Global Trade Union Policy

The world economic crisis poses the greatest challenge faced by the international trade union movement since the Second World War. This presents a paradox: on the one hand, the facts bear out long-standing trade union criticisms of neoliberalism, but on the other hand, the collapse of the recently dominant economic policy approach does not automatically leave the field clear for alternative strategies. Trade unions worldwide have reacted to this contradictory situation with a dual strategy:

• In order to prevent the spreading of the crisis they have supported government measures aimed at rescuing financial institutions which are systemically vital. The contribution of organised labour has been to put saving jobs on the agenda on an equal footing with this.
• In parallel to their active participation in crisis management the most important trade union centres in the industrialised and developing countries have developed their own proposals, which has allowed them to join the debate on the reform of the international financial and economic system.

Within the framework of its international trade union activities the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has actively supported the process of renewing the international trade union movement, and continues to do so. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is particularly suited to tackling this complex task since it is the only trade union-friendly institution whose support efforts are aided by a global network of project bureaus. The FES’s presence in all key and almost all significant countries in the global North and South enable it to develop »made-to-measure« activities for its partners. In addition, the FES’s global network makes it possible to link up local trade union work in one country with the global level of international trade union organisations.

For more information on this topic, see the Trade Union Work portal.

The FES at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal

We compiled the highlights of our activities in Dakar from February 6-11, 2011 - that provided a platform for dialogue between representatives from trade unions, NGOs, and other organizations and members of civil society - in a video that you can watch here:

go to YouTube FES online channel

The FES Regional Trade Union Projects

The Regional Trade Union projects of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung foster the dialogue and alliance between trade unions and political players on a regional level:
go to Regional Trade Union project in Latin America FES SINDICAL

go to Regional Trade Union projekt in Asia TRADE UNION PROGRAM

go to Regional Trade Union projekt in Southern Eastern Europe SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND LABOUR RELATIONS

go to Regional Trade Union projekt in Middle Eastern Europe SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND LABOUR RELATIONS

 

Michael Cichon | Veronika Wodsak | Christina Behrendt:

The UN Social Protection Floor Initiatives
Turning the Tide at the ILO Conference 2011

For a long time, the international community has failed to give prominence to the Human Right to social security. Many nation states seemed to hide behind the principles of progressive realization. While the quality of social security improved gradually for many workers in the formal economy worldwide, a large number of workers in the informal economy had been left without social security coverage even in countries witnessing persistent economic growth. The demonstration that a basic set of social security benefits is affordable, also for developing countries, first broke the spell that had beset the social security development debate. However, it took a global financial and economic crisis to push social security to the top of the international agenda, when social security systems were recognized as important economic stabilizers even by the G20.

International Policy Analysis, FES Berlin, January 2011

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