Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary
Working people are living through multiple, simultaneous crises: the climate emergency, historic levels of inequality, a pandemic that is devastating lives and livelihoods, the crippling price rises for energy and food from Putin’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine and a crumbling, multilateral global system with peace and democracy under threat.
Trust in governments was already falling, and this collapse of hope and rise of despair and anger can only be addressed by a new social contract for all: Jobs, rights, wages, social protection, equality, inclusion.
7 June: G7 Summit
We call on the G7 leaders meeting in Germany to make their focus jobs, rights and social protection. The world needs 575 million more jobs by 2030 and the ILO has shown that investing in care, infrastructure and just climate transition would take us well towards that target, while we have shown how social protection can be financed.
22 June: #CEPOW: Global day of action to climate and employment proof our work
Working people around the world will meet their employers in June to discuss plans to make their businesses sustainable and resilient. You can join the campaign here to create a secure future of climate-friendly jobs.
30 May – 18 June: International Labour Conference
It has been three years since the ILO Centenary Conference agreed to adopt occupational health and safety as a fundamental right at work. Three years during which around 8.1 million people have died as a result of their work and many more live with life-altering injuries and illnesses.
We expect that this ILC will finally adopt the new fundamental right, then the work begins to use this recognition to improve the daily life of working people.
Also, governments, unions and employers will meet to negotiate a standard on apprenticeships, review employment strategies to generate jobs and decent work including formalising informal work and developing the social and solidarity economy.
Finally, we expect the committee on application of standards to prioritise the countries where the situation for working people is most critical.
21 June: Anniversary of C190 and R206
It was the ILC in 2019 that adopted Convention 190 (C190) and Recommendation 206 (R206) that aim to tackle violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment, to achieve greater equality.
Fourteen countries have ratified C190. Working people, especially women, should not have to wait any longer. If your government has not completed the ratification process, use our toolkit to build pressure on them to #RatifyC190.
4 June: Tiananmen Square massacre candlelight vigil
The human rights of the people of Hong Kong are now under sustained attack as the Chinese Communist Party reinforces its political takeover. This makes it more important than ever that we mark the anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square.
We must keep the memory of these events alive and show our solidarity to help keep the light of democracy burning in Hong Kong.
We are watching events closely in the Philippines to see if the new government continues the campaign of oppression and terror perpetrated by the Duterte regime. We are ready to expose any wrongdoing and support the trade unions there in their work for human rights.
The 2022 ITUC Global Rights Index will be published this month when we will see a comprehensive picture of the rights of working people around the world.
Ukraine
We continue to provide humanitarian support to people inside Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries, thanks to the overwhelming support from organisations and individuals to our humanitarian fundraising appeal. Thank you for your generosity.
This work is done in close cooperation with the ETUC, our Ukrainian affiliates and unions in neighbouring countries. The support ranges from provision of humanitarian supplies through to advisory services for people displaced from Ukraine in to nearby countries. This includes advice of the right to work, as well as ensuring that refugees are able to access vital services.
In solidarity,
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary
@SharanBurrow