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Focus

 
Trade unions at 4th Global meeting of the EU Policy Forum on Development


The 4th Global Policy Forum on Development (PFD) saw actors from across the development spectrum come together in Brussels. The TUDCN coordinated the trade union representation at the three-day event which took place from the 14th to the 16th of March. The event was attended by over 160 people representing civil society organisations (CSOs), Local Authorities (LAs), the private sector, the EU institutions and EU Member States.

Trade union representatives included: Haridasan Parayarikkal (ITUC AP), Anne-Cécile Coly (UNSAS, Senegal), Adrien Akouete (ITUC Africa), Marita González (CGT Argentina), Hilma Mote (ITUC Africa), Gemma Arpaia (ISCOS-CISL, Italy), Karin Debroey (CSC Belgium), Anton Leppik (PERC-ITUC) and Diego López González, Joan Lanfranco and Theo Morrissey from ITUC.

Read the full 2016 PFD report

Following the PFD meeting, the EU CSO Forum 2016, organised by the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, brought together over 600 participants over two days. Civil society organisations active in the field of human rights and development took part in this consultation forum.



Read the full CSO Forum report
Policies and advocacy

 
2nd Joint OECD-DAC and Trade Union Forum: “Donors and labour movement strategies to implement the UN 2030 Agenda”

The 2nd Joint OECD-DAC and Trade Union Forum, organised in Paris by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and the Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) addressed the potential for labour and donors to engage on shared strategies to implement the 2030 Agenda and its goals and targets. The meeting served to share innovative approaches and policies that have proven effective at country level to reduce inequalities and to sustain country-led development.

The meeting report and joint conclusions
New TUDCN brochure "Trade unions as actors of development education and awareness raising for global solidarity"

Workers’ education has been at the core of trade union efforts since their creation, and awareness raising has always been one of the key actions of trade unions in the form of organising, campaigning, etc. DEAR interventions have therefore been going on for many decades within trade unions, in the context of international solidarity actions with colonised peoples, against dictatorships and against apartheid, among others. This work has been evolving towards more elaborate forms of DEAR actions and programmes that show a great expertise on the part of trade unions on the subject.

A new TUDCN brochure puts forward the role and added value that trade unions have in development education and awareness raising.
The development effectiveness of supporting the private sector with ODA funds - New TUDCN/CPDE report


Development funding is increasingly being channelled through Development Finance Institutions. These national institutions are particularly solicited when using development aid money to free up further investment, known as leveraging. When used well, these tools have the potential to allow sectors of developing countries’ economies that wouldn’t otherwise attract investment to strengthen and expand. However, this recent publication highlights a number of alarming shortfalls in how these institutions operate that can seriously undermine international development goals.
The relevance of social dialogue in development - New TUDCN/CPDE studies


In the framework of its work-stream on the relevance of social dialogue for development, the TUDCN has undertaken three national case studies: Indonesia, Ghana and Uruguay. Social dialogue within these three countries is analysed in its various forms, with particular focus on the formalisation of these dialogues at different administrative levels and its contribution to development. The studies are authored by national trade union specialists and include examples of good practice as well as of limitations of the different contexts. Conclusions and recommendations based on the analysis are also outlined. The studies are funded by the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness.

News from the TUDCN network


Kinshasa's taxi-bike drivers now have a representational body: a success of Belgo-Congolese cooperation


By Guy Mpembele Kisoka, executive secretary of external relations UNTC, DRC.
 
A fine example of how to ensure trade unions can reach workers in the informal economy is brought to us from the DRC. Financed by the Belgian francophone community and coordinated by Belgium's liberal trade union (CGSLB - ACLVB) as well as by the DRC's Union Nationale des Travailleurs, this project has seen the creation of a new trade union. Its specific focus on motorbike taxis can serve as an example of how trade unions can organise in the informal sector.
Private sector involvement in development
By Elodie AÏSSI (Institut Belleville - CFDT France)

On the 9th of February, a meeting of the French National Council for Development and International Solidarity (CNDSI) took place in Paris. At it were present representatives from: the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI), the French Development Agency (AFD), trade unions and local authorities. The above mentioned study entitled The development effectiveness of supporting the private sector with ODA funds was tabled and its implications discussed.

Read more

News from the development community

 
Survey shows highest support for development aid amongst EU citizens in 6 years

Figures show that almost nine out of ten EU citizens support development (89% - a 4 percentage point increase since 2014. More than half say that promised levels of aid should be delivered by the EU, with a further 16% saying aid should be increased beyond what is already promised.
UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Design (ESD)


The UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development honours outstanding projects by individuals, institutions and organizations related to ESD.

The prize, which is funded by the Government of Japan, consists of three annual awards of USD 50,000 for each recipient. It was awarded for the first time by the Director-General of UNESCO in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 5 November 2015. The deadline for submission for the 2016 selection process is the 30 April 2016
Promoting Good Tax-Governance in Third-Countries: The Role of The EU
 
Globalization is knitting separate national economies into a single world economy. This is occurring as a result of rising flows of trade and investment, greater labour mobility, and rapid transfers of technology. Deregulation of financial markets, reductions in trade and investment barriers, and reduced communications and transportation costs have spurred those trends. High tax rates are more difficult to sustain in this new economic environment. As economic integration increases, individuals and particularly businesses gain greater freedom to take advantage of foreign economic opportunities. However, the lack of transparency is giving rise to political concerns to opposition to unfair international tax competition. Against this background, this paper by the European Parliament's think tank sets out some suggestions for how the EU could use taxation to promote good governance in third countries and intensify its work in this area.
ILO Development Cooperation Dashboard: What it is - How it works

The ILO Development Cooperation Dashboard offers customizable views of ILO development cooperation funded by voluntary contributions around the world. It shows the expenditure of core voluntary contributions (Regular Budget Supplementary Account - RBSA - since 2008) and non-core voluntary contributions (Extra-budgetary Technical Cooperation - XBTC, since 2005).

Upcoming events


ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum (New York)
18 to 20 April 2016

High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the SDGs (New York)
21 April 2016

TUDCN Working Group on EU Development Policies and Advocacy
(Brussels)
26 and 27 April 2016

European Development Days (Brussels)
15 and 16 June 2016

CPDE Global Council (Brussels)
15 and 16 June 2016

High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (New York)
10 to 22 July 2016

14th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - UNCTAD (Nairobi)
17 to 22 July 2016

See the 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
Agenda 2030
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.