News online
ITF supports call for global action against social dumping
14 November 2008
The ITF has welcomed a new union strategy to combat the growing threat of “social dumping” put together by Nordic unions.
Speaking at a special conference held in Helsinki, Finland, on 12 November to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nordic Transport Workers’ Federation (NTF), ITF General Secretary David Cockroft recognised the importance of the longstanding commitment of Nordic unions to international action. He welcomed the publication of a new NTF book Worth of work - the fight against social dumping, which includes recommendations for building strong transport unions across national borders.
He also emphasised the growing links between Nordic and Baltic unions and urged the unions to spread their new ideas more widely through the ETF and ITF. It was important, he said, to build a model for cross border union action based on strong, democratic and worker-controlled unions in every region of the world. This was particularly important at a time when the global financial and economic crisis threatened jobs, incomes, pensions and savings in many regions, giving the global trade union movement the opportunity to demand a seat at the table during discussion concerning a new global governance system.
In addition, Cockroft highlighted how social dumping, which had begun in the maritime sector and had been challenged by the ITF’s unique flag of convenience campaign was now an issue in other branches of transport in Europe and other sectors of the economy.
It was, he said, “a key threat to the survival of decent work and to the ability of strong trade unions to defend transport workers’ wages and working conditions, and the ability of unions to take joint action against it was now under threat by a series of decisions taken by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.”
Eduardo Chagas, General Secretary of the ETF, who also addressed the conference, stressed that the trade union movement as a whole, led by the European Trade Union Confederation, now had to take urgent action to persuade political bodies that workers’ rights could not be determined by European judges.
Back to current news online stories
view larger image
