92ND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE

TUs Highlight Discontent Against Globalisation

                                                                                                                                                       Tapan Sen

MEETING at Geneva from June 1 to 17, the 92nd conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reflected the rising discontent against and louder disapproval of the ongoing process of neo-liberal imperialist globalisation. Most of the worker delegates attending the conference from both developing and developed countries, and even the government representatives from many of the developing countries, particularly from Asia, Africa and Latin America made strong observations on the neo-liberal globalisation process perpetrated by the international financial institutions and allied agencies at the behest of rich industrialised powers and international finance capital.

COMMISSION ON GLOBALISATION

The report of the World Commission on Social Dimensions of Globalisation, appointed by ILO, was the theme of deliberations at the conference. The commission, co-chaired by the United Republic of Tanzania’s president Benzamin William Mkapa and Republic of Finland’s president Tarja Halonen, comprised 26 members from different walks of life and with different viewpoints. The report submitted by the commission, titled “A Fair Globalisation: Creating Opportunities for All,” began with these words:

“The current path of globalisation must change. Too few share its benefits. Too many have no voice in its design and no influence on its course.… Immense riches are being created. But the fundamental problems of poverty, exclusion and inequality persist. Corruption is widespread.… There are deep-seated and persistent imbalances in the current workings of the global economy which are ethically unacceptable and politically unsustainable…. The imbalance between economy and society is subverting social justice.… The imbalance between the economy and the polity is undermining democratic accountability.”

The report diagnosed the unfair governance of the global economy creating unethical and unsustainable disparities between the countries and within the country throughout the globe to be the root cause of such malice on humanity. The report had to admit that the insatiable greed for profit and wealth by a few powerful has become the governing force in the global economy to keep the rest of inhumanity hungry and distressed. It quoted Mahatma Gandhi as saying that “There is enough in the world for everybody’s need but there cannot be enough for everybody’s greed.” It called for better policy coherence both in national and global levels and fair rules for trade, finance and investments to ensure, inter alia, greater policy autonomy for the developing countries, and more respect to the rights of the mass of the people including the labour to be made the essential and irreplaceable ingredients of all exercises for remaining competitive and productive, in order to make the globalisation fair and beneficial for all.

Maybe the efficacy and practicality of the concrete measures suggested by the report are debatable. Yet one thing must be noted. The rising struggle worldwide by the workers and people against the neo-liberal imperialist globalisation has become more powerful than the media campaign and institutional patronage in favour of globalisation. This is what forced all concerned to admit and recognise the ill effect and unfair design of the entire process, thus pushing its protagonists to the defensive. 

GLOBALISATION DENOUNCED

At the 90th conference of the ILO, held on 2002, its director general Juan Somavia had to mention in his opening speech that the globalisation was facing a crisis of legitimacy. Then, at the 91st conference, the director general’s report titled “Working Out of Poverty,” had to observe that, “While for some, globalisation has generated wealth and welfare, many see it as a source of persistent inequality and social exclusion…. Yet the dominant policy message has been: Grow fast, distribute later. It has not really worked.… Poverty is the result of failures and ineffective economic and social systems.… and of a model of globalisation incapable of preventing the growth of unemployment and the informal economy.”

Now, at the just concluded 92nd conference, the same director general, while referring to the World Commission’s Report on Globalisation, stated in his report that “Constructing a social dimension to globalisation by strengthening the governance system from the local to global, is a major task.” In his opening speech to the conference while placing his report, Juan Somavia admitted that the globalisation has reduced space for national policy suited to specific domestic needs and commented that “There cannot be successful globalisation without a successful localisation…. sound local and national policies in a democratic setting are crucial.… We need fair rules for trade capital and technology flows, migration and labour standards. All these will provide more policy space for developing countries to have real national ownership of developmental policies.” He advocated strong pursuit of the ILO’s agenda for decent work for all to confront such a situation.   

But as usual, and may be due to systemic compulsion, despite admitting the inefficacy of the present model of globalisation in providing a better humane living for all, the director general still sought to find a solution within the framework of free market and globalisation itself. He suggested for making the globalisation more inclusive and open economies to be more responsive to social concerns. He did not mention anything about neo-colonial ploy of the economic superpowers to de-industrialise the developing economies and to thrive at their cost. He remained silent about the imperialist game plan to establish hegemony over the rest of the world and combine both their military and economic policy designs in that direction. Although his report admitted a worsening of the situation in the occupied Arab territories and “dramatic social effects of the economic disruptions caused by restrictions and systematic acts of violence and other impositions on the daily life of Palestinians,” it remained conspicuously silent about the arrogance and machinations of the Israeli forces on the Palestinians with the active backing of the US imperialists.

