General Meeting 2016 - Trade Union Development Cooperation Network
This year’s annual general meeting of the Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) was held between the 5th and 7th of April 2016. Bangkok was host to the meeting’s participants hailing from the four regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
The meeting began with a report on progress in the different areas of the network’s work. Looking ahead, TUDCN’s strategy was discussed and endorsed, including a revision of the advocacy focus. Various levels of targeted engagement were outlined in relation to setting the SDG indicators, with a particular focus on the Decent Work Agenda. The network’s future approach to trade union partnerships was also discussed.
Trade Unions at the inaugural Financing for Development ECOSOC Forum
The ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum (FfD) was held at the UN headquarters in New York from the 18th to the 20th of April 2016. The first in a series of annual follow-up forums, it was set up to focus on the implementation side of the FfD process and was marked by an unwillingness to engage in substantive negotiations on behalf of the US and its allies.
Find the report here and Matt Simonds' analysis here.
2030 Agenda follow-up: High Level Political Forum
The growing inequality in the world is perhaps the single most imposing barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) layed out by the 2030 Agenda. It may come as no surprise that the deepening of this inequality has been accompanied by an erosion of labour institutions. There are countless examples of the role that social dialogue can play in helping reverse this trend and tackle inequality.
"Leaving no one behind" means tackling inequality. The Worker and Trade Union Major Group's submission to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) looks at just what steps can be taken to do so.
The official trade union submission can be reviewed here.
TUDCN Asia-Pacific Caucus
The Asia-Pacific members of TUDCN capitalised on a strong regional attendance at the TUDCN General Meeting, by following it up with a regional caucus on the 8th of April in Bangkok. A mix of new and experienced members were present. Opportunities for the network's regional development were highlighted and the next steps were outlined.
The meeting report as well as related documents can be found here.
TUDCN EU Working Group Meeting
The TUDCN Working Group on EU Development Policies and Advocacy met from the 26th to the 27th of April in Brussels. The meeting, organised in collaboration with the ETUC, covered the following themes: TUDCN action on EU development policies during 2015-2016, the 2030 Agenda implementation and follow-up in Europe and the 2016 EU call for proposals on Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR).
The meeting report as well as related documents can be found here.
News from the TUDCN network
Collection of testimonies from returnee Indian and Nepalese migrant workers from Qatar
This brochure is a collection of first-hand accounts from labour migrants from India and Nepal of their experiences as migrant workers in Qatar. Some shocking insights give us a glimpse of what people are facing in their daily struggle to make a living.
Since 2014, six labour organizations from India and Nepal (GEFONT, NTUC, CFTUI), one domestic workers’ movement (NDWM), the Belgian NGO World Solidarity Movement (WSM) and the Belgian trade union organizations ACV-CSC and ACV-CSC Building – Industry & Energy (ACV BIE) have been collaborating on a pilot project of Migrant workers and Qatar.
Improving labour conditions in the ready-made garment industry
Millions of workers in the textile industry still lack the knowledge and tools to negotiate better working conditions. Violations of their rights continue to be part of the everyday lives of these workers. Low wages that do not amount to a living wage, excessive hours of work, and violence against women at production sites.
In the Netherlands, Fair Wear Foundation, CNV Internationaal and Mondiaal FNV recently signed a Partnership Agreement with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim is to improve labour conditions and worker rights in ready-made garment supply chains in South and Southeast Asia and East Africa.
The Policy Coherence for Development Index (PCDI) is a tool designed to measure, evaluate and compare the behaviour of countries in terms of their sustainable, fair and equitable human development. We propose an alternative to the limited, hegemonic view of the indicators typically used to measure progress and development, especially gross domestic product (GDP).
The report entitled 2016 PCDI: Another way to grow, authored by Platform 2015 in which the Spanish SSOs Instituto Sindical de Cooperación al Desarrollo (ISCOD) and Fundación Paz y Solidaridad Serafín Aliaga Comisiones Obreras participate, offers a complete analysis of the first edition of the PCDI where we evaluate the performance of 133 countries and their commitment to a transformative development model.
Made in China, a quarterly on Chinese labour, civil society, and rights.
In the last few years, the Chinese labour movement has witnessed significant developments, not only with the occurrence of some of the largest strikes in decades but also the emergence of grave challenges for workers and activists. This calls for more serious analysis from both scholars and practitioners, as well for a critical engagement with a broader international audience interested in forging international solidarity.
In this issue of Made in China, you will find summaries of recent events that have taken place in China, as well as a series of columns on specific topics, such as the recent wave of protests in the Chinese state sector and the expected impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on labour rights.
EU Official Development Assistance reaches highest-ever share of Gross National Income
The European Union and its Member States have again kept their place as the world's leading aid donor in 2015, providing more than half of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) reported last year by members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD-DAC), according to the figures published today.
Preliminary figures show that EU collective (EU institutions and Member States) Official Development Assistance has increased to €68 billion in 2015 (up 15% from €59 billion in 2014) – growing for the third year in a row (and reaching its highest level to date). EU collective ODA represented 0.47% of EU Gross National Income (GNI) in 2015, an increase from 0.43% in 2014. This is significantly above the non-EU Development Assistance Committee (DAC) country average of 0.21% ODA/GNI.
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the ITUC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
