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At its Central Committee in 2003, the IMF adopted a policy stating that equitable and sustainable growth and development must be based on the following four pillars: <ul><li>Job creation and purchasing power;</li><li>Re-regulation of the global financial market, including among other instruments a Tobin Tax;</li><li>Debt cancellation; and</li></ul><ul><li>Reform of the WTO and international financial institutions.</li></ul>Today more than ever, these are the indispensable components of a development agenda based on social justice, an adequate strategy of fighting against poverty, fair international rules to regulate trade and investments, and an effective multilateral system. This is what the IMF will continue to pursue together with its affiliates, other international trade union organisations, and like-minded social and political organisations.It has to be recognised that very little has been achieved by the international trade union movement since our last Congress in terms of democratic world governance, respect of human and workers' rights, and the fight against poverty and workers' exploitation. This applies in particular to trade negotiations: governments give no consideration to workers and pay no more than lip service to employment and development concerns.Even if the joint efforts of trade unions internationally have achieved some progress, like the integration of social standards into the principles of the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, it is difficult to see any positive concrete implementation. In practice, the International Monetary Fund continues to advocate deregulatory policies that undermine labour rights. The IMF strongly reiterates the trade unions' demand to incorporate fundamental labour rights in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. This however is not enough without effective enforcement mechanisms that take into account the particular situation of countries with poor legal protection for the right of workers to organise and bargain collectively.The opening of markets should be an instrument for sustainable development. For this to be possible, industrial policies that promote employment are indispensable. In fact, the fundamental link between market opening and sustainable growth is still missing. That link is jobs, good jobs for all, and a fair distribution of the wealth for the workers who create it.In its actions on trade, the IMF working with its affiliates will focus on employment and economic development and search for fairness by taking into account possible conflict of interests between workers caused by market opening. Creating quality employment for all to generate wealth and redistributing income to reduce inequalities is an objective that is equally important for industrialised and developing countries. The IMF will coordinate its affiliates' efforts to make this the priority in the trade policies of all governments. The sustainable growth we stand for cannot happen at the expenses of others, and we will fight for balanced solutions that do not damage weaker parties. It is the role of the IMF, particularly through its Working Party on Trade, Employment and Development, to build a solidarity strategy to help harmonize the legitimate interests of workers in the North and the South. The IMF will continue promoting a transparent debate among its affiliates to address the concerns arising from trade liberalisation that may impact negatively on jobs and rights in some countries while protecting employment in others.Governments have to include development and labour rights issues in trade negotiations. These must include explicit consideration of the expected employment repercussions of trade liberalisation. Together with its affiliates the IMF will continue to demand that governments give serious estimates of potential new jobs generated by market opening and foreign direct investment agreements. This is indispensable to avoid ungrounded or misleading evaluations of the impact of increased trade The IMF, in close collaboration with other GUFs, the ITUC and TUAC, will work to influence international institutions to adopt a democratic system of multilaterally agreed rules that fairly take into account the different needs and conditions of countries, and of different groups within countries. The lack of a real development agenda has made any progress in the Doha Round negotiations impossible, while bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) increasingly promote the interests of corporations and their allies at the expense of workers and citizens. Since the last IMF Congress there has been successful resistance often led by trade unions to some of the proposed agreements. These struggles, are important examples of unity and solidarity between workers in different regions on which the IMF can build future actions.Sustainable development should be a key objective in the strategies of developing countries for attracting foreign investments. It should also be an indicator of success, along with the creation of quality employment and of a fair system of public social protection. The IMF will coordinate joint action and promote solidarity between its affiliates in developing and industrialised countries against the establishment of special economic zones where the incentives granted to TNCs cause the suppression of fundamental human and worker rights and make workers' living and employment conditions extremely precarious.The IMF will work in close collaboration with other GUFs, TUAC and ITUC, and other like-minded social movements to ensure that:<ul><li>Global financial markets are regulated, including as an initial step better disclosure of transactions, strengthened monitoring schemes and regulation of leveraging; </li><li>Sustainable development be brought into trade and investment deals, access to markets be fair and balanced, and transparent monitoring mechanisms of already signed agreements be put in place;</li><li>Impact and sustainability assessments along the social and economic development dimension of possible trade agreements be carried out prior to the conclusion of negotiations;</li><li>Employment repercussions of trade liberalisation be considered by governments in the negotiations of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements and assessed with full involvement of trade unions; and</li><li>Universal respect of fundamental workers' and trade union rights as set out in the ILO 1998 Declaration be included in all bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade and investments along with effective enforcement mechanisms.</li></ul>The IMF and its affiliates will work together to:<ul><li>Unite metalworkers at the regional and international level in the search for fair solutions to conflicts of interests in trade liberalisation that would damage weaker parties;</li><li>Build solidarity among affiliates against the possible negative effects of market opening on employment in developing as well as industrialised countries;</li><li>Challenge government resistance to transparently assess, together with social partners, the potential employment impact of trade deals; and</li><li>Promote information and awareness raising campaigns among workers and citizens on the economic advantages that companies, as well as the countries where they operate, can get from the respect of fundamental workers' rights everywhere.</li></ul>The IMF will assist its affiliates in:<ul><li>Monitoring the impact of FTAs on employment and working conditions in metal working industries; </li><li>Mobilising their memberships, in cooperation with their respective national centres, and like-minded political parties and social movements, against proposed FTAs that would undermine development, workers rights, good jobs and public services for working families; and</li><li>Fighting against precarious employment conditions caused by foreign investments.</li></ul>

