Brussels 26 January 2007 (ICTUC OnLine): The delegation of global trade
union leaders attending the Davos World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
has launched a strong attack on the activities of private equity firms
and hedge funds, as undermining decent employment and sustainable
business. At a press conference on Thursday, Philip Jennings, General
Secretary of Union Network International, accused them of being "like a
global vacuum cleaner hoovering up assets any place, anywhere, any time"
and pledged that the international trade union movement would "bring
them out of the shadows."
The trade union movement's concerns have also been reflected in comments
made by several high-profile figures from intergovernmental bodies,
academia and business at the Forum.
The union delegation has also criticised business leaders for ignoring
the employment and social aspects of action around climate change,
pointing to the urgent need for a global "green jobs" agenda, a proposal
welcomed in discussions with Achim Steiner, the head of the United
Nations Environment Programme. The unions plan to deepen their existing
close cooperation with UNEP to work on solutions which integrate
employment concerns with the urgent need for action on global warming.
"We have been giving a clear message to business and government
representatives here that globalisation is not working for millions upon
millions of people" said ITUC President Sharan Burrow. "A massive
rip-off of wealth is taking place, with a tiny cohort of the world's
richest people creaming off vast amounts of money while incomes for the
great bulk of the worlds' population are stagnating or falling. This is
the gorilla in the living room of globalisation, and politicians and
companies ignore it at their peril" she added.
The labour group, led by Burrow and ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder, is
holding a series of key meetings with heads of other international
institutions during the week-long Davos programme, including Ann Veneman
of UNICEF, Angel Gurria of the OECD, Richard Feachem of the Global Fund
Against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, Pascal Lamy of the WTO, and John
Lipsky, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Sessions with International Crisis Group chief Gareth Evans and WEF Head
Klaus Schwab also figured in the 13-member delegation's programme.
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