[stop-imf] ICFTU: Demands set out ahead of IMF and World Bank Spring Summit

[Robert Weissman]

INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS

ICFTU OnLine...
070/230404

IMF and World Bank must expand debt relief programmes and increase
respect for labour rights

Brussels 23rd April 2004 (ICFTU Online): Ahead of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Summit in Washington this
weekend, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
today released a statement
(http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991219197&Language=EN)
on behalf of the global trade union movement. Entitled 'implementing a
decent work agenda to achieve sustainable poverty reductions', the
statement calls on the World Bank and IMF to increase respect for labour
rights since this will have a powerful and positive impact on poverty
reduction.

To reap the long-term benefits of poverty reduction in the long-term,
the international trade movement argues that the International Financial
Institutions (IFIs) (i.e. the IMF and World Bank) need to focus on
improving the employment prospects and working conditions of those whose
only asset is their labour. The international trade union grouping is
stressing the consequences of neglecting such issues, for example the
continued abuse of women workers' rights which has contributed to the
International Labour Organisation's alarming statistics showing that 60%
of the 550 million working poor are women. The IFIs' own reports echo
this, making the link between rising inequality, the persistence of
poverty and the violation of labour rights. Trade unions are well placed
to work with the IFIs to draw up relevant policy in this area- targeting
employment creation and ensuring that all IFI projects and programmes
respect fundamental workers' rights.

Commenting in the run-up to the meetings taking place on 24-25 April,
ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder said, "the Global Unions urge the
World Bank to institute policies which respect the ideal of decent work.
Policies must work towards establishing and enforcing laws which
recognise workers' rights to earn a living wage, earned in safe
conditions and free from abuse. One way to safeguard this would be to
include all four core labour standards* in IFC loan contracts and in
other World Bank lending agreements".

Trade union organisations will also be arguing for the IMF policy
recommendations to be more consistent with internationally ratified ILO
conventions.

In the course of the spring meetings, Global Unions will be calling for
substantial additional resources to be allocated to debt relief for low-
income indebted countries and underlining the need to increase number of
eligible countries covered by the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
scheme. Using the example of the Argentinean debt crisis, Global Unions
will highlight the importance of introducing a framework for a fair and
transparent international debt arbitration and restructuring mechanism.

The ICFTU represents over 150 million workers in 233 affiliated
organisations in 152 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member
of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2
224 0206 or +32 476 621 018.