The first of May
symbolizes the struggle of the international labour movement. In 2014, International
Workers’ Day, May Day, is as relevant as ever. Six years of austerity and
neo-liberal policies washing over entire continents have left trade unions
struggling for fundamental freedoms and rights at work all over again.
Twenty-five years after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the fall of the
Iron Curtain, the world is engulfed in another ideological and economic battle.
Public service workers from Canada to Paraguay, Algeria to Botswana, South
Korea to Thailand and Turkey to Spain, are fighting for their rights and
against anti-worker policies, often risking their lives.
Governments are not only challenging social
dialogue, but democracy itself by forbidding protest actions and criminalizing
social conflicts. A model that incorporates privatisation of public services,
clawing back on public spending and reducing the size and role of the state is
the package presented as an answer to the current crisis. Jobless economic
growth, zero-hour contracts and social dumping create an environment that is
conducive to exploitation, leading to an increase in precarious work and
generations of working poor. The “trickle-down” economic growth approach to
development promoted through globalization has failed to alleviate poverty and
instead increased inequalities between and within states as well as between men
and women.
PSI
General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli says: We have a responsibility to protect
the interests of our members and fight for trade union and workers’ rights. We
must join in collective action to ensure that now and in the future quality
public services will be available to young and old, generating social justice
and equality for all. We confirm and demand the right to strike for all workers
in the public and private sector.
Quality public services and social protection
floors create the foundation for democracy. It is through the development and
enhancement of public services we can overcome the crisis. Indeed, some
countries that have come out of the crisis with less inequality are examples of
how collective bargaining and income distribution policies lead to economic
recovery and social inclusion. Governance, the rule of law and quality public
services advance all three pillars of sustainable development. Collective
bargaining and dispute settlement mechanisms in the public sector strengthen a
culture of peace and negotiation, instead of conflict, impunity and corruption.
PSI campaigns for trade with respect for
trade union and workers’ rights and defends earmarked policy spaces for
governments and social partners to define and then implement efficient policies
for employment and for social transfers – at the same time as excluding public
services from trade agreements.
Traditional methods of engaging in global
policy setting are failing to produce substantive results for human rights.
This is why international solidarity is so important today. Only together we
can build a better world. Let us celebrate the trade union movement and our
joint struggle for equality, dignity and justice.
