that included positive conclusions on action to build the social
dimension of globalisation. These conclusions still wait to be acted upon. We
will be discussing opportunities for follow-up both at international and
national level in the run-up to the Gleneagles G8 summit in July at the TUAC
Plenary Session in May and in conjunction with our Global Union Partners.
To read the full TUAC
evaluation click here.
Trade Union Input to G8 Employment Ministers London Meeting
(London
10-11 March
2005)
G8 Labour and Employment
ministers are to meet in London on 10-11 March to discuss the employment
implications of demographic change. The session takes place as part of the
preparations for discussions of OECD Social Affairs Ministers in Paris on March
31-April 1, as well as for the annual OECD Ministerial Council meeting and OECD
Forum sessions being held on May 3-4. The outcome of the discussions will
also be fed into the preparations for the G8 summit to be held in July this year
at Gleneagles in Scotland, UK.
TUAC's and BIAC, along
with representatives of the UK Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of
British Industry, have been invited by Alan Johnson, the UK's Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions to a special meeting of the social partners and G8
Ministers to be held on the afternoon of March 10 at Lancaster House in London.
The meeting will
concentrate on the challenge of an ageing society with a diminishing working age
population, an issue which faces all the G8 countries. Trade unions will argue
that when account is taken of workers’ preferences for retirement and rates of
economic growth in the future, most OECD countries will be able to provide very
robust pay-as-you-go publicly administered pensions payable at age 65 with wage
indexing. The maintenance of these systems is crucial if large portions of the
workforce are to have any real choice about whether to work or retire
Discussions will also
focus on the situation in the developing world, which is where most of the
growth in population takes place over the coming 30 years, and where one of the
greatest challenges is the very high level of youth
unemployment. Representatives of the African trade unions will argue for
comprehensive strategy to tackle youth unemployment in Africa.
To read the trade union
statement click here
TUAC internal analysis of
cases raised by trade unions
under OECD Guidelines for MNEs now available
A detailed
analysis of the cases so far
raised by trade unions with National Contact
Points (NCPs) on grounds of
transgressing the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises is now available
from TUAC in Paris. Since the OECD's set of expectations of corporate good
conduct came into force in 2000, Unions have
raised more than 50 cases with
NCPs. Half of them were still unresolved as at end-February
2005.
The TUAC report is an instructive and
useful guide to procedures and practice in bringing cases of malpractice to
account and on ways of informing a wider audience. Further information can be
obtained on request from Ms Veronica Nilsson at TUAC Paris.
TUAC Evaluation of the 2004 Review of the OECD Principles of corporate
governance
First agreed in 1999, the 2002 OECD
Council meeting at Ministerial level agreed to revise the OECD Principles of
Corporate governance. TUAC, our affiliates and partners participated actively in
the Review. The process which began in March 2003
resulted in a revised set of Principles being adopted at the May 2004 meeting of
the OECD Ministerial Council. Overall the newly revised Principles should be
seen as part of the continuing effort to reform corporate governance so as to
ensure more accountable corporations. The improvements in the stakeholders
chapter give trade unions a platform to take forward the debate to help ensure
that they and the workforce have a voice in the corporate decision making
process. However in other areas much more needs to be done beyond this Review.
To read the TUAC evaluation of both the
negotiating process and the outcome of the exercise click here
.
Davos/Porto Alegre:
Poverty number one priority
Global issues of concern
to international trade union organisations were emphasised in the closing phase
of the World Economic Forum, held in the Swiss resort of Davos and the World
Social Forum, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Trade unionists, who participated
in the two-pronged approach to tackling global problems of poverty, came away
from the two sessions with the feeling that some progress had been made in
seriously addressing the major problems facing the hundreds of millions of
poverty-stricken people in the world.
The consensus among
global unions’ representatives active in the two forums was that the eradication
of poverty was now the number one task for world development and relief
organisations whose efforts on behalf of the world’s poor have been dramatically
thrown into sharp relief by the tragic loss of life and enormous devastation
caused by the tsunami disaster. Union leaders have emphasised that
poverty-eradication must now be an integrated part of the policy and not just an
element of corporate philanthropy according to fluctuating fortunes and passing
needs.
In the words of the
TUAC’s John Evans, quoted by Guardian economics correspondent Larry Elliott,
“The (Davos) agenda has changed; some of the traditional business narcissism
seems to have given way to the idea that if we don’t get back on track for
delivering the UN Millennium Development goals, a major opportunity would be
lost.” Elliott comments that the British Government, which is chairing this
year’s G8 and EU gatherings, sees Davos as a valuable occasion to drum up
support for the twin themes of Britain’s G8 Presidency: Africa and climate
change.
Ten years ago, when
trade union leaders and NGO’s were not allowed through the door, the Davos
agenda focused solely on making money. This year, a global town hall session of Davos participants identified the following six priorities: poverty, equitable
globalisation, climate change, education, the Middle East and global
governance. Observers have been struck by this display of how views can
change. They hope that this results in some lasting change in the
development agenda.
