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Union message getting through to G20 leaders

Published: 8 April 2009
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 World leaders are heeding the union message and committing to plans for financial recovery that include key issues like quality job creation, financial regulation and transparency, said UNI Global Union.



A final statement from the G20 summit in London put a strong emphasis on the need for job creation at a global level that reflects the needs of working families.



“The G20 declaration gives us an opportunity to build a new global economy where working people are valued and their rights are respected,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “Now we must continue our work to ensure that these words are real commitments to improve the lives of the world’s workers.”



The next G20 summit will be held in New York in September.



Last week leaders from the world’s 20 biggest economies met at the G20 Summit in London. Jennings and UNI Finance President Alan Bang were part of the global union delegation that met with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and other heads of state.



“We start from the belief that prosperity is indivisible; that growth, to be sustained, has to be shared; and that our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world too,” the final declaration from the summit said.



Besides the focus on jobs, G20 leaders also agreed to “repair the financial system to restore lending; strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust; and fund and reform our international financial institutions to overcome this crisis and prevent future ones.”

These plans were welcomed by UNI Finance Global Union, which has worked tirelessly for financial reform. The G20 agenda has changed from promoting deregulation and short-termism to aiming for sustainable, risk-conscious financial system that serves society and the economy as a whole.



“UNI Finance applauds the unequivocal goal of the G20 to establish a consistent global framework for financial supervision and regulation; one that sets high standards for financial markets and companies,” said Allan Bang, UNI Finance President. “However, still not sufficent account is taken of the role of employees in ensuring a properly functioning finance industry. We will keep pushing this theme.”

UNI, its affiliates and the global trade union movement will now step up its activities to ensure that the G20 plans are followed up in a way which ensures trade union involvement.



With major plans for job creation set on the agenda for the next G20 meeting, UNI believes that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) must be a key player in developing the employment aspect of global recovery plans. ILO representatives were not invited to the meeting in London.



The ILO holds its annual conference in June. It will devote two days to discussions to the financial crisis.



The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) have released a detailed response to the G20 declaration. While they welcome the possibility that the G20 will examine the impact of the crisis on jobs, they are urging these leaders to ensure that trade unions have the opportunity to influence the structure and workings of the new Financial Stability Forum, which will be the key organisation for global financial regulation. They called for ongoing access to the Financial Stability Forum’s decision-making and work programme, which must be fully transparent and accountable.



“As we have said repeatedly over recent months, the same people who were supposed to avert this crisis and failed cannot be given the job of designing the rules for the future,” the groups said in a statement.



You can read the full G20 declaration here.



You can read the full ITUC/TUAC response here.



The UNI Finance circular on the G20 meeting is attached under the "related files" tab.