Global unions to meet before Porto Alegre

GENEVA: Prior to the next World Social Forum, to take place in Porto Alegre at the end of January, the IMF and other Global Union Federations (GUFs), the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) will be meeting to discuss and coordinate the trade unions' stand at this all-important forum. "The IMF has been working hard to convince the other GUFs and the ICFTU to organise such an event, so we welcome this initiative and hope that its outcome will be beneficial to workers and their families," commented IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi in his latest website opinion column. The World Social Forum provides various segments of civil society with a great opportunity to organise a counterweight to the Davos World Economic Forum, says Malentacchi, and find answers to concerns people have about their future. Read the full text of the opinion on the associated link.