Trade Unions in Davos:
"Dangerous Fragility in Global Economy"
(Davos, 27 January 2005)
International trade union leaders at the Davos World Economic Forum Annual
Meeting this week are warning governments and industry leaders of dangerous
fragility in the global economy. With a ballooning US budget deficit,
precipitous decline in value of the US dollar, persistently high oil prices, and
the increasing shift of global production to China, the livelihoods of tens of
millions of workers in developing and industrial countries around the world are
under threat.
With this year's Davos theme of "Tough Choices", the trade union leaders are
calling for new measures to bring coherence and accountability into global
decision making, and urgent steps to put social concerns at the centre of
international trade and financial policy. The end of the quota system for trade
in textiles and garments is yet another example of how millions of working
people and their families face ruin as a result of unbalanced and incoherent
global decision-making. Several developing countries, such as Bangladesh,
Mauritius, Cambodia and others, face catastrophic loss of textile sector exports
as companies move to China, to take advantage low-wage exploitative production
based on severe repression of basic workers' rights by the Chinese authorities.
"Global leaders can only make the right choices if they are working on the basis
of multilateral decision-making, which takes proper account of the interests and
concerns of working people, upon whom global development and prosperity
depends", said Sharan Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade
Unions and of the ICFTU, adding that "working people all over the world face
growing insecurity, which politicians and business leaders ignore at their
peril".
Burrow is one of the delegations of 17 international trade union leaders at the
Davos event. "The international trade union movement has embarked on a major
process of consolidation, with the unification of the ICFTU and the World
Confederation of Labour. We know that we must work together to meet the
challenges of globalisation. We believe that the global institutions and their
member governments must also look at their own coherence and work together much
more effectively in the future," she said.
The union delegation is also highlighting 'Wal-Martisation' in the way some
companies are now doing business. "Some in the business community hold Wal-Mart
up as a positive example, but the reality for that company's employees is one of
intolerance and exploitation. They face poverty wages, discrimination, poor or
no health care and other violations of their fundamental rights. If other
companies follow this example in a race to the bottom, then the future for the
workers concerned, and their families, will be very bleak indeed" said Philip
Jennings, General Secretary of UNI, the Global Union Federation of workers in
the finance, commerce and service sectors. Jennings also pointed to "double
standards" in some global corporations which, while treating their workers
fairly in their home country, take advantage of poor labour legislation and
inspection to exploit workers elsewhere.
The role of the United States in the world economy is of particular concern, and
the union leaders are calling on the US Administration to put the world's major
economic power back onto the 'right track', moving away from its deficit-driven
policy, re-engaging fully with the multilateral institutions which set the
global policy framework, and ensuring full respect for international labour
standards in the US itself.
With 2005 seen as a "make or break" year for the United Nations' Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), the international trade union movement is intensifying
its action to tackle global poverty. The World Economic Forum's Global
Governance Initiative has recently estimated that governments, business and
civil society are only putting about one-third of the effort needed to achieve
the MDGs. "Urgent and comprehensive action is needed, and we will be pushing
hard for this in 2005 through the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. The
United Kingdom, which has strongly committed itself to the MDGs, is chairing
both the G8 and the European Union this year, so this issue will stay on the
international agenda. The challenge is to turn the promises into reality", said
John Evans, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD.
The union delegation in
Davos will also be holding talks with key leaders on reconstruction in the wake
of the Indian Ocean tsunami, again emphasising that the aid pledges made by
governments must be translated into actual funding, which has not always been
the case in previous disaster responses. The unions will be arguing for stable
and long-term commitment to the reconstruction, with employment creation and
skills training in the affected areas at the centre of efforts. The findings of
a recent international trade union mission to tsunami affected areas will also
be the subject of talks with government, business and NGO representatives at the
World Economic Forum.
To read the full statement click here:
Tsunami disaster: Global
Unions launch reconstruction initiative, OECD DAC informal meeting on
reconstruction phase.
Along side the UN
donor co-ordination meeting in Geneva on 11 January 2005, the ICFTU and its
Global Unions partners launched an
International Trade Union Initiative to
channel funding to sustainable rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the
areas affected by the disaster. The initiative, in which TUAC will actively
participate, will identify reconstruction work where trade unions have a
specific role to play and where union expertise is most needed, including
rebuilding social infrastructure, and will help ensure maximum cohesion in the
trade union movement's reconstruction activities.
The following day, the
OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
held an informal meeting to “take stock of the implications of the humanitarian
crisis for the bilateral donor community, without duplicating the established
international channels for co-ordinating humanitarian action”. Discussions
revolved around how to best position the DAC within the broader international
humanitarian effort and the work of the
UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Several
issues were raised by OECD member states, including: improving aid effectiveness
& linking relief with rehabilitation programmes, developing regional
preparedness & early warning systems, ensuring transparency and reliable
statistics, linking ODA with private sector and civil society initiatives,
preventing risks of aid diversion from other humanitarian initiatives, engaging
wider reflection on lessons to be learnt and guidance on humanitarian relief
operations.
