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People first – we deserve better, Barber tells Canadian unions ahead of G20

Issue date
CLC rally ahead of the G20

Toronto, Canada

19 June 2010

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber made the following speech to the Canadian Labour Congress rally at the 2010 people's summit in Toronto, setting out the British and global union opposition to cuts in public services and the need to address the linked problems of climate change and global unemployment and poverty.

Thank you Barbara [Byers] for that introduction.

And on behalf of the British trade union movement, thank you for inviting me to speak.

My organisation, the TUC, has very close links with the CLC and it's a pleasure to be here today.

I'm proud to bring greetings and solidarity from 6.5 million trade unionists in Britain.

Proud to be part of this mobilisation ahead of the G8 and G20 summits.

And proud to join you in demanding economic, environmental and social justice.

Brothers and sisters, we meet today at a defining moment for workers in Canada, in Britain and right across the world.

The global economy remains in crisis, laid low by the greed of a tiny minority.

So many of our fellow citizens of the world are enslaved by poverty, inequality and exploitation.

And our planet is in deep peril.

Friends, colleagues, these are not isolated catastrophes.

They are the inevitable consequences of the deregulated, winner-takes-all, free-market fundamentalism that has dominated our politics for the past three decades.

A brutal ideology that has left us all staring into the abyss.

So now, more than ever before, we need real change.

Not piecemeal reform; not a patched-up repair job; but a decisive break from the failed policies of the past.

Across the world - from the streets of Toronto to the boulevards of Paris; from the factories of Shanghai to the slums of Delhi; from the heat of Greece to the cool of Iceland - ordinary people are crying out for something better.

A global economy that puts people and planet first.

Where success is measured not by how much wealth we create, but by how widely we disperse it.

Where decent work and decent public services are not seen as a hindrance to growth, but as an essential pre-condition for it.

And where the fight against climate change is not detached from the task of economic renewal, but is a driver of it.

These are the noble causes that together we must advance.

These are the goals we must now work towards.

And this is the legacy we must bequeath to future generations.

But how do we move forward?

How can we achieve progress during this period of crisis?

And how do we build a global economy that genuinely delivers for all?

Well, there are no easy answers; no magic bullet.

But I believe three things need to change.

First, most urgently, we must not fall into the trap of economic retrenchment.

Across the world, governments are rushing headlong into austerity programmes that could throw us back into recession - and possibly worse.

And public services everywhere are at risk, with Britain and others set to follow the slash-and-burn policies seen here in Canada in the 1990s.

But if cutting spending and services is bad enough during benign economic times, it is potentially catastrophic in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis in living memory.

Let us be clear about this: global leaders should not - must not - make the same mistake as in the 1930s.

That's why the European TUC is warning against the austerity measures that are now being applied right across Europe.

That's why Global Unions has published a statement calling on the G8 and G20 to take action on jobs.

And that's why I've written to the British prime minister David Cameron setting out the overwhelming need for policies to create new employment.

A message I repeated to your prime minister Stephen Harper when I met him yesterday.

Now I recognise that governments worldwide cannot keep running huge deficits forever.

But rather than damaging cuts, what we need is a new approach where the super-rich pay their way, where we curb obscene bonuses on Wall Street and in the City of London, and where we introduce a Robin Hood Tax on transactions between financial institutions, so the bankers, the speculators and the profiteers start paying us back for the mess they caused.

Second, following on from this, we must ensure the interests of working people are at the heart of our response to the economic crisis - with decent work a top priority.

For far too long, the voice of workers has been drowned out by the shrill demands of the bosses.

It's high time the pendulum swung the other way.

Thanks to international trade union pressure, some progress was made at last year's G20 summit in London.

Most visibly, global leaders put trust in the International Labour Organisation to take forward the idea of a Global Jobs Pact.

Creating decent jobs that pay well, including minimum wages where none exist; that enable wages rather than debt to drive growth; that help nurture the green skills we need to achieve a sustainable recovery.

But fine words need to be accompanied by meaningful deeds.

Never has the ILO's famous dictum - that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere - resonated more than now.

That's why the Jobs Pact needs to be backed by resources; why there can be no retreat from collective bargaining or ILO standards; and why international institutions must help not hinder vital social protections.

Let's remember: decent work for all is not just desirable in itself.

It is the best way of rebuilding economic demand.

It is the best way of tackling inequality within and between nations.

And it is the best way of raising the revenues to pay for education, healthcare and the fight against climate change.

Third, as we focus on decent work, we also need to rebalance the global economy.

Because we won't deliver good jobs for all without fundamental economic change.

That means rethinking the relationship between states and markets; between the developed and developing world; between debtor and creditor nations; and - above all - between labour and capital.

If there's one trend that illustrates the destructiveness of the neoliberal era, then surely it's the diminishing share of wealth going to workers.

In Britain, the proportion of our GDP accounted for by wages has fallen from 65 per cent in 1975 to just 53 per cent today.

And there has been a similar pattern here in Canada.

According to the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, while labour productivity has risen by 37 per cent over the past quarter of a century, real wages have not increased at all.

For those on the lowest incomes, earnings have actually fallen by over a fifth.

That is a deeply alarming statistic.

If we are to achieve a sustainable, demand-led recovery - whether in Canada, in Britain or globally - we need to ensure workers' pay packets start growing again.

Brothers and sisters: better wages and a more balanced economy; decent work and a strong worker voice; recovery not austerity.

This is the agenda we must now take forward.

It's up to us to show working people that another, better world can be within our grasp: that out of despair can come hope.

And whether we are trade unionists, community activists or environmental campaigners, we must build a broad based movement for progressive change.

Because when we join forces to speak with one voice, I've seen what a difference we can make.

During the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005, when millions of people across the world joined together to demand action on aid, trade and debt.

And during the Put People First mobilisation before the London G20 last year, when 35,000 people marched for Jobs, Justice and Climate.

Friends, never forget: we will always be stronger together.

So at this time of crisis - amidst so much uncertainty and turbulence - let us make our case with clarity, confidence and conviction.

That there can be no going back to business as usual.

That the means are there to deliver decency and dignity for all.

That it is within our gift to halt the relentless march of climate change.

And don't let anyone tell us this is just idealistic daydreaming.

If we can create fabulous wealth, then we can surely learn to distribute it more fairly.

If we can unleash a technological revolution, then we can surely provide food, shelter and healthcare for those who go without.

And if we can send a man to the moon, then we can surely heal our overheating planet.

So together we know what we stand for.

A green economy not a greed economy.

Sustainability not speculation.

People not profits.

That is what the trade union movement has always fought for - and what we will go on fighting for.

So let us hold true to our ideals.

Let us campaign for a brighter future for all.

And together let us win justice for working people everywhere.

Thank you.

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