The UK government is presenting its Voluntary National Review

These UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to tackle a wide range of issues facing the UK and countries across the world. These issues include poverty, inequality, climate change, inclusive societies and access to health and education.

Earlier this month the UK government published a report on its progress towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at home and abroad. One of these goals – goal 8 – focuses on promoting...

The report doesn’t recognise that you can’t secure decent work for everyone without strong trade unions around the globe.  There's no acknowledgement of the rise in insecure work, modern slavery and the lack of training for workers in the UK.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

What do we want to change?

If the UK is to meet its obligations on goal 8 the government needs to change course. That’s why we’re calling for:

In the UK

• new rights to give unions access to every workplace, and protection when they use social media, so that nobody has to face their employer alone
• new rights for unions to bargain for fair pay and conditions across industries, ending the race to the bottom
• an end to the unfair and undemocratic Trade Union Act that restricts the right to strike
• stronger rights for elected workplace reps to have paid time off to be trained and to represent members.

Internationally 

• DFID and the CDC to put decent work at the heart of their job creation programmes, with clear indicators and measures of outcomes.
• UK government strategies to better promote respect for international labour standards, especially rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
• Changes to the Modern Slavery Act to compel companies to carry out effective due diligence in their supply chains, and for the Act to also cover public service procurement.
• The UK government to stop negotiating EPAs and allow African regions continued preferential access to UK markets.
• An end to the promotion of PPPs both in the UK and internationally, and investment in gender-responsive quality public services.
• UK government support to build the capacity of trade unions to help deliver decent work and strengthen social dialogue across the globe.

By standing together in trade unions, we are connected to millions of workers around the globe, and we have the power to demand something better.

Decent work should be the norm, not the exception. Decent work for all is part of Goal 8 - and it's definitely timefor8.