Preface

3. GLOBAL SOLIDARITY IN ACTION

3.3 Defend and protect workers rights

1. OUR MISSION

2. THE WORLD TODAY

2.1 Profits over people

2.2 Unemployment and job insecurity

2.3 Unions under attack

2.4 Fundamental workers´ rights denied

2.5 Spreading influence of Transnational Corporations

2.6 World trade system in disarray

2.7 An unsustainable future

2.8 Alliances, resistance and opportunities

3.1 Build strong national trade unions

3.1.1 Organise the unorganised

3.1.2 Strive for trade union unity at the national level

3.1.3 Build unions through education, training and effective exchange of information

3.2 Strengthening collective bargaining

3.3.1 Fight for trade union rights

3.3.2 Fight for Equal Rights

3.3.3 Fight for safe workplaces

3.4 Build a counterweight to the power of transnational corporations

3.4.1 Strengthening union solidarity and cooperation across sectors and TNCs

3.4.2 Advance fundamental rights through International Framework Agreements

3.5 Fight for sustainable trade, development and employment

The IMF will seek to challenge TNCs and their supply chains by using IFAs, ILO instruments, OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, increased union cooperation and, in addition to international solidarity, cooperation with NGOs that share our aims to protect and promote worker and trade union rights.  Trade union organization of worksites is an essential precondition to monitor and implement workers' rights. IFAs, however, do not replace the need for binding intergovernmental regulations to enforce core labour standards, or the need for national laws to enforce labour standards and to regulate the activities of the TNCs more effectively. As instruments negotiated at the international level by GUFs in cooperation with their affiliates on one side and a TNC on the other, IFAs are important tools that the IMF and its affiliates can use to establish minimum labour standards across the operations of TNCs and their supply chains. The IMF has adopted a model International Framework Agreement along with policy recommendations covering four key areas: improving the content, initiating, negotiating, and implementation and enforcement.Drawing on the experiences of the IFAs already negotiated with TNCs, the IMF will:<ul><li>Strengthen implementation, monitoring and enforcement through IMF structures and regional offices, and by training and involvement of affiliates with the aim of achieving best practices across TNCs that have signed framework agreements;</li><li>After consultation with unions covered by the agreements, identify opportunities to strengthen existing agreements, and the options and means that are optimal for pursing improvements of their content;</li><li>Coordinate the involvement of affiliates in negotiating additional IFAs;</li><li>Explore possible strategies to encourage resisting TNCs to negotiate, implement, and comply with IFAs; and</li><li>Implement a training programme on IFAs, including a guide, to help affiliates use these instruments in accordance with IMF policy.</li></ul>Cooperation of affiliates, particularly those in the home country of a TNC, is instrumental to such efforts.

