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UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings delivered a barnstorming address to the Ver.di national congress and brought a crowd of thousands to its feet.

The UNI chief challenged members of Ver.di - UNI’s largest affiliate - to fight to address some of the key global issues affecting the future of the planet.

“Are you ready to protect those whose homes and livelihoods are threatened by climate change?” he asked.

“Are you ready to fight for an economy for all and not just the cheating 1%?”

“In the words of Martin Luther King, are we ready to bend the arc of history towards justice?”

Jennings thanked the German people for compassion shown during Europe’s largest refugee crisis since the Second World War and called for support from more European nations.

“You cannot do it alone. Europe’s nations must have a common strategy to accommodate the refugees,” he said.

The world is at a tipping point, Jennings warned, and unions are on the front foot in ensuring workers voices are heard on key issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals summit taking place in New York this weekend.

“There will be global goals on decent work to eradicate poverty and child labour. Ideas grown in union congress halls like this,” he said.

There is nothing more important facing humanity than the dangers of a warming planet, Jennings said, and urged delegates to ensure their voices are heard before the December climate summit in Paris.

“This is a union issue. There are no jobs on a dead planet. We say every human has the right to a safe planet.”

“We want leaders to agree to a revolutionary target to move the world in a new direction. It might be the last chance we get.”

“What has the neo-liberal experiment brought us?” he asked, citing climate disaster, recurrent financial collapse and unprecedented inequality, before warning against looming global trade deals.

“Profits up. Wages down. A generation of working poor. They say give us a trade deal. We say it’s the same old song. That’s why we must fight corporate-driven, socially diverse, climate challenging trade deals.”

The future must, according to Jennings, usher in a new economic model - sustainable and fair and with strong unions and collective bargaining.

“Fighting for refugee justice. Fighting climate change. Fighting to change failed capitalism.  Fighting for a new world of work. It’s up to us. It’s our future. It’s in our hands. Let’s make it happen.”