Brussels, May 24 2007: The Decent Work, Decent Life campaign* has welcomed a report adopted yesterday in the European Parliament report on promoting decent work** for all and called for swift action to ensure the European Commission implements its recommendations.
“With the EU in the midst of negotiating a number of bilateral free trade agreements, and the Doha round in trouble, it is more important than ever that the report’s recommendations, which put decent work at the heart of trade and development policies of the EU, be implemented”, Guy Ryder, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation said today.
“It is up to the European Union to take a lead in promoting decent work in the world", said John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
“The report provides a clear direction for how the EU’s stated aim of economic and social justice within and outside its borders can be implemented. We have the policies, we have the support of the ILO, now all we need is the political will. For the sake of millions of people who desperately need decent work to lift themselves out of poverty, we urge the Commission to urgently set about enacting these proposals,” Conny Reuter, the Secretary General of Solidar commented.
The report calls for, amongst other things:
• The inclusion of the decent work agenda in the EU’s multilateral and bilateral negotiating mandates arising from the “Global Europe” strategy;
• The strengthening of the role of the International Labour Organisation in international governance through the establishment of a trade and decent work committee at the WTO and support for the ILO’s Decent Work Country Programs;
• The inclusion of decent work in development strategies through its inclusion in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements;
• The penalisation of governments which do not fully implement the ILO’s core labour standards under the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences.
“The inclusion of decent work in the EU’s development strategies is paramount to maximizing the effectiveness of aid in poverty reduction. However, for as long as the EU’s policies on trade and development continue to lack coherence, we will condemned to the one step forward, two steps back approach. The latest incarnation of this is the inclusion of the Singapore issues and the threat to public services presented in the Commission’s “Global Europe” strategy, also tackled at this session of Parliament” argued Bart Verstraeten from Social Alert International.
Harlem Desir, Socialist MEP and the Vice-President of the Global Progressive Forum who acted as the shadow rapporteur welcomed the report’s adoption.
“Promoting decent work in all international institutions, including the WTO corresponds not only to the values of the EU, it is also in our interest to promote a regulated globalisation. Decent work should serve as a framework for international trade and ensure that it doesn’t develop to the detriment of other international objectives such as social protection and rights, ” he concluded.
For comment and information contact:
Elizabeth Tapper. Solidar. Tel 02 500 1031. [email protected]
Mathieu Debroux. ITUC. Tel 0476 621 018. [email protected]
*The Decent Work campaign is led by the International Trade Union Confederation, Solidar, the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert International and the European Trade Union Confederation.
**Decent Work is a key element in building fair, equitable and inclusive societies based on the principles of access to employment, workers’ rights, equality between women and men, social protection and social dialogue.
Founded on 1 November 2006, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 304 national affiliates. Website: www.ituc-csi.org
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.
