ILO Symposium to promote social concerns in international financial institutions

Mike Moore, WTO Director General today (September 26) addressed an ILO/ACTRAV Symposium on "Strengthening workers’ participation in the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions". The Symposium is attended by union leaders from 50 countries as well as for the first time by senior officials from the entire international trade union movement. Trade unionists put special emphasis on making the WTO more responsive to the needs and demands of workers ahead of the fourth ministerial conference of the WTO to be held in Qatar at the beginning of November. Core labour standards, development issues, the future of public services, in particular health and education, and the fight against AIDS were among the key concerns expressed by trade unionists.

Geneva, September 21 2001 (ACTRAV Info): Incorporating social concerns and core labour standards into the policies and operations of international financial institutions (IFIs) will be the central theme of an International Symposium organized for trade unions by the Bureau for Workers’ activities (ACTRAV) at the ILO. The symposium, to be held at ILO Geneva Headquarters, on September 24-28, will seek to "strengthen workers’ participation in the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions".

Amidst calls for greater openness and transparency, international financial institutions have gradually become more receptive to dialogue with global trade unions. Yet, a discussion paper prepared for the symposium argues that their policies still fail to address the negative consequences of globalization on workers around the world.

The document entitled "Trade unions and the global economy: an unfinished story", points to a number of instances where IFI’s policies run contrary to ILO core Conventions, namely on the right to bargain collectively, and to universally-accepted provisions for social protection.
(http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actrav/papers/swpbw_01.htm).

"The evidence is now clear-cut that the uniform model of structural adjustment imposed on developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s destroyed far more economies than it assisted. Vicious reductions in spending on health and education were socially destabilizing and economically detrimental by reducing countries’ long-term human resource potential. All that was achieved was the preservation of a veneer of debt repayment that benefited a handful of the world’s most profitable commercial banks", says a statement by one of the leading global unions. Senior officials from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and International Trade Secretariats (ITSs) will attend the Geneva Symposium together with union leaders from 50 countries. Representatives from the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization are also expected to take part.

While discussing the evolution in relationship between trade unions and relevant international institutions, participants will formulate strategies aimed at influencing reforms engaged by the Bretton Wood institutions and the WTO and at promoting constructive dialogue with the labour movement. It is the first time that representatives from the whole international trade union movement will examine together and discuss issues related to the Bretton Woods institutions and theWTO.

Special emphasis will also be placed on making the WTO more responsive to the needs and demands of workers ahead of the fourth ministerial conference of the WTO to be held in Qatar at the beginning of November. "The rules and rulings of the WTO have a direct impact on workers around the world", said Manuel Simón, ACTRAV Director. "Workers’organizations have an important role to play in ensuring that the benefits of trade liberalization are shared amongst all people".

For information on the symposium please contact Faith O’Neill, ACTRAV, tel.:++41 22 799 6150 (oneill@ilo.org). The Symposium working paper is available on the ILO web site:http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actrav/papers/swpbw_01.htm