VII Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Leaders’ Summit and to the II ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting - Trade Union Statement

"Promoting decent work and shaping the social dimension of globalisation"

This is a critical moment for ASEM to take action, faced with a world crisis that is
spiralling out of control. ASEM Leaders must rise to the challenge and work on a
major recovery plan to stave off the risks of a global recession and get back on the
track to the creation of decent work and meeting the millennium development goals.

The decision of ASEM Leaders to add a regular high level dialogue on labour and
employment issues to the ASEM process comes at a juncture when the global economy
is beset by a series of crises – the food and energy crises, and the financial market
slowdown that threaten to put the clock back on hardwon
gains in poverty alleviation,
increase inflation and plunge over 100 million people back below the $1 a day poverty
threshold. Workers in Europe and Asia, highly preoccupied by the human and social
impact of those crises, call upon all ASEM governments to take the appropriate
measures to help those most immediately affected, and to engage in longterm
fundamental global governance reforms to prevent other crises from happening...

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Trade Union Statement to the VII ASEM Leaders’ Summit and to the II ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting