The TUC calls upon Government to support ITUC position at UNCTAD XIII.

In a letter to Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, the TUC has asked the UK Government to support the ITUC position at the forthcoming UNCTAD XIII in Doha, Qatar.

Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP
Secretary of State

Department for International Development

1 Palace Street

London SW1E 5HE

Dear Andrew

I am enclosing a copy of the Statement issued by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on the occasion of UNCTAD XIII to be held in Doha, Qatar, in April and I do hope that the UK Government will support the ITUC position. The ITUC, which the TUC is affiliated to, represents the interests of some 175m workers in 153 countries.

The Statement points out that the current economic downturn has caused the loss of livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable sections of society, that trade liberalization, unequal access to technology, financialisation of the economy and the erosion of labour rights have brought about widening income inequalities and that the overexploitation of resources have contributed to climate change and environmental degradation. The ITUC calls upon UNCTAD to use its influence, inter alia, to ensure;

• The restoration of the global regulatory framework of financial markets;
• The introduction of a financial transactions tax to fund job-intensive recovery programmes and improvements in public services, social protection, green jobs and development;
• The establishment of a universal Social Protection Floor providing a set of essential social rights and transfers in cash and in kind as well as access to essential public services;
• The full participation of social partners including trade unions and other civil society actors in implementation of trade and development policies; and,

Its active involvement in facilitating the implementation of ILO Decent Work programmes and policies to promote productivity and skills, labour participation and social protection.

I look forward to hearing from you on the UK position on the proposals and on the initiatives by the Government to mobilize support for them.

Yours sincerely

BRENDAN BARBER

General Secretary

The full ITUC Statement on UNCTAD XIII http://www.ituc-csi.org/moving-from-finance-driven-to.html