WSF Mumbai: Putting Labour Back at the Top of the Agenda

By ICFTU

Representatives of the international trade union movement gathered at the 4th World Social Forum in Mumbai, India to convey a strong message to an audience of trade union members and non-governmental organization delegates.

Enforcing fundamental workers' rights and generating decent work for all is the core agenda for injecting justice into the global economy.

Speaking at the World Social Forum, which has attracted over 100,000 participants from all over the world, including many who represent India's poorest sections of society; Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) talked of the agenda for labour. "Together with the Global Unions Federations, the ICFTU is committed to giving new force and greater unity to trade union internationalism" said the General Secretary.

Ryder opened a debate on labour and the world of work before an audience of 2000 by underlining that the commitment to trade union renewal went hand-in-hand with Global Unions' determination to work with those in civil society who share labour goals and values, as well as political allies to bring fundamental change to the path of globalisation. "Trade unions are there as the organisations of working people and there are many NGOs which share our aim and can compliment our work" he told delegates. "Today, the pressure for change makes the status quo untenable and NGOs provide a catalyst for our action to ensure that workers' rights are enforced on a global scale" continued Ryder