The DG stressed upon the instrument of tripartite social dialogue to be the only route for finding a solution to the problems of globalisation but did not bother to mention about the rising waves of strikes and struggles by the working class all over the world, including the developed countries, and preferred not to assert the truth that the united resistance struggle by the working class can only create grounds and condition for such “social dialogues” as per the ILO vocabulary.   

SOME IMPORTANT INTERVENTIONS

Many speakers on the DG’s report were forthright in denouncing the present globalisation process as the root of widespread poverty. While referring to the anti-globalisation movement worldwide, Tanzanian president and the World Commission co-chairman Mkapa mentioned the phenomenal increase of poverty in Africa in the process of decade long globalisation. He stated that such globalisation “will always be politically unbalanced, materially unsustainable, morally indefensible and from a security standpoint, graphically catastrophic.” Bulgaria president Parvanov enquired “whether, in its present form, globalisation is the best thing for humanity?” New  Zealand prime minister Ms Clark, while narrating the experience of hectic liberalisation in the country’s economy during 1990s and its negative results followed by the change in the government in 1999, stated that “the New Zealand people then voted for a change in the direction (of the policies) to reassert traditional values in our country of fairness, opportunity and security.” Berozini, from the labour ministry of Brazil, mentioned about the “devastating social effects of the globalisation process” and insisted on a proper “international system of governance” to ensure “reduction of inequalities and democratisation of multilateral institutions.” Representing the government of China, Wang stressed the urgent need for “establishment of a new political and economic order that is fair and rational” to replace the present one if globalisation is to be made beneficial for all. Cuban labour minister Morales Cartaya denounced “the selfishness and barbarity which are being imposed through neo-liberal globalisation and a world order which is subject to the hegemonic domination of a single superpower.… which (through war and coercion) flagrantly violates and tramples on the basic principles and standards of international law and the charter of the United Nations.” Denouncing the act of allowing platform in the ILO conference to some dubious NGOs who are serving the US conspiratorial design against Cuba, Cartaya warned that effective action needs to be taken before it becomes too late “to prevent ILO from becoming hostage to discriminatory practices and political manipulation.” India’s labour minister Sisram Ola and P D Shenoy, secretary in the ministry of labour, also addressed the conference.

Referring to the globalisation process, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) general secretary Guy Ryder asserted that “No issues, no challenge is greater than that of reversing those workings of the global economy which today offer reward for violation of workers’ rights.” World Federation of Trade Unions general secretary Alexander Zharikov said “the IMF, World Bank and WTO continue to promote policies what amounts to neo-colonialism…. It is essential that ILO adopt a sharper, stronger position towards policies of neo-liberal globalisation.” Xu, a workers’ delegate from China, referred to the ills of neo-liberal economic order and said the “key cause of such a situation is the present international economic and trade order” which needs to be replaced by a fair and reasonable one. Doz, a workers’ delegate from Spain, denounced the “violation of democratic principles, human rights and international law which are committed under the cloak of combating terrorism.” He asserted, “What is much worse, is the use of terrorist acts and their victims as a pretext for declaring wars and occupying countries.” Lee, a workers’ delegate from South Korea, asserted that the resistance struggle by South Korean workers against the destructive impact of neo-liberal globalisation is continuing and workers’ solidarity around the world to the anti-globalisation struggle is of crucial importance along with ILO’s supervisory and monitoring activities on international labour standards.

Addressing the conference, TUI of Public and Allied Employees general secretary Sukomal Sen questioned the misplaced optimism expressed in the DG’s report for a fair globalisation within the existing neo-liberal framework driven by the craze for profit. He said this framework is best defined by the observation made in the report of the World Commission that “worldwide, many are convinced that the rights of capital are better protected than the rights of workers.” Sen referred, as an example, to the atrocious attack on the basic rights of workers in case of the strike by the government employees of Tamilnadu (India) in violation of core labour standards set out by the ILO. He called for more consensus based and non-discriminatory functioning and decision making in ILO with the involvement of all segments of the trade union movement to make it more effective in combating the challenges. 

