Focus


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.


List of contents


Policies and advocacy
 
Upcoming events

Useful links


Policies and advocacy
 
TUDCN 2015 Open Coordination Meeting
 

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.

More information and meeting report
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.

Read the full Trade Union reaction to the UN 2030 Agenda.

Read also the speech by Education International President Susan Hopgood at the SDGs Summit, of on behalf of the Workers and Trade Unions Major Group.

News from the TUDCN network


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.

Read more
World Day for Decent Work 2015
 
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.

Read more
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.

Read more
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.

Read more
ISCOD 2014 Activity Report

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.

Read more

News from the development community


TUC Global International Development Matters - Issue 145 September 2015


 
Read more
CPDE News Issue No. 8, July-September 2015
 

 
Read more

Upcoming events


TUDCN Africa regional meeting - focus on advocacy/partnerships (Dakar)
23-24/11/2015

TUDCN-ACTRAV seminar on Sustainable Development Goals (Paris)
12-13/12/2015

2nd Trade Union-DAC Forum (Paris)
14/12/2015

TUDCN Africa regional development network meeting - focus on partnerships/thematic programmes (Lomé)
Week of 22-26/02/2016 (exact date TBD)


See TUDCN calendar

Useful links


Trade Union Development Cooperation Network
International Trade Union Confederation
Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
International Labour Organisation
ILO's Bureau of Workers' Activities (ACTRAV)
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Social Watch
Post2015.org
Directorate General for Development and Cooperation, European Commission
European Parliament Committee on Development
Business and Human Rights
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Trade Union Development Cooperation Network - TUDCN
c/o International Trade Union Confederation
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5, Bte 1 - 1210 Brussels - Belgium
http://www.ituc-csi.org/development-cooperation
[email protected]
    
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.