The post meeting declaration stated that “The Euro-Latin-American trade union movement believe that it is necessary to rid ourselves of neoliberal approaches which have up to now predominated in Europe and many Latin American countries”,
The document was jointly signed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
“In Europe they are dismantling the social model supposedly in response to the crisis. However in Latin America and the Caribbean, the majority of countries have not used the growth to generate greater social inclusion. Furthermore, trade union rights continue to be flouted”, reminded Víctor Báez, TUCA General Secretary.
The unions believe that urgent measures must be taken to promote decent work, to develop employment-generating industrial policies and tax policies to redistribute wealth.
“Today, the policies implemented have been wrongly labelled as austerity policies, these policies only demand sacrifices from the most vulnerable, said ETUC General Secretary Bernadette Ségol. “They are unfair because they attack wages, social protection and collective agreements instead of seriously tackling issues such as fair taxation, wealth redistribution and the fight against tax evasion and fraud.”
According to Isabelle Hoferlin, the ITUC regional coordinator for the Americas, “those who benefit most proudly defend the capitalist model”
“They are so cynical that that they use the tragedy of youth unemployment as an excuse to fire the parents, hiring their children on a lower wage with more precarious labour conditions”, stated Isabelle Hoferlin, the ITUC regional coordinator for the Americas
The trade union demands will be presented at the 1st Summit of Heads of State and Government from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union which will take place in the Chilean capital on the 26 and 27 January 2013.
In view of the proposals that the Governments are expected to adopt this coming January centring on free trade, the trade union movement will focus its discussions on the proposal for a Social Compact for Europe presented by the ETUC. The TUCA is preparing a Sustainable Development Platform for the Americas.