While speaking in the plenary session on global report, H Mahadevan (AITUC) referred to the jobless, senseless, futureless and ruthless growth under neo-liberal globalisation. H Dave of BMS also spoke in the session on the DG’s report.

DELIBERATION IN COMMITTEES

As per the usual practice, the conference deliberated on five issues in five different committees. The issues were 1) migrant workers, 2) human resource development 3) workers of fishing sector 4) resolutions 5) application of standards. CITU secretary Tapan Sen represented the workers’ delegation from India in the resolutions committee; Ravi Raman (BMS) was there in the human resource development committee, H Mahadevan (AITUC) in the committee on migrant workers, H Dave (BMS) and Shankar Saha (UTUC-LS) in the application of standards committee, and Thampan Thomas (HMS) and Pavan Singh Ghatwar (INTUC) in the committee on fishing sector. 

The resolutions committee adopted a resolution concerning promotion of gender equality, pay equity and maternity protection, which pointed to the phenomenon of aggravation of gender inequality, discrimination against women workers in respect of employment opportunity, wages, job security and other rights, and serious defects in maternity protection throughout the world under the neo-liberal globalisation. The resolution also pointed to the inhuman treatment with women workers and virtual denial to them of maternity protection and maternity rights and benefits particularly in the informal sector. It called for ratification of all related conventions and recommendations of the ILO, for appropriate “legislative and affirmative action” by the governments for detection and elimination of gender disparity in the workplace and the society, and concerted action by the workers and employers’ organisations in that direction in their respective fields. It also asked the ILO to strengthen its supervisory and monitoring machineries and supportive activities for effective implementation of the resolution. While commending the resolution in the plenary session of the conference, Tapan Sen (CITU) pointed out that aggravation of gender gap and discrimination have been one of the major negative reflections of neo-liberal globalisation process signalling speedy degeneration and distortion of social values. The situation started improving to some extent during the pre-globalisation period since the second world war when the regime of social welfare in economic matters started. But neo-liberal globalisation has again put the phenomenon of gender discrimination and repression on the ascending track. Eradication of gender discrimination cannot come about automatically. It has to be achieved. 

The committee on human resource development adopted a new, revised and updated recommendation in place of the human resource development recommendation 1975 in tune with the changed situation. It asked the governments to devise appropriate policies at national level on education, training and life-long learning, suitable to changing the workplaces and assign responsibilities to all the social partners in respect of human resource development. It also recognised the rights of the workers to negotiate on their rights to education and training through collective bargaining process at all levels --- local to international. Though the employers group voted against the recommendation in the plenary session, the recommendation was adopted by the conference by a huge majority of votes.

The committee on migrant workers adopted a report on conclusions on a fair deal for migrant workers. Keeping in view the increasing phenomenon of migration of workers across the borders, the conclusion recommended a right based approach and plan of action by ILO and its constituents, aimed at equal treatment of migrant workers with nationals in respect of national labour laws, access to applicable social protections, combating exploitation and promotion of basic human rights for all migrants. It also called for ratification of all related ILO conventions and recommendations.

The committee on fishing sector dwelt on the paper prepared by ILO for adoption of a comprehensive standard for the fishing sector workers on board in fishing vessels. The committee unanimously recommended the adoption of a convention and a recommendation on the working conditions, rights, social security, health and safety measures etc for the fishing workers on board on fishing vessels.    

The committee on application of standards reviewed the situation of implementation of various ILO conventions and recommendations in various countries and also scrutinised the cases of complaints of violation of ratified conventions received and examined by a committee of experts on application of ILO standards. While speaking on the report of the committee, Shankar Saha (UTUC-LS) from India pointed out that owing to rapid expansion of the informal sector throughout the world in the process of neo-liberal globalisation, the core labour standards set out by ILO are facing the threat of becoming irrelevant to the majority workforce in the world, thus signifying the urgent need for an all-out struggle against globalisation.

The workers’ delegation to the 92nd ILO conference consisted of H Dave and Ravi Raman (BMS), Pavan Ghatwar and G Kalan (INTUC), Tapan Sen (CITU), Thampan Thomas (HMS), H Mahadevan (AITUC) and Sankar Saha (UTUC-LS). West Bengal labour minister Mohd Amin was a member of the government delegation along with union labour minister and the labour minister of Punjab.