6 April, 2009
The Global Unions’ message was made with great effect, 30 March, When the Council of Global Unions (CGU) released an attractive publication, giving a unified response to the global economic crisis. This is the first time Global Union Federations (GUFs), who together with the ITUC and TUAC of the OECD comprise the CGU, have come together in a unified voice, from different perspectives, to produce concrete statements on the crisis.
The magazine, edited by International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary Aidan White, also supplies sector specific views on the crisis, with several GUF General Secretaries calling for enhanced roles for government in the management of the economy.
Aidan White
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda focused a chapter in the publication, entitled “Getting the World to WORK – Global Union Strategies for Recovery,” on issues of “Future Fuel,” discussing the worrying effects of the economic crisis on global fuel supplies and the necessity for sustainable development in meeting those supplies.
The full publication, in pdf format, can be found at the Global Unions’ website here.
John Evans, General Secretary of TUAC, discusses the Global Unions’ London Declaration and its proposals for economic recovery. Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the ITUC also joins the GUFs in calling for fresh approaches to governing the global economy, only in a far fairer and more sustainable fashion than in the period before last year’s downturn.
Each of the chapters can be individually downloaded off the Global Unions’ website. The publication is an important tool for trade unionists, a vital and refreshing road map for the way forward, and a valuable source of information on each of the 13 GUFs, in which the publication cements further cooperation efforts.