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WDDW2008: Decent Work and Development - Speech by Kay Carberry

Issue date
World Day for Decent Work

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Speech by TUC Assistant General Secretary Kay Carberry

Let me begin by saying that, we, as trade unionists, have an abiding interest in development - a sustainable improvement in the standard of living for all of us.

I believe that we all have a moral duty to reach out to those in need, especially, to our sisters and brothers in developing countries.

But it's also a matter of trade union solidarity - an injury to one is an injury to all, and the problems of poverty in the global south affect us in the global north as well.

So we have long been in support of the UN-recommended 0.7% of Gross National Income to be given as aid. We have campaigned in favour of a substantial increase in UK Official Development Assistance towards that target.

And we were pleased that the current Government pledged to increase ODA to reach the target by 2013.

For us, this is a significant achievement, and it does need protection as the Government moves into choppier economic and political waters. We need to be vigilant over the next few years not just that aid increases, but that it doesn't fall back.

The increased aid must be used primarily to support programmes aimed at the elimination of poverty and the attainment of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

We are now half way through the timeframe for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, we know that many developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, are not going to make it. It is therefore absolutely necessary to redouble our efforts to make governments keep the promises made at the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005.

Sadly, in 2007, Official Development Assistance from major donors around the world fell by 8.4% in real terms.

The total amount of aid was about 103 billion US dollars, or one-seventh of the package proposed to save the US financial institutions from bankruptcy. And in terms of UN-target, it is about 0.28% of the combined Gross National Income of the donor countries. There is still a very long way to go towards the 0.7%.

Of course, money alone is not enough. We are conscious of the need for aid effectiveness. Money needs to be properly used if it is to have the intended impact on the lives of those whom we want to help.

We supported the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness. We agree that the process needs to be transparent and that there should be mutual accountability. We also agree that aid flows need to be more predictable and they should not be linked to the purchases from donor countries.

We are also in favour of untying aid from economic conditions - although not necessarily from human rights. We share the UK Government's rights-based approach to development and would like there to be more emphasis on people's rights and people's empowerment in the programmes funded by UK ODA - and that includes trade union rights.

Moreover, we want to see the UK development assistance used to improve vital public services - health, education, water and sanitation - in developing countries.

Turning to debt, the TUC has taken the lead within the international trade union movement in the campaign for the cancellation of unsustainable debt of the world's poorest nations.

In 2000, we joined the then ICFTU in its support for Jubilee 2000 to encircle the G8 that met in Birmingham, calling on Governments to bring an end to the debt burden.

The TUC, through the International Trade Union Confederation and Global Unions, will take every opportunity to impress upon the international financial institutions the need for further debt relief.

In its submission to the IMF/World Bank Meetings in October this year, the ITUC and Global Union Federations argued the case for more substantial relief for low-income debtor nations, especially for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals

In this context, let me tell you that trade unions, especially those in the G8 countries, are keeping the pressure on their governments to fulfil the pledges made at Gleneagles.

But this will not be achieved without the support from trade unionists, local debt campaigners and the general public.

We are ready to mobilise our 6.5 million members through local trade union networks.

Our role in this does not end with campaigning for more debt relief. We are just as concerned about how the money released through debt relief is used.

We want trade unionists in the global south to play a role in the design and implementation of poverty reduction programmes funded through debt relief. They need in particular to highlight the impact of the programmes on the vulnerable sections of society.

But be in no doubt - debt cancellation does work. It has enabled a number of countries to free up resources for development purposes.

Tanzania is a good example. They were able to spend more on health, education, water and infrastructure as a result of debt relief. School enrolments rose, and they built over 2000 new schools with the funds freed through debt relief.

In Uganda, debt relief resulted in 2.2m people having access to clean water. In Mozambique, it has been possible to immunize more children against deadly diseases, thanks to debt relief.

But trade unions, in close collaboration with other civil society organisations, need to keep a close watch on the way that the governments spend the money.

I would like to salute the efforts of Jubilee Debt Campaign for the cancellation of unsustainable debt. You have done a magnificent job in stirring the conscience of the world about the grave problems of nations saddled with this burden.

We need to do more on debt, such as addressing vulture funds which I am sure Sarah will talk about.

After all, let's not forget how the US and Europe have reacted to their own debt crisis. They managed to find billions and billions of dollars - staggering sums - to save the world stock markets from collapse.

They can certainly spare a few more billions to help free people from the shackles of debt. We will join you in mobilising the political will for it. We owe it to our sisters and brothers in debt-ridden countries.

*TUC
*TUC


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