7 October 2009
The economic crisis threatens the jobs and futures of people everywhere. Policies which drive countries to restructure, outsource, subcontract and privatise their public services have led to the casualisation and informalisation of many public sector jobs. Women and young workers form by far the majority of workers who find themselves in precarious forms of work, as social spending by governments diminishes and employers look for what they see as a more ‘flexible’ and cheaper workforce.
This growing exclusion also has an alarming impact on the erosion of workers' and trade unions' rights.
“Now is the time to invest in people", says Peter Waldorff, PSI General Secretary, “in their education and health, and in care for the very young and the aged but also in education and training so as to support the transfer of workers into sectors where there is a need for more jobs, for example, the healthcare sector which is lacking an estimated 4.2 million workers worldwide. With the acceleration of climate change and global warming, now is the time to focus on the creation of green jobs and a just-transition to a low carbon economy.”
PSI has joined the ITUC and other Global Union Federations in calling on governments to place decent work at the centre of government actions to bring back economic growth and build a new global economy that puts people first.
“A real and sustainable economy in the service of the people requires the creation of decent jobs and decent public services. This crisis must not be used as an excuse to create more precarious jobs and working conditions. Quality public services are essential in building strong economies and inclusive societies, and quality public services cannot be achieved without decent, stable working conditions”, concludes Waldorff.
The recently concluded G20 Summit in Pittsburgh presented some significant advances on labour issues, with a greater role to the ILO, a forthcoming G20 Labour Ministers meeting in 2010 and a promise that global growth should not take place on the detriment of internationally recognised labour standards. However, the just-issued ITUC/TUAC evaluation of the Summit concludes that progress to re-regulate the financial market fell far short of the actions needed to prevent future speculative bubbles.
PSI calls on its affiliates to mobilise around World Day for Decent Work and calls for the creation of decent jobs and the respect of trade union rights for all.
For more information:
http://www.wddw.org
http://www.world-psi.org/precarious
rights@world-psi.org
Click here to access the online press release in English.
Click here to access the online press release in French: Download FR_PressRelease_PrecariousWork2009
Click here to access the online press release in Spanish: Download ES_PressRelease_PrecariousWork2009
Very true! Makes a change to see smoonee spell it out like that. :)
Posted by: Bettie | April 11, 2011 at 04:58 PM