Ladies and gentlemen,
The living and working conditions of the working people today are more difficult since the last ILO Conference.
Extremely high unemployment, reduction in salaries and pensions, privatizations in all sectors of the economy, criminal policies of the employers on the issue of lack safety in the workplaces, state violence and imperialist aggressiveness are prevailing.
It is characteristic that while the produced wealth is increasing and the markets are full with products of all sorts, that while the profits of the multinationals and the majority of the employers remain extremely high, the rights of the workers are eliminated. These are the characteristic of the deep crisis of the capitalist system.
At the same time, this shows that capital is taking full advantage of the crisis to increase its profits at the expense of popular masses.
The situation for the working class in all continents is getting worse:
In Bangladesh criminal policies of the multinationals and the local employers continue to kill workers, in Turkey the state violence and the anti-worker attack is escalating, in Costa Rica, the strikes in the public sector are prohibited, in Panama, strikes are prohibited to the workers of the Panama Canal, Chile is an example for many countries as it is violating basic ratified conventions for 14 years now. In Kazakhstan, in the Gulf countries, Guatemala, there is almost no freedom of association. In Colombia, metal workers and miners are attacked constantly. The workers of the GLENCORE multinational were on strike for 98 days and the multinational treated the workers like criminals, MICHELIN closes down factories in Cali and Chusacá. But, disregarding all that, the ILO excluded colombia from the list. The European working class is pushed to poverty by the policies implemented by the European Union and the governments in favor of the employers. The workers and people of Africa are living in extremely bad conditions while their natural resources are stolen daily by the multinationals.
The right of 8 hours stable and secured work, the right of sectoral and national collective bargaining, the right of strike, the right to social security and pension, the right to public education and healthcare are in the epicenter of the attack launched by the IMF, the World Bank, the European Union and the governments that support them.
img_3294_s.JPGAs World Federation of Trade Unions, representing currently 86 million members in 126 countries we will not stop to defend this rights. We will continue organizing international activities and action days, we will continue to globally denounce these policies, we will continue to organize on the ground to block them, we will continue to call our members and friends in the frontline of the struggle for the rights of the working people.
Unfortunately, the role of the ILO and its Regional Offices are not assisting this direction. On the contrary, the Regional Offices of ILO in various continents, as example in Central America and Middle East, follow a policy of discrimination against parts of the workers. They favor other parts. They create difficulties and obstacles for many trade-unionists. This has to stop. The role of the ILO Regional Offices is to treat all workers and their representatives equally. We are asking the discriminations against the members and friends of WFTU to stop. We are asking for proportional representation.
As World Federation of Trade Unions we will continue to call the international trade union movement in joint struggles against the exploitation and the capitalist barbarism. For second year in October 3rd 2013, we call all the trade union organizations to march militantly with demonstrations, strikes, rallies and other activities for the right to food, clean water, medicine, books, housing for all according to the people’s contemporary needs.
At the same time, we call upon all militant trade unions with internationalist spirit and solidarity to stand on the side of the Palestinian people to his struggle for his own independent homeland. To defend the right of the people of Libya, of Iraq, Syria, Mali, Venezuela, Honduras, Paraguay to decide themselves on their present and future and not NATO or the imperialists.
To demand to stop the blockade of USA and their allies against the Cuban people.
Taking the floor here at the ILO, it´s our duty to express once more the respect and appreciation of the WFTU for the the Working Class of Greece, that with important class struggles resists, shows its disobedience and combats the barbaric, anti-people policies.
We condemn Government of Greece that fired out of the blue and overnight 2.660 workers of the Greek Public Radio and Television and with a dictatorial decision closed down the Greek Public Television and the Greek Public Radio.
The workers and the two millions of unemployed in Greece must know that they’re not alone. We are on their side.
Thank you.
