The 15th General Council of the ITUC approves a resolution on development
The ITUC General Council gathered in São Paulo on 9-12 October 2015. A resolution on the International Development Agenda following the UN’s adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals was adopted, including a commitment for the ITUC to support the “Global Deal” initiative launched by the government of Sweden.
The General Council hosted a panel debate on trade unions and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Wellington Chibebe (Deputy General Secretary, ITUC) presented the main points of the aforementioned resolution: International Development Agenda, Trade Union International Solidarity and Regional Trade Union Development Networks. This was followed by a discussion with Victor Báez Mosqueira (General Secretary, TUCA-CSA), Sulistri Afrileston (Head of the International Department, KSBSI-Indonesia) and Oscar Ernerot (Ombudsman, LO-Sweden), on the issue of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at regional and national level.
The 2015 Open Coordination Meeting of the Trade Union Development Cooperation Network took place on 24-25 September in Brussels. Network members reviewed the TUDCN activities and strategy for 2015-2016. Among the main issues discussed: Advocacy at EU and Global level, Partnerships, South-South cooperation, research and publications and future events.
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Trade Union reaction
World leaders endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25-27 September 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its targets are ambitious, and the framework Preamble and Declaration are convincing calls to action on a vast and complex agenda. However, The 2030 Agenda is lacking ambition in its commitments to implement the SDGs through financing and progressive public policy, as well as a sound accountability framework. Trade Unions regret the lack of ambition, in particular in the follow-up, review and accountability through binding commitments based on existing international standards.
The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) wins the 2015 Nobel peace Prize!
Trade unions have celebrated with the UGTT, one of the partners of the National Dialogue Quartet awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for a peaceful transition to a democratic future in Tunisia.
Read the ITUC press release.
Read an article by Jacob Rosdahl and Lene Frøslev (LO/FTF Council, Denmark)
Read a blog post by EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica.
Swedish Government signs international cooperation agreement for workers’ rights in the Bangladeshi textile industry
Sweden, Bangladesh and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) signed a cooperation agreement in New York on 26 September, aimed at improving the conditions of workers in the textile industry in Bangladesh and promoting union rights. The agreement, signed by Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin, with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven as witness, is part of A Global Deal – Mr Löfven’s initiative to promote better conditions for workers throughout the world.
Trade unions around the world once again mobilised on October 7, the World Day for Decent Work, under the banner “End Corporate Greed”.
Read the ITUC press release.
See a list of registered activities on the WDDW website.
Watch a dedicated video prepared by USO (Spain).
Victory for Belgian-Peruvian trade union cooperation
By Yolanda Lamas (FGTB, Belgium)
The International Trade Union Cooperation Institute of the FGTB (IFSI) and FGTB Brussels are working with the Peruvian workers’ confederation CGTP on a project to strengthen its department in charge of defending trade union rights, labour standards and collective bargaining. The project has led to the establishment of a legal department within the CGTP, and trade union leaders are receiving training to enable them to set up frontline legal departments within their unions.
Victories for domestic workers in Mexico and Jordan
By Tula Conell (Solidarity Center, USA)
Dozens of union members and their allies from across Mexico gathered in September 2015 to celebrate the official launch of the country’s first domestic workers’ union, SINACTTRAHO. The union’s formation culminated a 15-year struggle for rights on the job by those whose work often goes unrecognized, and today’s events marked the union filing for official government recognition.
TUCA welcomes resolution on debt restructuring adopted by UN
The UN General Assembly approved the resolution advocating a series of nine basic principles for the establishment of a global legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes. The resolution was an initiative of the Argentine government and was supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), which met with President Cristina Kirchner in New York in 2014 to express their support for Argentina’s position with regard to the legal battle against Vulture Funds.
During 2014, ISCOD kept their commitment to solidarity and continued to implement projects in 10 countries and territories of Latin America, the Caribbean and North Africa, as well as providing education for development in Spain. The projects they led during 2014 reached 23,000 direct beneficiaries and indirectly benefitted hundreds of thousands of workers and people in the regions and countries where they operate.
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.