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12 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 92/1998
Union leaders representing some 9 million energy workers worldwide today called for the annulment of Central America's debts and urgent assistance by global energy corporations to rebuild the region's shattered energy infrastructure.
Powering Up, the world energy conference of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), has just ended in Cork. Delegates today unanimously adopted the following resolution:
On behalf of more than 9 million energy workers of all continents united within the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), this World Energy Conference expresses its solidarity with the people of Central America, where tropical storms have killed thousands of people and devastated the infrastructure. In addition to the tragic human consequences, this disaster will halt the development of the Central American countries, and indeed threatens to reverse the achievements of the past twenty years.
The ICEM has already called for the annulment of the debts owed by developing and newly industrialising countries to international and national financial institutions. That need has become all the more pressing in the case of the devastated Central American economies. This conference therefore calls upon the ICEM to press the international financial institutions to ensure the immediate annulment of all debts owed by Central American countries.
This conference believes that energy, and in particular electricity, is essential to life in a modern society. It therefore urges ICEM affiliates to take an active part in the solidarity and reconstruction efforts which are now getting under way in Central America.
In particular, major energy corporations should, in association with energy workers’ unions, put their expertise and resources at the disposal of the Central American countries in order to repair their energy infrastructure as rapidly as possible.
Powering Up, the world energy conference of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), has just ended in Cork. Delegates today unanimously adopted the following resolution:
On behalf of more than 9 million energy workers of all continents united within the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), this World Energy Conference expresses its solidarity with the people of Central America, where tropical storms have killed thousands of people and devastated the infrastructure. In addition to the tragic human consequences, this disaster will halt the development of the Central American countries, and indeed threatens to reverse the achievements of the past twenty years.
The ICEM has already called for the annulment of the debts owed by developing and newly industrialising countries to international and national financial institutions. That need has become all the more pressing in the case of the devastated Central American economies. This conference therefore calls upon the ICEM to press the international financial institutions to ensure the immediate annulment of all debts owed by Central American countries.
This conference believes that energy, and in particular electricity, is essential to life in a modern society. It therefore urges ICEM affiliates to take an active part in the solidarity and reconstruction efforts which are now getting under way in Central America.
In particular, major energy corporations should, in association with energy workers’ unions, put their expertise and resources at the disposal of the Central American countries in order to repair their energy infrastructure as rapidly as possible.