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World Day for Decent Work urges “end corporate greed”

UNI Global Union and its affiliates join with trade unionists around the world calling for an end to corporate greed and the need for sustainable business.

Activities are planned in more than 30 countries today celebrating the World Day for Decent Work. Brussels, “the capital of Europe” will come to a halt with a mass demonstration organized by the Belgian trade unions against austerity.

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “The World Day of Decent Work is putting the spotlight firmly on the need for sustainable business and global supply chains. The threat of the Amazon exploitation model to the future of work is very real but we know that a fairer model built on decent work is possible. At UNI in recent weeks we have signed three significant global agreements - with Société Générale in France, ABN Amro in the Netherlands and Carrefour. UNI has now signed almost 60 of these agreements with multinationals which touch on multiple areas supporting the values of the ILO Conventions on work and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, not least climate change. If we do not put the brakes on our overheating planet, Bangladesh alone will face sea level rises that threaten to overwhelm the country and create a disaster on a scale to eclipse Rana Plaza.

“Today we stand together against corporate greed for a better, safer world where decent work is the norm rather than the exception.”

ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said, “Once again the voice of working people will be heard around the globe on the World Day for Decent Work. The global focus this year is on ending corporate greed, eliminating precarious work and formalising informal jobs, as well as living minimum wages. We need to transform the exploitative supply chain model which robs workers while filling the coffers of multinational companies, many of which are culpable of the most egregious exploitation including the use of modern slavery. The trade union movement stands with the most exploited and vulnerable in the global economy, and on this day, the World Day for Decent Work, we will show our determination to build a better world for working families and for the generations to come.” 

Activities in 33 countries have already been registered on the special website http://2015.wddw.org, and many more will be uploaded to the site on October 7 and the following days.

Many trade unions will be on the streets to make personal contact with rush-hour commuters while others will be holding press conferences, public events and workplace meetings. As it prepares for an October 10 mobilisation against the TTIP and CETA trade deals, Germany’s trade union centre DGB is also holding a conference to press for “Fair Play for Workers in Mega Sports Events” as pressure mounts for reform of FIFA and an end to exploitation of the workers who build and deliver the world’s major sports competitions.