On the World Day of
Social Justice on 20 February 2010, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called
for the end of the prevailing model of economic globalisation. In their
statement issued on the day, they said that the model has resulted in
economic instability and social exclusion.
On the World Day of
Social Justice on 20 February 2010, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called
for the end of the prevailing model of economic globalisation. In their
statement issued on the day, they said that the model has resulted in
economic instability and social exclusion.
On 20
February, 2010
the United Nations, the ILO, and the international community are
commemorating the 2nd World Day of Social Justice. This commemoration
comes at a challenging time for workers around the world, faced with
the worst economic downturn since the great depression. Trade unions
are seeing their members – working men and women around the globe –
grappling with a deepening jobs crisis brought about by the global
financial and economic recession. Indeed, workers and their families
are at the receiving end of multiple and converging crises: the jobs,
food and climate crises.
The commemoration of
the 2nd World Day of Social Justice impels us all to reflect on the
meaning of social justice, and on the prevailing model of economic
globalization that makes its attainment so elusive. Instead of
producing social justice with decent livelihoods for all, the model has
resulted in global economic instability, producing massive
unemployment, worsening poverty, hunger, and social exclusion. Millions
of working men and women have seen their jobs, homes, savings and
pensions evaporate overnight. The stark social injustice of the
situation is evidenced by the fact that the large banks and financial
institutions responsible for the crisis have benefited from economic
recovery packages through bail-outs and excessive executive
compensation, while paying scant attention to the credit needs of
ordinary workers, small entrepreneurs, and home owners.
The Food and
Agriculture Organisation estimates that severe hunger and malnutrition
are on the rise in low income countries, while UNICEF (United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund) and the World Food Programme
have stepped up their interventions in poor and vulnerable communities.
The United Nations is indicating that achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 has been severely compromised. The
International Labour Organisation draws attention to the fact that the
numbers of unemployed have risen by 34 million over the period 2008 to
2009, putting the number of jobless at an all-time high of 200 million
at the end of 2009. Moreover, global unemployment is set to worsen
throughout 2010.
In upholding the UN
Resolution of 2007 establishing the World Day of Social Justice, the
ITUC wishes to highlight, in particular, the ILO Declaration of 2008 on
Social Justice for a Fair Globalization which provides the policy
framework for giving effect to the UN Resolution. The ITUC emphasizes,
also, that social justice must mean, above all, distributive justice.
The global crisis has served to reveal the huge accumulations of profit
and wealth amassed through risky speculative transactions in the
financialised economy, and the failure to apply distributive mechanisms
that could spread the wealth by creating decent jobs and livelihoods
for all. Severe and persistent income inequality is a characteristic
feature of many national economies. The wage share of gross national
income has been shrinking steadily over the years, while the capital
share has been increasing. The crisis has shown that this model of
financial globalization is inherently unjust, imbalanced and
unsustainable.
Deep systemic reforms
are needed, that would result in the effective regulation of the
operations of banks and institutions such as hedge funds, private
equity funds and highly leveraged instruments. Supervisory authorities
must be transparent and accountable. Strict oversight of fiscal
practices is needed in order to minimize losses to national income
through tax evasion, mis-pricing, transfer pricing, and the use of tax
havens. Progressive taxation reform is also key to providing public
funding for socially sustainable investments. All of these reforms must
be part of a new framework for distributive justice.
