Global Unions Initiative to fund reconstruction in tsunami area
17 January 2005: The ITF and the other sector based Global Union Federations (GUFs) together with the ICFTU representing national trade union centres, agreed at their annual meeting on 11-12 January to establish a 'Global Unions' initiative to provide funding for sustainable rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the areas affected by the Tsunami disaster.
Recognising that immediate humanitarian relief can be best channelled through existing national appeals, often through trade union centres, this international trade union initiative will identify reconstruction work where trade unions have a specific role to play and where union expertise is most needed, including rebuilding trade union infrastructure, and will help ensure maximum cohesion in the trade union movement's reconstruction activities.
A special bank account is being established as well as procedures to ensure that proposals from affiliates of the Global Unions partners in the countries affected can submit requests for funding, and that unions worldwide can contribute to the fund and can indicate if there are specific countries, industries or projects where they want their support to be directed.
In the meantime, the partner bodies are gathering information about the situation on the ground. A mission of international union leaders including Fred Van Lueewen, General Secretary of Education International and Chair of the GUF General Conference and ICFTU representatives left for Indonesia and Sri Lanka on 14th January. ITF regional officers are also due to visit these countries shortly to assess the special needs of transport unions. ITF are also in close touch with the National Coordinating Committees in India and Thailand. Union members in the affected country are providing humanitarian relief and health-care and are working to re-establish supplies of power and other services.
The ITF affiliated union IKAGI has negotiated with the national airline Garuda extra baggage allowance for the cabin crew on flights into Banda Aceh to transport medical supplies and other relief material which are being donated by Indonesian elsewhere in the country. A comprehensive information base on reconstruction needs will be built up so that longer term reconstruction assistance can be directed to the places it is most needed.
Global Unions also participated in the intergovernmental meeting held in Geneva on 12th January by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which stressed that the relief effort must be aimed at reducing poverty and that Tsunami assistance must be in addition to not a replacement for the continued urgent relief programmes needed in Africa, where thousands of people continue to die every day.
Global Unions will be continuing to press the ILO to play a major role in assisting the UN efforts and to send urgent tripartite missions to the countries affected. The meeting also agreed to write to the President of Indonesia stressing that aid agencies, trade unions and NGOs be allowed to carry out their legitimate work effectively, especially in areas which have been affected by civil conflict.
Increasing numbers of ITF affiliates are offering financial and practical assistance and the ITF is gathering information on the needs of transport unions and their members and the unorganised in ITF sectors in order to establish projects for assistance by the Global Unions Fund. Unions wishing to contribute to the Fund can transfer money to the ITF. Bank account details for the Fund will shortly be available. The ITF has also made an immediate contribution of £10,000 to the Tsunami Maritime Relief programme which has been established by the Secretary General of the International maritime Organisation.
Information on efforts being made by ITF unions will continue to be listed on the ITF website. General information on the Global Unions Fund can be found on www.global-unions.org.
SEE ALSO:
ICFTU Website: Tsunami relief: Global Unions launch reconstruction initiative and call for sustained international effort more >>
