CIVICUS

FROM THE DESK OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Why civil society should support the Call to Action for Decent Work
By Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary-General

Issued Date: 13 February 2008

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

For all the recent talk of a global economic recession over the last few months, few commentators have mentioned the fact that many of the world’s population have already been suffering under the dark cloud of mismanagement and exploitation by the world’s economic powerbrokers.

For years we have been told that the global economy is growing - we are certainly producing and consuming more and yet very little of this newly-created wealth has been shared by the world’s people. In fact the opposite is the case - as the rich get richer more and more of the world’s population find themselves in the grip of poverty. Recognising that an important way out of poverty is for people to have access to decent work, this week CIVICUS agreed to support the Call to Action for Decent Work, a citizens’ petition launched under the leadership of the Decent Work, Decent Life (www.decentwork.org) campaign led by a number of organisations, including the International Trade Union Confederation and Solidar, both of whom are also Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) members. CIVICUS has hosted the GCAP Secretariat since its launch in 2005.

The problems faced by people in and out of work are significant – many millions of people are unemployed (the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates some 200 million), but this is simply the tip of the iceberg. Half of the people on this planet who do work receive only US$2 for their troubles, whilst many others are not even paid for work performed. Some 12.3 million women and men work in slavery whilst 200 million children under the age of 15 work instead of going to school. Meanwhile, more and more people are making their living through the informal economy without access to social protection or rights, making their existence even more precarious, a situation that particularly affects women.

Those in civil society who try to beat these trends by taking action and working to organise workers collectively in trade unions do so faced by the threat of dismissal, imprisonment and sometimes even death. Each year the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) documents these abuses through its Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations (http://survey07.ituc-csi.org).

The Decent Work, Decent Life campaign rests on a basic premise that each person of working age has the right to freely chosen employment, to a wage which allows them to provide for themselves and their family, to social protection allowing them to cope with life’s circumstances such as unemployment, ill health and the demands of child-rearing, and to the rights afforded by the 8 Core Labour Standards (www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/DECLARATIONWEB.INDEXPAGE), including the right to join a trade union.

The Call to Action calls on decision-makers not only to implement policies enabling everyone to access these rights, it also calls on them to change unfair trade rules, ensure that debt cancellation and aid promises are kept and that they do not impose harmful conditionality on recipient countries. Lastly, the call also emphasises the importance of enacting United Nations (UN) and ILO conventions with regard to migrant workers who are often amongst those most exploited.

Whilst the seven demands in the Call to Action for Decent Work make up only a small list of ways in which global institutions and national governments can improve the lives of people, they are a crucial step towards ensuring that people have the necessary tools to fight their way out of poverty. Organisations and individuals are encouraged to sign the call and participate in distributing the petition to their members and networks. The signatures will be collected up until the end of the year, after which they will be presented to global decision-makers.

It is important to emphasise the universality of the Call - the reality is that workers everywhere are suffering from the pressures placed upon them, albeit in varying degrees. The worker in a car factory in a developed country who has just been told that s/he will lose a job because the company can exploit another worker more in a developing country has the inalienable right to decent work. We must ensure that in the global fight for justice we fight those who impose the rules that allow exploitation to happen, regardless of where they may be, instead of falling into the trap of fighting each other over the crumbs of the economic cake those in power have sliced up. Most importantly, we must ensure the urgent call for decent work and human dignity is heard - for those who have work and for those who do not. It is only in dignity that each and every one of us can fulfill our hopes and dreams. Getting on board with the Call is a small step in that direction.

We also need to deepen our individual understanding about how the economy affects us all. We must question the conventional way in which growth is measured. We must question the quality of growth. Far too often we have jobless growth and growth without equity. We need to recognise that we cannot address the global economic challenges by band aid stimulus packages which promote mindless consumption when we need to think about sustainable, decent jobs for all people. Lastly, let us be clear that we cannot fight poverty unless people have decent jobs. We can and must address the range of social problems that come from the insecurity of joblessness as immediate challenges but also commit ourselves to a world in which decent work is a norm not an exception. I urge you to sign the Call to Action for Decent Work Decent Life, click here.

Warmest regards,

Kumi

To send you comments, suggestions or contributions of articles, e-mail editor@civicus.org.

Below you will find all previous columns published.

• Reflections from the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland

• Civil society heroes languish in prison for over two years

• Civil society seeking collective reponses for the year 2008

• A time for peace, reflections and rededication

• 10 December - Human Rights Day

• International Volunteer Day: A Day for recognition and reflection

• The crossroads at Bali -- Choosing our destiny

• 16 Days of nActivism against Gender Violence

• Civil society under siege in Pakistan

• Aid must be more effective...and more accountable too

• Participation will be the focus of the 8th CIVICUS World Assembly

• Islam: The New Fascism?

• Standing Up for the People of Burma