World Day for Decent Work - Thursday 7 October

Today is "World Day for Decent Work".  Check out "BloggersUnite" for further details.

"WDDW therefore has three core messages for this year:

1) Growth and decent jobs, not austerity, are essential to beating the crisis and ending poverty.

2) Quality public services are essential for a decent life and must not be slashed in the name of fiscal consolidation.

3) The financial sector must pay for the damage it has caused and be made to serve the real economy and real human needs".
Let's see if Lord Hutton is going mark the occasion by making his interim report on Public Pensions due out at 08:00 today really fair and equitable (see next post).

STAND UP: For Decent Work - TUC Thursday October 7

Thursday October 7 is the "World Day for Decent Jobs".  This day is supported by the TUC and trade unions in over 100 countries.

The 3 core messages for this year are:-

- Growth and decent jobs, not austerity, are essential to beating the crisis and ending poverty;
- Quality public services are essential for a decent life and must not be slashed in the name of fiscal consolidation; and,
- The financial sector must pay for the damage it has caused and be made to serve the real economy and real human needs.

This is not just about developing countries - my branch has employer's who allow contractors to force their staff to work 6 x 12 hour shifts (including nights) per week on minimum wage (inner London).  I think that many other UK union branches can tell similar stories (and worse).

Find out more about this Day for action here while bloggers can participate here.

The TUC will be holding a comedy Stand Up event that evening (see left) featuring the excellent Shappi Khorsandi.

Rhyme, Rhythm & Reason Ticket

Presented in association with The TUC as part of the 2009 World Day for Decent Work. Wednesday 7 October Featuring the legendary Linton Kwesi Johnson performing with fellow dub poet Jean 'Binta' Breeze . With one of the brightest young stars of performance poetry, Laura Dockrill. And opening the show on a musical hight note, Congolese band The Zong Zing All Stars. Mixing the ideas with the entertainment will be TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady, Author of Meltdown : The End of the Age of Greed Paul Mason and others. Book early Our events always sell out! Book with or without buffet supper. Big saving if you book as a table of 10 . The TUC is at 23-28 Great Russell Street, London WC1. Event starts at 7pm.

Tickets £15.99 - book on-line here

World Day for Decent Work: Think Global Act Union

Today is the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) which is a new designated international trade union campaigning “Day” to promote the concept of decent work.

I went to a series of workshops at the TUC, Congress House. There were events in over 100 countries today.

At Congress house we had international trade union representatives from all over the world, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber (speech here); TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady (speech); TUC General Councillor Paul Talbot (and Unite Assistant General Secretary) (speech) and many others.

There were loads of NGO’s speakers and stalls as well.

This is what the WDDW website had to say about the day:-
“As every person should be able to have a job that enables them to live a good life in which their basic needs are met, decent work is the focus for World day for decent Work (WDDW). This is an opportunity for trade unions and organisations to join a broad global mobilisation involving a large number of people and a wide range of activities. The activities can be connected with three major themes: Rights at work, a theme dealing with the rights of working women and men; Solidarity, a theme focused on practical action involving cooperation between affiliates on a bilateral or multilateral basis; and Ending Poverty and Inequality, a theme emanating from the new globalisation”.

I have made some notes and will try and post later on about the workshops I attended. Some very good stuff.

I also met for the first time face to face (as opposed to virtual) top “UK Labor geek” TIGMOO and Johninnit blogger John W, who was rushing around organising a WDDW event on “Second Life”.

I’ve stolen the slogan (and main picture above) “Think Global Act Union” from the “Professionals Union” Prospect. Sue Ferns (head of research) used it at the “Decent Work and Human Rights” workshop. There were jokes made by other panel members that they will also “appropriate” this slogan since it is so absolutely encapsulates the spirit of international trade unionism.

After all if property is theft.....

World Day For Decent Work - Tuesday 7 October

Check out the TUC website here about this event :-

The global trade union movement is holding a World Day for Decent Work on Tuesday 7 October. To mark the event in the UK, and in support of the Decent Work, Decent Life Campaign, the TUC is organising a day of activities at Congress House, London, focusing on rights at work and ending inequality in the workplace.

The event promises to be the largest ever gathering of international development and labour-related organisations in the UK concerned with the Decent Work agenda.

Over the course of the day (9:30 - 16:30) there will be over 50 workshops, films, exhibitions and stalls from UK development charities, trade unions, organisations concerned with fair and ethical trade, and academic institutions focusing on the development and gender dimensions of livelihood and income generation issues.