World’s Unions Demand ‘Decent Work for a Decent Life’

by James Parks, Jan 24, 2007

The supporters of globalization claim unfettered free trade would create sufficient prosperity to raise the living standards of just about everyone. But the reality is that while some—mainly the rich—have profited from globalization, millions of workers still are living in poverty.

So when the world’s political and economic elite gather for their annual World Economic Forum Jan. 24–28 in the Swiss resort of Davos, union leaders from around the world will be there to remind them that globalization doesn’t work unless it works for everyone.

The union delegation, led by International Trade Union Conference (ITUC) General Secretary Guy Ryder and ITUC President Sharan Burrow, will demand that corporate and political leaders put decent work at the center of global economic policy.

The “Decent Work for a Decent Life” campaign, launched Monday in Nairobi, Kenya, calls for global economic policies to ban discrimination, provide living wages, protect workers from exploitation and allow workers the freedom to form a union. Although some of these ideas are beginning to seep into international policies, the main global economic actors, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank, are not promoting them, Ryder says:

We need to make those actors change their minds and realize that international trade and economic growth alone are neither creating enough good jobs nor eradicating poverty. Decent work is a central part of the solution to globalization’s unpopularity. Decent work is a priority for everyone and one of the key factors for getting us out of the current situation. International trade and economic growth must be linked to that notion.

In a statement to the World Economic Forum, the unions say the increasingly rapid shift of economic power away from working people has undermined fundamental rights at work and diminished workers’ share of the gains in productivity.

In spite of strong global economic growth over the past few years, the statement says the world’s economy is marked by high rates of unemployment, fewer social protections such as health care and increased pressure on union workers to give back benefits in collective bargaining. The statement also condemns the increased use of private equity and hedge funds to buy companies.

The unions also make it clear that when workers do not have the freedom to form unions, the world economy will not work:

How can some parts of business think that they are an example to follow for governments and international institutions when they undermine democracy and human rights by, among other things, refusing to let its workers organize and bargain together, work to weaken labor laws and engage in union busting?

Far too many business leaders and employers talk about their role as corporate citizens and their contribution to the world, but nevertheless limit their real solidarity to their own boardrooms. The international trade union movement will continue to work with those companies and employers that are doing the right thing in relation to their society, the environment and their employees, yet while persistently exposing those that are not.

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Tags: International Trade Union Conference, globalization, poverty, World Economic Forum
Channels: Economy