The ITUC and its Global Unions partner organisations (this includes the PSI) have called on the Washington-based international financial institutions to adopt strategies that challenge the trend of increased income and wealth inequality in much of the world. The ministerial-level, Northern hemisphere, “Spring Meetings” of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank begin this Friday in Washington.The IMF’s latest economic growth forecasts, released on Tuesday, predict a slight increase in global growth but also highlight to threats to economic stability posed by policy uncertainties in many countries. In several countries, governments have announced contradictory and frequently harmful initiatives involving protectionist measures, victimisation of migrants and refugees, and tax cuts and deregulation for corporations.
The statement submitted by the ITUC and its Global Unions partner organisations to the April 2017 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank is available here or at
https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/statement.imfwb.0417.pdf
The ITUC and Global Unions, including the PSI, statement -
- Expresses concern "IFI forecasts do not announce improvements for working people"
- Calls "Promote gender
equality through decent work and public investment in social
infrastructure "
- Calls for "Financing a
just transition to a sustainable global economy"
- The continuing
"Reduction of inequality: Actions should follow words"
- Calls for
" Cooperation for implementing World Bank’s new labour
safeguard"
- " Global Unions’
recommendations" -
- Include public
investment stimulus and coordinated wage increases
- Public investments in
education, the care economy, water and sanitation and other quality public
services,
- Investments in
energy-efficient infrastructure and climate change mitigation projects
- Trade and investment
agreements of enforceable labour provisions based on ILO standards
- The repeal of
investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms that undermine governments’ right to regulate
- Cooperation for implementing
World Bank’s new labour safeguard
- Measures for creating decent
work and reducing inequality
- End the promotion of labour
market deregulation, including through its funding conditionality, and
instead help to reverse the rise in income inequality by supporting social
dialogue,
The full ITUC media item can be located at https://www.ituc-csi.org/global-unions-urge-ifis-to
(Above item prepared from ITUC media)