Every year more than two million people die from occupational accidents or work-related diseases. The safety of work varies enormously between countries, economic sectors and social groups. Deaths and injuries take a particularly heavy toll in developing nations.  Downsizing, outsourcing, sub-contracting and temporary labour create bad working conditions. Although the physical workplace environment has improved considerably during the course of the last decades, millions of men and women around the world are still working in hazardous conditions.  Therefore, based on the primacy of prevention, defending and promoting health and safety at work is a fundamental trade union task that all IMF affiliates should prioritise. Alongside the difficulties to ban well-known hazards, such as asbestos, the introduction of new chemicals and new technologies, without sufficient research, constitutes new threats to the health and well-being of workers.  The precautionary principle should also apply to nanomaterials, the hazardous nature of which has become more apparent in the light of many recent studies. Such precaution is all the more urgent because of the fact that these materials are used in many products, including clothes, cosmetics, composites, automobiles, spectacles, paint etc.Occupational cancer is by far the most common work-related cause of death. It is a problem that does not ring alarm bells for corporate executives who only answer to shareholders at annual general meetings. Causes are covered up, bodies are buried, companies evade legal liabilities, and the killing continues as a result of preventable and predictable work-place exposures. The IMF and affiliates must increase efforts to stop this from happening. It is essential to have effective health and safety committees in every workplace with knowledge of the workplace-specific hazards. Preventive actions must be based on research, evidence and strong health and safety laws that are properly promoted and enforced.  Health and safety is a very important issue for trade unions.  In general, organized workplaces are safer workplaces with better working conditions.The international trade union movement must work in order to ensure that ILO conventions and codes of practice are incorporated into national legislation and collective bargaining agreements, and are respected in practice. The IMF will encourage affiliates to develop organising strategies around safer and better workplaces. Such strategies can be linked to the campaign for decent work. The campaign for decent work should be extended to include the pursuit of fixed wages and permanent employment contracts, healthy and family-friendly working hours, protection against excessive demands on performance, the preservation of the workers' employability, preventive and participatory health and safety, and training and development.The IMF will:<ul><li>Co-operate with ITUC, TUAC and GUFs to ensure that the ILO assists governments, employers and trade unions to improve knowledge and information about existing legislation on health and safety at work;</li><li>Address occupational health and safety at regional, sectoral and company meetings;</li><li>Continue to build the campaign for Zero Occupational Cancer;</li><li>Keep campaigning for an international ban on the production, import, export and use of asbestos; and</li><li>Continue to put pressure on national governments to implement transition programmes for workers displaced by the banning of asbestos, and to ensure that the treatment and compensation costs of workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases are borne by employers.</li></ul>The IMF will assist the affiliates to:<ul><li>Inform and educate instructors on basic workplace health and safety, who will then teach and train stewards at plant level;</li><li>Ensure that effective health and safety committees are set up in all workplaces; </li><li>Use health and safety as a tool for organising workers and building strong unions; and</li><li>Develop strategies around HIV/Aids and other new epidemics.</li></ul>

GLOBAL: IMF representatives, senior government officials and industry representatives from major steel-producing economies met in Paris on June 8-9 at the OECD Steel Committee. Participants heard how in virtually all economies, the global economic crisis has led to a sharp contraction in steel production, consumption, prices, trade and employment.Most steel using sectors have experienced sharp output contractions over past months, especially the automotive sector, pushing world steel demand to its lowest level in several years. Demand for steel is particularly week in North America, Europe, the CIS and Japan, but is now showing more stability in some emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil. Risaburo Nezo, Chairman of the OECD Steel Committee stated that, &quot;there is considerable uncertainty as to the timing of the steel industry recovery. A moderate upturn might occur towards the end of 2009 but could well be delayed by a further six to nine months into 2010.&quot;Reacting to comments from industry representatives Rob Johnston, Director IMF Steel Department, informed participants that the trade unions did not believe that the burden of the current crisis such be put on workers through major job losses or cuts to benefits. Steel employers were slow to reward employees during the recent peak demand but have quickly tried to claw back benefits as a result of the current crisis. The crisis however is not a steel crisis as before but a financial crisis that has impacted on the steel industry, as a result there should be no forced job losses or closures.  The IMF's submission made it clear that trade unions had acted as guardians of the steel industry in the past and that was a role that they where prepared to take up again. Copies of all submissions made to the Committee, including the IMF's submission, are published on the OECD website at the following address: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/40/0,3343,en_2649_34221_42965160_1_1_1_1,00.html">http://www.oecd.org/document/40/0,3343,en_2649_34221_42965160_1_1_1_1,00.html</a>

Employers were slow to reward employees during peak demand but have quickly tried to claw back benefits as a result of the current crisis, states IMF.

IMF argues against job losses at OECD Steel Committee

GLOBAL: The global financial crisis is not only threatening job security and incomes, but also workers' rights. As documented in this year's International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC) Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations, the global trade union rights situation is worsening.According to the report, 76 trade unionists were killed due to their actions to defend workers' rights, and many more were attacked physically or subjected to harassment, intimidation or arrest by the authorities. While the worldwide total of killings fell from 91 the previous year, the number of killings in Colombia, which is notorious as the most dangerous place on earth for trade unionists, reached 49 - an increase of 10 over the previous year. Countries where widespread and grave anti-union practices have unfortunately continued include: Colombia, Burma, Belarus, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Iran, Pakistan and the Philippines. The ITUC believes that countries such as Honduras and Guatemala should this year be added to this list.The Survey also reports that new forms of employment relationships are affecting fundamental rights. The use of bogus self-employment as well as subcontractors or labour agencies is increasing in industrialised and developing countries. The report documents cases in Korea, Croatia, Poland, Montenegro, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, Chad and Morocco, among others.Trade union rights are universally-recognised human rights at work. Two key International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions which define and guarantee them (conventions 87 and 98) have been ratified by 149 and 159 Member States of the ILO, respectively, out of a total of 182 worldwide. The complete report can be viewed in English, German, Spanish and French at: <a href="http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/">http://survey09.ituc-csi.org/</a>

ITUC Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations reports on worsening situation for workers.

Financial crisis intensifies attacks on workers&#039; rights

GENEVA: The International Metalworkers' Federation joined with other global unions to organize a special forum during the International Labour Conference (ILC) to draw delegates' attention to the many abuses of labour rights suffered by precarious workers.Shin Seung-Chul, General Secretary of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions described how dispatch workers in Korea are prevented from joining a union and bargaining with their employer. Chair of the Korean Metal Workers' Union's Kiryung Branch, Kim So-Yun, then updated delegates on the situation in Kiryung Electronics where precarious workers have been on strike now for over 1400 days in a protracted, and at times violent, struggle for regular employment status. The experiences in Korea are typical of how companies are acting throughout the world to evade their responsibilities as employers and pass risks onto workers.  Jenny Holdcroft of IMF explained how IMF affiliates see the explosion of precarious work as a devastating threat to wages and working conditions as it undermines workers' rights to join a union and bargain collectively. She also briefed delegates on steps the global unions have taken to insist that the ILO give greater recognition to the situation of precarious workers in its work, including application of labour standards. Kirill Buketov of the IUF gave a further illustration of the damage wrought by this trend by presenting the employment practices of food multinational Unilever.  In factories producing Lipton Tea, up to 100% of the workforce are now casual or daily hire workers and have no right to join the union, nor to medical benefits, sick leave or annual leave.Jim Baker, Coordinator of the Council of Global Unions summed up the presentations by saying ''This is a key issue which will undermine or even destroy the ILO if it is not reversed.&quot;The ILC delegates present expressed their support for an increased focus on the rights of precarious workers and there was consensus on the need for the ILO to take stock of how Conventions 87 and 98 on the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining can be effectively applied in an employment environment dominated by precarious work.

At a side event to the International Labour Conference, unions showed how precarious workers are being systematically denied their rights to organize and bargain collectively.

