Mendoza,
Argentina, 3 September 2018 (ITUC Online, TUAC Online):
The vast majority of
the world’s people are still waiting for increased job security, higher wages
and access to universal social protection, warn unions ahead of the G20 Labour
Ministers meeting in Argentina 6-7 September.
“Inequality
is at an historic high and is rising with no sign of abating and workers’ wages
are stagnating while productivity and profits soar. Global economic growth is
not reaching the pockets of working people. Meanwhile, the concentration of
wealth is increasing, with 50 companies holding a combined wealth equivalent to
100 countries. The dominance of digital businesses whose massive stock prices are
not based on real profits is a risk to workers, competition, tax revenues and
the economy as a whole”, said Pierre Habbard, General Secretary, Trade Union
Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).
The
current economic model has contributed to the decline in the labour share of
income across, and to wages systematically falling behind productivity growth –
a model that denies workers their fair share of the fruits of economic
progress.
Ninety-four
per cent of workers in the world’s supply chains are in low-wage, insecure and often unsafe work. Seventy
per cent of the world has no or inadequate social protection while at least US$21 trillion is stashed away
in tax havens.
“Raising
wages, strengthening social protection, enhancing collective bargaining and
reducing inequality can lift employment, reduce informality, strengthen
aggregate demand and promote overall economic development and growth,” said
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
However,
five-year trend data from the ITUC Global Rights Index shows the decline of
collective bargaining and workers’ rights, between 2014 and 2018:
-
exclusion from freedom of association
has increased by 15 % (80 countries to 92 countries);
-
violations of collective bargaining has
increased by 32% (87 countries to 115 countries);
-
violation of the right to strike has
increased by 41% (87 countries to 123 countries).
Trade
unions are calling on the G20 Labour Ministers to commit to a nine-point plan,
which deepens and goes beyond past commitments:
-
Ensuring minimum wages are based on and
adjusted according to the cost of living;
-
Promoting freedom of association and
collective bargaining, particularly on wages;
-
Reinforcing and investing in universal
social protection systems;
-
Purging global supply chains of
precariousness, informality, slavery and child labour and ensuring that
companies take responsibility for their obligations towards workers including
by incorporating human rights due diligence throughout their operations;
-
Dealing with climate change and
contributing to the realising of the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement
by promoting and implementing strategies for a Just Transition to a low-carbon
economy;
-
Preparing the workforce for a ‘Just
Transition’ to a digital future of work;
-
Promoting gender pay equality and
anti-discrimination in the labour market; investing massively in the care
economy and training to create new jobs and lift millions of others out of
informality; also, violence in the workplace must be addressed including with
legislation on domestic violence leave;
-
Addressing the persistent high youth
unemployment levels including through active labour market policies and
investment in formal training; and
-
Planning for the integration of
refugees and migrants and lifting barriers to social inclusion.
The
G20 must not lose sight of commitments made on the labour income share, fair
wage policy principles, workers’ rights throughout and inside global supply
chains, the equal participation of women and men in employment and wages, youth
inclusion, occupational health and safety and skills development.
“Last
years’ G20 Labour Ministers declared that violation of workers’ rights could
not be part of the competition. This needs to be made real. All employers must
take responsibility for decent work for all their workers, whether directly
employed or through contractors in supply chains,” said Sharan Burrow.
The
latest findings from the 2018 Walk Free Slavery Index make delivering on this
commitment an imperative. G20 countries annually import over $US354bn ‘at
risk’ products, produced from sectors in countries where people are subjected
to forced labour.
According
to Walk Free, twelve G20 countries are yet to formally enact laws or policies
to stop businesses sourcing goods from forced labour. Australia, Brazil,
China, France, Germany, Italy, UK and US have all introduced or are taking
steps to introduce laws that would tackle modern slavery – others need to do
the same.
“Inequality,
unemployment, modern slavery, historic levels of displacement of people,
violence against women, marginalised young people, increasing military conflict
with an escalation of spending on armaments – we live in a fractured
world and it is the G20 must who show the leadership to effect change. The
rules of the global economy must be rewritten to grow sustainable economies,” said
Burrow.
The
Labour 20 holds a two-day summit in Mendoza, Argentina on 4-5 September
ahead of a consultation with the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers.
For interviews with Sharan Burrow or
more information on the L20 contact Gemma Swart gemma.swart@ituc-csi.org +32 479 06 41 63
For interviews with Pierre Habbard
contact Anna Byhovskaya, byhovskaya@tuac.org
The ITUC represents 207 million members
of 331 affiliates in 163 countries and territories.
Follow us on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 03 52 or mail to: press@ituc-csi.org
