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UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings will take part in a high level UN meeting in New York on Monday which will gather heads of states, politicians and other leaders, including ILO Director General Guy Ryder, and ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.  

Jennings will address the session “Making Dignity and Prosperity the Norm” at the UN Economic and Social Council.  The theme of the meeting, “Achieving sustainable development through employment creation and decent work for all”, resonates with Jennings, the labour movement’s “global warrior” who is fighting for decent jobs in the services sector and beyond.

The session will underline the importance of implementing international labour standards. Jennings will draw the attention of tColombia Labour Minister, Luis Eduardo Gazon, who will also take part in the debate, to Prosegur’s catalogue of human rights abuses.

Jennings will tell leaders gathered at the UN ECOSOC meeting that unions are part of the solution to creating sustainable growth and moving away from stagnation. Jennings said that in the United States and elsewhere we are seeing the right to organize, the right to negotiate and the right to strike being deprived to workers on a staggering scale. Although there is clarity over what constitutes responsible business behaviour, many companies simply refuse to comply.

Jennings will emphasise that the ILO Conventions coupled with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are the building blocks on what a sustainable equitable economy must be built.