World Day for Decent Work 2010
Following a decision of the 2nd ITUC World Congress in Vancouver, Canada, the ITUC is to convene the 3rd World Day for Decent Work (WDDW).
The Day takes place, as usual, on 7 October.
In previous years, the WDDW has involved millions of trade unionists in action for Decent Work, and in today’s conditions of crisis it is more important than ever that trade unionists across the globe stand up for their rights to decent work and a decent life.
Despite talk of recovery there are few signs of an end to the crisis of employment. Every job lost is a human drama, and so far 34 million jobs have been lost as a result of the crisis since it broke in 2008 and 64 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty. The world is at a tipping point: either it can break with the failed policies of the past which brought in the crisis and move forward to a fairer, sustainable and more prosperous future, or it can fall back into the injustices and misery of the past with the prospect of increased poverty and mass unemployment as a permanent feature of our societies.
We will therefore be putting forward three core messages for the WDDW this year:
- Growth and decent jobs, not austerity, are essential to beating the crisis and ending poverty;
- Quality public services are essential for a decent life and must not be slashed in the name of fiscal consolidation; and,
- The financial sector must pay for the damage it has caused and be made to serve the real economy and real human needs.
Last year saw 472 actions in 111 countries.
For more secure employment, against precarious work
The EMF Collective Bargaining Policy Conference 2009 launched the 2nd Common Demand:
“For more secure employment, against precarious work”,
which will be included in the collective bargaining demands of all its 75 affiliated trade unions and in future collective bargaining rounds throughout Europe over the next four years.
