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TUC letter to the Chancellor

G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting

3 November 2009

No return to business as usual

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling MP calling on him to use the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting in St Andrews this weekend to push for further change to prevent any return to business as usual. As part of a global trade union lobbying campaign, the TUC has endorsed the statement of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC).

Brendan Barber's letter follows:

Dear Alastair

G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting, 7-8 November 2009, St Andrews

I am enclosing a copy of the joint Statement issued by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD on the occasion of the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting in St Andrews on 7-8 November 2009. I should be pleased to hear your views on the proposals and be grateful for any support for them from the UK Government.

The trade union Statement endorsed by the TUC, while recognizing the important commitments made at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, draws attention to the fragile state of the global economy and points to the need for further progress on climate change, financial regulation and development and governance reforms. The Statement calls upon the G20 Finance Ministers to, inter alia:

• reinforce coordinated fiscal stimulus in the G20 countries with a stronger focus on job protection and creation and a key role for the ILO in the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth;
• commit to substantial financial commitments for climate change action in developing countries and investing in green jobs;
• agree on an expeditious timetable for far-reaching enhanced financial regulation ensuring that banks and other financial institutions resume their primary function, namely financing the real economy; and
• build a balanced global economy with transparent, accountable and democratic institutions, open to dialogue with trade unions and other civil society institutions and able to protect developing countries against crisis and market volatility.

I hope that the UK Government will take into serious consideration the views of the international trade union movement and play a leading role in persuading other G20 nations to support them.

Yours sincerely

BRENDAN BARBER

General Secretary

Briefing document (400 words) issued 3 Nov 2009