Standing up against poverty and inequality

Standing up against poverty and inequality

As world leaders gather in New York to review the progress made against the Millennium Development Goals, people all over the world have been sending a message, loud and clear, that they must keep their promises to the world's poor.

The Millenium Development Goals are worryingly off track, any progress made threatened by the effects of the financial crisis, with poverty and hunger once more on the rise while unemployment and underemployment have reached unprecedented levels

Trade unions have expressed serious concerns about the mixed results of progress towards attaining the MDGs even before the onset of the world's multiple crises (food, energy, financial, economic, employment and climate). Clearly, some developing countries were making progress on some MDGs and sub-targets, particularly job creation, education and health, while others were lagging far behind.

Achieving decent work is a development goal in its own right - enshrined in MDG1, sub-target 1B - and an important component of the redistributive growth strategies needed to achieve the MDGs. Trade unions underline their support to initiatives for the promotion of MDG 1 sub-target 1B which aims 'to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.'Decent jobs directly combat poverty and hunger by providing income to families and communities and by promoting women's employment, also relevant to the fulfilment of MDG 3.

The ITUC, representing 176 million workers organised in 312 national trade union centres in 156 countries, emphasises that the priority result for the MDG Summit must be to agree to an action-oriented Outcome Document, aimed at overcoming these development challenges in a sustainable way and accelerating progress towards achieving the MDGs by 2015.

The ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow is leading a 20 strong trade union delegation to the summit, she said, 'We are pleased that the Draft Outcome Document before the Heads of State for adoption places employment, decent work and social protection at the heart of policies to achieve the MDGs, and commits governments to implementing the ILO Global Jobs Pact'

Read the full ITUC statement

On Saturday 18 September campaigners gathered outside the Houses of Parliament to ensure that they put pressure on the UK Government to enact clear and strong plans of action to meet the MDGs. The TUC joined campaigners from the Bond network of NGOs with drums, bells, whistles, pots and pans to make a huge noise against global poverty. Gemma Tumelty from the TUC's international department spoke to the rally:

'The TUC, with the strength of 6 million workers in the UK, stands with the millions of people all over the world and the thousands of people here in the UK taking action today. Taking action to demand the end of poverty and hunger, the end of inequality, the end of preventable deaths and the end of child and forced labour and worker exploitation.

We are here today to demand that our world leaders keep their promises to the worlds poor. These promises must be about more than aid - it must be about securing global economic justice.

Trade unions all over the world and here in the UK have been working hard to help achieve the Millenium Development Goals, working in partnership with sister unions in developing countries on securing gender equality, on workplace solutions to HIV/AIDS, on climate change adaptation and just transition and so much more. But in particular trade unions have been working to achieve MDG 1B, on decent work 'to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people'

To help finance achieving the MDGs we need a Robin Hood Tax, a tiny tax on financial transactions that could finance development as well as tackle domestic poverty and inequality. The international trade union movement is campaigning hard to make this tax a reality, to ensure that the people who caused the financial crisis, the banks, pay for the crisis.

The effect of the recent financial crisis has threatened to undermine any achievements made towards the MDGs - the effects have been devastating in developing countries - our determination to secure global economic justice must be stronger than ever.

This summit is crucial, we have just 5 years to 2015 - the deadline to secure the MDGs - we need our leaders to go to the summit under no illusion, that we, the people they represent, demand that they secure clear and strong plans of action to meet the MDGs.

There will be active and strong trade union presence during the summit, led by ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. So today, lets send our leaders off with a ringing in their ears, loud and clear, that we demand global justice and equality, we demand that they act - now.'

Picture Credit: Bond/Justin Tallis 2010

Picture Credit: Bond/Justin Tallis 2010

View a film of the days events here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNJ9EYs6gw

Bond put together a video to be played on Monday 20 September at the Stand Up New York event bringing the voices of millions if people all over the world to the Lincoln Centre. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z699KYWG_JM

Follow live coverage, debate and analysis of the summit at:

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