Workers call on ILO to improve rights of precarious workers

Throughout the world, people are meeting and mobilising against the destructive effect of unbridled capitalism, all-out deregulation and corporate abuses; they call for the promotion of democracy, human rights, and social justice.  Various social and political movements have rejected the neo-liberal consensus and are following a different path. The World Social Forum process that started in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil is still the largest and most inclusive space where alliances can be built and joint initiatives taken with different social actors. In the last decade, real political change has taken place in some countries, most notably in Latin America, where democratic and progressive governments have come to power and have challenged the neo-liberal economic model by renationalizing their key natural resources and using its profits to benefit the many and not just the few. Numerous movements and networks that play an important role in local and global politics have emerged, creating spaces of dialogue and common action, and building broad-based coalitions. There is now a window of opportunity for the world's progressive social forces to get together and come up with alternatives to neo-liberal policies.  Alternatives dedicated to sustainable development, human rights, gender equity and the protection of individual and collective rights in the economy offer opportunities for solidarity and alliances for working people everywhere.

A globalised economy could benefit workers throughout the world and improve prospects for social progress and sustainable development.  However this will not happen by following a deregulation agenda.  The growing inequalities between and within countries generated by neo-liberal policies and free trade show that workers are not receiving an equitable share of the wealth they create in society.  Unsustainable commercial and production practices, spurred on by unregulated globalisation, have caused risks posed by industry, public health concerns, environmental preservation, and climate change to move to centre stage.  Climate change is a threat to sustainable development and will affect human well-being, industrial activities, and employment.  It is not just a concern for the developed countries, which still account for most greenhouse gas pollutants. The rapid, energy-intensive growth in China, India and other fast-moving industrialising economies is also contributing to the increase in green-house gas emissions. Global warming is now widely acknowledged to be the most critical environmental issue facing humanity.  There is strong scientific evidence that most of the warming observed is attributable to unregulated economic activities and consumption based on a massive and excessive exploitation of natural resources, which also results in widespread industrial pollution.  Fast growing emissions caused by transport, industries, and fossil fuel power plants are made possible by a globalisation that is promoted by neo-liberal policies, including a huge increase in free trade and the associated transportation costs. Production regardless of costs to the environment and the costs of recycling and disposal is prevalent.  There is a scientific consensus that immediate measures such as cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases, a stop to the destruction of forests (especially rain forests), and a change in agricultural production towards  biologically-based systems is essential.Furthermore, trade in dangerous wastes such as chemical and other industrial residues including nuclear power stations must either be strictly regulated, or should be stopped. Today, such wastes are often dumped by industrialised countries in developing countries.  The latter accept these practices for the short term and minimal income they provide.  There is much evidence that the receiving countries often cannot handle the wastes in a safe and proper manner. Frequently, they are stocked in open spaces where children and poor women go in search of the wherewithal for survival.The global fight for environmental protection must take employment implications and opportunities fully into consideration. Whilst environmental protection has a cost, there is a huge potential for job creation in metal industries, particularly in those related to alternative energies, construction, and fuel-efficient transportation. Creation of stable, safe, and good jobs must be put at centre of the response to the environmental crisis. These jobs must be based on production of goods and services that are useful and accessible to everyone in the community.  Because many environmental problems have their roots in the workplace, workers are in a unique position to contribute to solutions.  Moreover, the role of trade unions, especially industrial unions, needs to be strong at the sectoral level where special attention must be given to auto, steel, aluminium, aerospace and power generation, which are all  fundamental for the future of our economy.  Finally, these positive developments will only happen if trade unions all around the world and their allies fight against neo-liberalism and for effective national industrial development policies.Globalisation and its social impact is an important factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS and other new epidemics.  As a result, these epidemics. cannot be addressed as an isolated issue, but only in the context of trade, investments, the employment relationship, and social protection. Less developed countries with high levels of poverty and inequality are especially vulnerable. As a result of the policy pressures from international financial institutions, poverty amongst the most economically marginalized groups is deepening. This affects both the spread and the response to the epidemics.  Unions are key actors at the workplace; they can protect workers and develop agreements with employers to promote access to care and treatment, and to prevent discrimination.  Trade unions also play a wider social and political role within civil society, which seeks to alleviate poverty and deprivation by raising wages, living and social standards. A global arms race, which stirs up tensions and conflicts across the world, also threatens a sustainable future. World military spending has increased by 45 per cent since 1998. The struggle to secure access to vital supplies of energy and other raw materials is a major factor contributing to this military build-up.  At the same time these limited resources are depleted by wasteful and unnecessary production and growing populations. On the other  hand,  investment in much-needed education and health programmes, and in official development assistance has lagged behind.

