The 2015 General Meeting of the Trade Union Development Cooperation Network took place on 27-29 April in Florence (Italy). Network members gathered in the training centre of Italian trade union CISL in the Tuscan city where they took stock of main activities and results during 2014-2015 and approved the strategy and priorities for 2015-2016.
Find the GM background documents, presentations and conclusions here.
Paola Simonetti appointed as ITUC’s Coordinator for Development Policy
Paola Simonetti has been appointed “Coordinator – Development Policy” at ITUC and she took over in coordinating the Trade Union Development Cooperation Network – TUDCN, replacing Jan Dereymaeker, who retired on 1 May 2015.
Seminar on Organisational Capacity Assessment, Brussels, 19-20 March 2015
TUDCN organised on 19-20 March 2015 in Brussels a seminar on Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA). It was attended by representatives from UNI, Solidarity Center (USA), CGT (Argentina), CSC (Belgium), FNV Mondiaal (Netherlands), CGSLB (Belgium), TUCA, ISCOS (Italy), KSBSI (Indonesia), IndustriALL, CNV (Netherlands), LO-TCO (Sweden), ITUC-Africa, and the TUDCN team.
CSO hearings ahead of 3rd FfD Conference, New York, 8-9 April 2015
On 8-9 April 2015 TUDCN took part in the Civil Society Hearings ahead of to the Third Financing for Development Conference, to be held in Addis Ababa in July this year. Marita González from CGT (Argentina) spoke about the need to mobilise national resources for the provision of public services, and called for a more consistent approach internationally to ensure that national governments are given sufficient margin for manoeuvre to broaden their tax base progressively.
Read the Trade Union position on Financing for Development (FfD) here.
EESC event on the Post-2015 agenda, Brussels, 14 April 2015
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organised on 14 April 2015 the seminar “Setting the agenda for a sustainable future - the road to the UN summit on the Post-2015 agenda”.
Maresa Le Roux, representative of the Belgian Trade Union CGSLB-ACLVB, presented the Trade Union input on the EU Communication “A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015”.
Chibebe stressed the need for creating space for participation of CSOs and trade unions in national policy setting on development. He said social dialogue is crucial in this respect as development does not ‘trickle down’ on its own, but rather governments should be held accountable for what they do to foster inclusive development. Social dialogue and collective bargain are vital conditions for improving not only working conditions but more extensively for fighting societal inequalities, he added.
Social dialogue: The 'how-to' for social and economic development
The Deputy General Secretary of the ITUC, Wellington Chibebe, published an article on DEVEX on how social dialogue is a tool for social and economic development.
Rana Plaza 2 Years Later: Garment Workers under Siege
by Tula Connell (Solidarity Center)
In the initial months after the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, 2013, a preventable catastrophe that killed more than 1,130 Bangladesh garment workers and injured thousands more, global outrage spurred much-needed changes.
South-South cooperation in action: Five practical examples shared between the CGSLB and its partner organisations
By the International Service of the CGSLB (Belgium)
In 2014, CGSLB partners met in Johannesburg, South Africa, to exchange good trade union practices. The partners from South Africa, Burundi, Burkina Faso and Senegal came to explain one of their good practices in the field of trade union training, social dialogue and capacity building. All the participants had an opportunity to respond to the presentations.
Trade Union Forum of the Americas, Panama, 10 and 11 April 2015
The Trade Union Forum of the Americas, convened by the TUCA with the support of the Panamanian trade union centres, was held in Panama, during the week of the Summit of the Americas, on 10 and 11 April 2015.
It is widely agreed that development cooperation budgets are marginal compared to the financial flows from trade, investment and even the remittances sent by a country’s emigrants..
A new development co-operation organization has seen the light of day. The new organization stems from the LO-TCO Secretariat of International Trade Union Development Co-operation, originally founded in the 1970’s by two out of three Swedish trade union confederations, LO and TCO. The 7th of May 2015, the third confederation, Saco, officially joined and “Union to Union” was born.
MY World is a global survey for citizens led by the United Nations and partners. It aims to capture people’s voices, priorities and views, so that global leaders can be informed as they begin the process of defining the new development agenda for the world.
European Report on Development 2015: Combining finance and policies to implement a transformative post-2015 development agenda
The European Report on Development (ERD) is an independent report that is published since 2009. It aims to stimulate debate and research on topics of major relevance for development and to enhance the European perspective in international development. The report is currently supported by the European Commission and four Member States – Finland, France, Germany and Luxembourg.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik) (GDI/DIE), the University of Athens (Department of Economics, Division of International Economics and Development) and the Southern Voice Network integrate the research consortium that prepares the ERD.
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.
