ACTRAV Symposium: 'Strengthen Workers’ Participation in the United Nations System and Impact on the Bretton Woods Institutions'

From 24-28 September 2001 the Bureau for Workers’Activities organized an international symposium on incorporating social concerns and core labour standards into the policies and operations of international financial institutions. It seeked to strengthen workers' participation in the United Nations system and impact on the Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
While the international financial institutions gradually have become more receptive to dialogue with global trade unions,a discussion paper prepared for the symposium argues that their policies still fail to address the negative consequences of globalization for workers around the world.The document, entitled 'Trade unions and the global economy: An unfinished story', points to a number of instances where the policies of the financial institutions run contrary to ILO core Conventions, namely on the right to bargain collectively, and to universally-accepted provisions for social protection.