Trade Unions at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the annual event set up to follow-up and review the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was held in the United Nations headquarters in New York from the 11th to the 20th of July 2016. A trade union delegation was present and provided updates.
The second week of the HLPF saw presentations from 22 governments about the steps being taken to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The National Voluntary Reviews, as they are known, are a key component of the follow up and review process which underpins the 2030 Agenda. They are the mechanism for governments to report on progress and challenges to achieving the targets set out by the SDGs. Matt Simonds gives us some insights into how the review process went.
The fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) took place in Nairobi, Kenya from the 17th to the 22nd of July 2016. The theme: from decision to action: moving toward an inclusive and equitable global economic environment for trade and development. While national governments are ill equipped to deal with multinational giants on a fair footing, contributions of international organisations can often have contradictory impacts. While UNCTAD can play a vital role in addressing these imbalances, the outcome document lacks the ambition to help it do so.
Trade unions at the 5th Biennial High-level Meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF)
The fifth biennial High-level Meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) took place in New York on 21-22 July 2016, as part of the High-level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It focused on the importance and potential of development cooperation as a lever for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A trade union delegation attended the event.
Launch of the Spotlight Report on Sustainable Development
The Spotlight Report on Sustainable Development, launched at the HLPF2016 on 11 July 2016, is the first civil society assessment of the 2030 Agenda and its implementation at global level. It brings together a broad range of environmental, development and human rights groups, as well as trade unions and social justice organizations. The report provides for an important avenue for progressive civil society organizations to address systemic issues, structural obstacles and contradictions in the 2030 Agenda, shaping the discourse around its monitoring its implementation.
Trade unions at the Steering Committee meeting of the GPEDC
Wellington Chibebe, ITUC Deputy General Secretary, attended the 10th Steering Committee meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), in New York on 14-15 July 2016. The meeting discussed preparations for the upcoming High-Level meeting (HLM2), that will take place in Nairobi on 29 November-1 December 2016.
ITUC-Africa at the launch of the OECD Development Co-operation Report 2016
On 18 July 2016, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) launched its 2016 "Development Co-operation Report: The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities" at a side event in the framework of the HLPF2016. The report explores the potential and challenges of investing in developing countries, in particular through social impact investment, blended finance and foreign direct investment. It also provides guidance on responsible business conduct and outlines the challenges in mobilising and measuring private finance to achieve the SDGs.
CSO recommendations on the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s approach to incorporating Private Sector Instruments in ODA
The TUDCN has contributed to a joint submission of CSOs to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The submission provides the DAC with recommendations on its approach to incorporating Private Sector Instruments in development cooperation and warns of certain pitfalls to avoid.
Trade Unions at the European Development Days 2016
The European Development Days (EDDs) is a yearly event organised by the European Commission, which brings together actors from across the development community. For its tenth edition, the EDDs focused on the ‘Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development’. The two-day event was held on the 15th and 16th of June 2016 in Brussels and trade unions were present.
Trade Unions welcome the emphasis given to the role of decent work, civil society and the SDGs in the new Global Strategy for EU Foreign and Security Policy
On 28 June 2016, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini, unveiled the Global Strategy on EU Foreign and Security Policy (EU Global Strategy). This document addresses the challenges of EU foreign policy in a more connected, contested and complex world, and paves the way to recalibrate the different tools of the EU’s external action in a more coherent and efficient manner.
Development priorities of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council
The TUDCN has contributed to a joint submission of CSOs to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The submission provides the DAC with recommendations on its approach to incorporating Private Sector Instruments and warns of certain pitfalls to avoid.
A special report from Equal Times provides a wealth of case studies that frame the issues at hand in attempting to bring an end to informal work. With the support of LO/FTF Council (Denmark), the report aims to help boost the visibility of the ILO's work on this front.
Experience sharing on organising informal economy workers in Africa
By the General Confederation of Belgian Liberal Unions - photograph by World Bank (Creative Commons, flickr)
Members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) visited Dakar for a workshop with their Senegalese counterparts from the Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs du Sénégal (CNTS). The representatives of these two trade union organisations met to discuss trade union organising and representation of informal economy workers.
A Just Transition for our common home: renewable energy, labour and poverty eradication
By Gemma Arpaia, ISCOS CISL
The respect for and defense of basic human and labour rights during a transition process and outcome must be at the core of any just energy transition process. In all countries, but particularly in those endowed with large fossil fuel reserves, it will require exploring the incentives, regulations and finance needed to assist their transformation until its results become established and self-standing.
Domestic workers see gains, yet struggle for Decent Work
By Tula Connell (Solidarity Center) - photo credit Sam Leighton (Creative Commons, flickr)
Some 53 million workers labor in households around the world, often in isolation and at risk of exploitation and abuse. Guire, an Ivory Coast migrant domestic worker in Rabat, Morocco, is among them. Guire, a mother of four children who has worked two years for her employer, toils long hours for low pay and says her employer treats her poorly.
Hundreds of Dominican food workers win union By Geoff Herzog
More than half of the workers at the eight Frito Lay worksites in the Dominican Republic who sought a voice on the job received official verification of their new union in recent days, culminating a process that began in April 2016.
International development cooperation: a trade union perspective
By Giulia Massobrio & Kjeld Jacobsen (CSA-TUCA)
Since the 1980s, the total resources transferred from developing countries to developed countries for external debt repayment exceeded 3 times the amount that dedicated to development cooperation. This article looks at the path of development cooperation and at the role of trade unions in building more sustainable societies.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations. It aims to contribute to the economic and social development of Latin America. Etiel Moraga Contreras (CUT Chile) and Marita Gonzalez (CGT Argentina), on behalf of the CSA-TUCA were present at its 36th session in Mexico City, from the 24th to the 27th of May 2016. The meeting established the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development as a regional mechanism to follow-up and review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Trade Union Declaration to the General Assembly of the OAS
The 46th regular session of the General Assembly of the OAS was held from the 13th to the 15th of June 2016 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Trade Unions presented a set of recommendations for the institutional strengthening for sustainable development in the Americas.
Sotermun's 5th photo contest: decent work for a decent life
'Decent work for a decent life', is the theme for this edition of Spanish SSO Sotermun's photo competition. It is up and running so if you think you can capture it, get to your camera and send in some snaps of what it means to you.
Aid and poverty: probing ADB programs for Asia’s poor
This Reality Check, by Reality of Aid, advocates for key messages relating to the performance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a major development institution in the region. This Issue looks into the Bank’s mandates, policy priorities, and strategies in eradicating poverty and inequality in Asia and the Pacific using development effectiveness benchmarksand unique perspectives from the civil society.
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.
