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UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings, told thousands of trade unionists at the ITUC World Congress in Berlin, that they have the enemies of decent work and justice in their sights.

Jennings said, “It’s the message they don’t want to hear. We are putting workers’ power back in the equation. We are building workers’ power. We will not accept defeat. We are confident, and when we go to the IMF and other global bodies, we go with energy ideas and action.”

Referencing  Martin Luther King’s remark that, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but bends towards justice,” Jennings said it was now time to bend that arc back towards justice as it had been in South Africa and the Arab Spring.

Jennings said that it was not enough to curse darkness and the cash and catastrophe of a world currently twisted to the benefits of the 1%. Those apologists for market rules are out of step. There is mounting evidence that inequality is toxic. That’s the message coming from the mainstream – from the OECD, from the World Economic Forum and the author of “Capital in the 21st Century” and from Thomas Piketty. Piketty goes even further, arguing that inequality is back at levels not seen since the 1700s.”

The UNI General Secretary ended on positive note, now was not the time for despair but optimism for the future of the union movement and the workers who will benefit.
 
“Everyone is looking for answers – we have the answers here. We are in the solutions business – we know how to fix income inequality. Workers of the world need a pay rise – that’s how we will change income inequality.”

Finally Jennings quoted the great Irish union leader James Larkin, “The Great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise.”

The whole of the house rose to acknowledge their appetite for the fight ahead.

Earlier the General Secretary of the ITUC, Sharan Burrow had challenged the unions present to grow by 20 million. Other speakers agreed that such a target was necessary in the fight for equality.

The 3rd ITUC World Congress takes place between 18-13 May 2014 in Berlin under the them Building Workers' Power. Visit the Congress website here: http://congress2014.ituc-csi.org/ or join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #ituc14