Too often governments prioritise the interests of TNCs over the interests of workers, which is particularly apparent when it comes to questions of trade. Not surprisingly the current world trading system continues to demonstrate its inability to tackle the issue of sustainable development and address the needs of workers worldwide. Trade unions energetically oppose the current proposals for further liberalisation of trade in manufactured goods, because these would undermine prospects for progress in many developing economies and weaken labour relative to multinational capital in developing and developed economies. While multilateralism is in crisis, there is a proliferation of bilateral and regional trade agreements that, in most cases, have been negotiated without any trade union consultation and input.  Unfair trade practices and the resistance of governments to incorporating core labour standards in an enforceable manner in trade and investment agreements are intensifying current strains in the multilateral system. Trade can be an engine for economic and social development, but for this to happen current policies and practices must be fundamentally changed. Violations of core labour standards are not only an affront to human rights, but also an economic distortion. They are no different than the distortions caused by unfair subsidies or violations of intellectual property rights, which are subject to WTO sanctions.  China's growing participation in international trade has increased competitive pressures on workers in both developed and developing countries, and breaches of core labour standards.  In particular, the development impact of China's involvement in Africa and Latin America, driven by a need to access energy and mineral resources to feed its rapid industrialisation, has become a major source of concern, as has its currency policy.

TNCs seek to shift their risks and costs onto workers, often with institutional and government support. In addition, offshoring, outsourcing and subcontracting have become an integral part of corporate cost-reduction strategies and affect not only production work but also increasingly high-skilled and well-paid jobs in design, research and development activities. Relocation as well as a large part of green-field investment takes place in countries where, in many cases, there is a very low rate of unionisation, no democratic unions or no unions at all. TNCs have provided employment through direct capital investment, while building complex global supply chains and multi-level networks, which reach out to thousands of contractors and suppliers all over the world.  These networks have made it possible for companies to source goods and services anywhere, reorganise production lines quickly, forcing workers to adapt constantly to new performance requirements, or to leave the country at a moment's notice if a cheaper and more compliant workforce is available somewhere else.TNCs have thus significantly altered the industrial structure within and among countries for their own benefits, including by moving decision-making centres and by transforming the employment relationship on which labour protection systems are largely based.  While it is abundantly clear that TNCs have a significant influence over the working conditions of millions of workers across the world, they refuse to recognize their influence and they argue that they are not responsible for the workers along the supply chain.  TNCs have created a global labour market in which workers from the same and/or different countries are continuously put into competition with each other.  Moreover, the unrestricted mobility of capital allows it to take advantage of differences in wages, working conditions, and labour legislation.  Conflicts of interests are created between groups of workers in different regions, between workers at different worksites, and also within and across countries. Workers are pushed to work faster, cheaper, and for longer hours, which leads to increasing work-related health problems. The TNCs ability to relocate manufacturing and research and development is a threat not only to jobs but also to wages and workers' bargaining power. To date, trade unions have had limited success in challenging the power of TNCs. The relocation process driven by TNCs is taking a heavy toll on workers and many regions are facing the spectre of de-industrialisation. However, industry is a key component of growth, technological and social development, and balanced trade patterns. It is vital for employment. Government policies are therefore needed to promote equitable and sustainable growth, facilitate the adaptation of traditional industries, and encourage the development of new ones.  Unions have a new role to play in this field, linking the social and environmental dimension in their strategy for the benefit of all workers.

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