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Members of the Global Union Federations (GUFs) urged Asian Development Bank (ADB) to act on formalizing partnerships with trade union organisations towards building workers’ capacities and research on workers’ conditions in ADB-assisted projects.



“It is high time that ADB takes concrete action in recognizing the role of the organized labor sector in its technical assistance for research and capacity building,” said Lakshmi Vaidhiyanathan, Regional secretary of Public Services International (PSI).



PSI together with the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), the Union Network International (UNI), and the International Transport Federation (ITF) comprise the GUFs, representing about 70 million workers across the globe in the public sector, building and construction, services, and transport sectors, respectively.



About 70 GUF delegates from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Mongolia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Nepal, Japan, Philippines and Cambodia are now at the 45th ADB Annual Governors’ Meeting held at the Philippine International Convention Centre (PICC) from May 2 to 5.



The GUF delegation urged ADB at the Meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and ADB Senior Staff headed by President Haruhiko Kuroda, to push for “institutional arrangements for technical assistance on research and capacity building.”



Mr. Kuroda reportedly responded that the proposal for ADB to enter into technical assistance agreements with GUFs is “quite relevant.”



Vaidhiyanathan said the GUFs have been lobbying the ADB to act on this since 2005, but have not seen tangible action from the ADB.



“We are uncertain what keeps the ADB from acting on our demand,” Vaidhiyanathan said. She also said that ADB formalized similar institutional arrangements with other CSOs and even private contractors, but not with unions.



The GUFs said that formal partnerships would provide trade unions quick mechanisms to ensure the observance of labor standards and respect for human rights in ADB-funded projects. The GUFs urged ADB to pilot the partnerships in India and Indonesia as these countries have the most number of ADB-funded projects in Asia.



The GUFs also took part at the Labor Day Rally in Manila. Apart from challenging the ADB to respect workers’ rights, the GUFs also said the ADB should be held liable for the current power crisis in the Visayas and Mindanao as ADB provided loans to privatize the power sector in 2001, paving way for the enactment of the Energy and Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).