Global+realities+demand+new+unionism,+Ryder+and+Thys,+ICFTU-WCL

ICFTU/WCL, October 26 2006 19:45
=New global realities demand a new kind of unionism=


 * By Guy Ryder and Willy Thys**

At a Forum for Responsible Globalisation in Lyons this week, trade unions, alongside others, are presenting their views on what is wrong with the phenomenon and what can be done about it. This is not exactly headline news, with at first sight little prospect of more than a ritual moan about the ways of the world. However, from Lyons, the world’s trade unions will go on to Vienna to found the International Trade Union Confederation – the most representative and united trade union international in history. Many of globalisation’s problems have their roots in the world of work. So it is reasonable to expect that some of the answers will come from there too.

This comes at a time when even the most ardent cheerleaders of globalisation are asking themselves whether all is well on its uneven playing field. Those unmoved by the flagrant social injustices of the global economy can still be concerned that the collateral damage it inflicts may bring with it the seeds of global insecurity. Or that the large numbers excluded from benefits accruing to the better off might decide to use their democratic prerogatives to blow the whistle and bring the game to an end – or at least to rewrite its rules.

The shift in income away from labour towards capital is widely felt. Workers feel it in stagnant or falling wages, with half of those employed around the world living in poverty. Meanwhile, businesses enjoy record profits. Governments pay more attention to those who tell them to be unobtrusive than to their citizens, who demand that they fulfil their obligations of provision and protection.

It is encouraging that the globalisation debate is no longer a “knock ’em over, carry ’em out” confrontation between globophiles and globophobes. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and World Confederation of Labour have never belonged to either camp. People can only benefit from a climate in which it is no longer taboo to talk about regulation of global markets, nor //de rigueur// to disqualify those who do as outmoded defenders of special interests. We are more closely in touch with people’s needs.

However, a credible political project for change is still a long way off. While the effects of globalisation are the bread and butter of national politics – jobs, income, migration – the policies needed to change them often lie in the international domain, beyond the scope of democratic processes. When was international development aid an election winner? Or one’s negotiating position at the World Trade Organisation? The result is that when globalisation gets a look in at the polls it is often courtesy of populists and xenophobes.

Another obstacle is that we all have difficulty in distinguishing between what can and should be changed in globalisation and what cannot or should not. It is argued that the doubling of the global labour force with the entry of Chinese, Russian and Indian workers has changed the labour-capital ratio to the disadvantage of wage levels. Trade unions do not want anyone excluded from the global economy nor believe they can be. But they do want it subjected to reasonable regulation applicable to all countries, along with respect for workers’ rights. Similarly, capital will continue to be internationally mobile and the world division of labour will evolve accordingly. Here, too, it is possible to subject investment decisions to basic regulation and to mitigate adverse employment effects. But international institutions have shown little interest or capacity to do so. Each seems intent on pursuing its own agenda in isolation from the others. Governments, to their discredit, have been ready to preside over this policy incoherence.

Unionists can do better, too. While we proclaim our commitment to changing the world, we sometimes have trouble changing ourselves. This is where the ITUC comes in. With some 400 affiliates in more than 150 countries, it is a chance to make history. We must use this opportunity to ensure that trade unions effectively represent working people in the global economy. The ITUC can become the instrument of a new trade union internationalism equal to the challenges and circumstances of globalisation.

This will not happen just because of increased numbers. We have some difficult decisions to make if our internationalism is to go beyond the episodic provision of solidarity when it is needed and placed centre-stage of the organising and bargaining agenda, as globalisation demands.

//Guy Ryder is general secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Willy Thys is general secretary of the World Confederation of Labour//


 * [|Copyright] The Financial Times Limited 2006**

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