Sixth World Day for Decent Work to Focus on Building Workers’ Power

From dawn in the Pacific islands to sunset on the west coast of the Americas, workers from more than 100 countries are taking part in a global day of action to demand stronger government action for economic recovery, job creation, decent working conditions and full respect for workers’ rights.

World Day for Decent Work 2013, co-ordinated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), highlights youth unemployment, which is as high as 60% in some countries, and a whole generation of young people faces exclusion from the labour market. This is a social and economic time-bomb.

This year again, unions from across the world will be calling in unison for social justice and decent jobs for all. With governments still unwilling or unable to tame the dominance of global finance and multinationals over peoples’ lives, the only way to get the economy back on track and serving the interests of the many rather than the few is by building workers’ power.

The latest ITUC global opinion poll shows overwhelming public support for laws that protect the right to union membership and collective bargaining; however, tens of millions of workers are denied these rights due to deficient laws, poor enforcement and anti-union practices by employers including some of the world’s biggest multinational companies.

Organising new members is the most crucial task facing the union movement worldwide, and the World Day for Decent Work is a great opportunity to spread the union message far and wide, to reach out to others to help them join their union and to support global solidarity actions for working people.

“Workers’ rights are not negotiable yet a decent work deficit exists in varying degrees in most nations throughout supply chains and for the majority of women and migrants. People feel abandoned by their government as they prioritise business interests over the concerns of working people and their families,” said Sharan Burrow.

See the special website for World Day for Decent Work