News

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings was part of the global delegation that met with the leaders to press the case for a continued focus on creating jobs, improving financial regulation and ensuring that working people are at the centre of all plans to end the global recession.



Among the visits with leaders of the world’s largest economies, Jennings, Tsuyoshi Takagi, president of the Japanese trade union confederation Rengo and others met with newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.



Jennings congratulated Hatoyama on his election and formally invited him to address the opening of the UNI World Congress in Nagasaki in November 2010.



Jennings said Hatoyama election is a political break through for Japan and an important break through for the world and told the Prime Minister that “breaking through” was the theme of the UNI Congress. Jennings said that UNI’s union members around the world are very interested to learn from the Prime Minister his plans for Japan, for Asia and for global economic and social development.



UNI’s World Congress will bring 2000 trade unionists from 250 countries around the world to Nagasaki, Japan, a city that has become a symbol for peace. Peace is a major theme of the congress.



“We recognize that the world is standing on the threshold of a new era for peace,” Jennings said. “Last week the UN Security Council chaired by US President Barack Obama passed a resolution expressing their determination to have a world free of nuclear weapons. The entire global labour movement believes Nagasaki must be the last city on earth that is a victim of a nuclear bomb.”



Jennings also said that whilst the G20 summit is focused on the economic crisis it was important that the Japanese Prime Minister echo the sentiments of the US President in support a world free of nuclear weapons.



Prime Minister Hatoyama congratulated UNI on the choice of Nagasaki and said he was delighted that UNI had the foresight to organize our world congress in Nagasaki.



In his remarks the Prime Minister emphasized that the world had not emerged from the economic crisis and that he would be supporting initiatives for jobs, a greener global economy and a new charter for global development.



The meeting was part of the “shuttle diplomacy” that has become a hallmark of the global union leaders’ visits to the G20. Jennings and the other leaders broke up into small groups to meet with the world leaders in Pittsburgh last week. On Thursday evening, union leaders met with six heads of states, including Hatyoama, Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in one hour. In total, the union leaders met with 12 of the G20 leaders.



The burst of intense lobbying activity in a short space of time was organised to get the message across to the world leaders about the importance of continuing to focus on plans to increase jobs.



The International Trade Union Confederation organised the meeting and the union cooperation on lobbying the world leaders. The US trade union centre AFL-CIO hosted the union leaders in Pittsburgh.