africa/global: call for social governance to drive globalisation
In a submission to the ILO Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation, which holds its third meeting in Geneva on 12 - 16 October, the ICFTU has called for social governance and regulation to be put at the centre of globalisation. The ICFTU submission points to the tremendous imbalance between economic and social interests in the world economy, with financial crises hitting a succession of countries over recent years, major companies collapsing due to dishonesty, mismanagement and corruption, and increasing violations of workers' rights around the world.
INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU)
ICFTU OnLine...
173/141002/COM
ILO World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation: Geneva, 12-16 October 2002
ICFTU calls for strong global governance and fundamental reform of globalisation
Brussels, 14th October 2002 (ICFTU online): In a submission to the ILO Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation, which holds its third meeting in Geneva on 12 - 16 October, the ICFTU has called for social governance and regulation to be put at the centre of globalisation. The ICFTU submission points to the tremendous imbalance between economic and social interests in the world economy, with financial crises hitting a succession of countries over recent years, major companies collapsing due to dishonesty, mismanagement and corruption, and increasing violations of workers' rights around the world.
"The promised benefits of globalisation are being felt only by a tiny minority, while hundreds of millions of people around the world are being left behind", said ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder. "The institutions which have real power to regulate the global economy, particularly the international financial institutions and the WTO, have left social concerns to one side, while their actions and their rules have protected the interests of large companies and powerful elites" he added.
The ICFTU is calling for the International Labour Organisation, the UN's key agency on social issues, to be brought to the centre of setting the rules and procedures which govern globalisation, and for all the global institutions involved to work together coherently to transform globalisation into a process which brings genuine benefits to the many rather than the few. Specifically, the ICFTU proposes far-reaching measures to reorient the global economy to promote jobs and justice, stating that the ILO Commission should take the lead on globalisation issues. More needs to be done to regulate foreign direct investment, alongside promoting effective voluntary measures on corporate social responsibility and accountability.
The ICFTU submission points to the exclusion and marginalisation of women workers, and the need for stronger global measures to counter discrimination against women, migrant workers and others who are subject to discrimination at work and in society.
"The ILO Commission on Globalisation is tackling issues of enormous global importance, as more and more questions are being asked about who is really benefiting from globalisation", Ryder said. "This Commission provides a unique opportunity to start putting the global economy onto the right track - a track which puts development, employment, justice and the rights of working people at the centre rather than at the margins of global policy", he concluded.
See the ICFTU Statement to the ILO World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation :
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991216556&Language=EN