Global markets are failing society and need to be fundamentally restructured, unions told the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at a meeting hosted by the Vatican on 9 and 10 August 2022.
11 Aug 2022
PRESS RELEASE
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and a delegation of
affiliated union leaders from around the world were invited to meet the Pope’s
advisers to discuss issues impacting transport workers and the wider society.
The delegation was supported by Pope Francis, who opened the Pontifical Academy
of Social Sciences specifically for the meeting and greeted the entire
delegation during the General Audience on Wednesday.
Both the Church and the unions agreed that
business leaders must act urgently to pull the world back from the brink of
recession. They should do this by recognising their obligations to the common
good, and contribute to building a sustainable global economy. This should be
based on social justice and the right to decent work.
“Companies and governments must take responsibility for what is happening in
supply chains,” ITF President Paddy Crumlin told the meeting.
“Their blinkered approach amounts to corporate greed and ignores the greater
good. The existing system promotes human suffering. That must end.”
Transport hijacked for profit
Transport systems are crucial to societies, Crumlin said, whether we are
talking about buses that get people to work, or the vast shipping networks that
underpin global commerce.
“Over the last few decades, these have increasingly been hijacked by
capitalists motivated simply by profit, often to the detriment of the people
who work in transport – and the people who rely on it,” said Crumlin.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few is increasing
year by year – at the same time people are losing faith in democracy. Global
GDP has trebled since 1980, yet labour income share has declined, and we have
exploding levels of unemployment. Inequality is now widely recognised as a
global risk.
“Energy companies, the Goliaths of e-commerce, and shipping giants are all
making record profits,” said Crumlin. “The resources exist to fix problems
facing workers today and working people from suffering. We must hold those in
power to account for the decisions they make.”
The ITF is developing the infrastructure to become the world’s authority on
supply chain accountability, Crumlin explained. Workers and their unions are at
the forefront of re-designing the corporate model so that companies abusing
workers’ rights come under the spotlight.
With a trillion dollars of deferred wages under union-managed pension
funds, workers are in a unique position to influence stakeholders and encourage
investors to move capital to where it can do most good, underpinned by
environmental, social and governance principles.
Crisis upon crisis
Achieving progress on workers’ rights remains a struggle as humanity faces
crisis after crisis, union leaders told the Pope’s advisers. However, this only
redoubles the determination of working people and their representatives to see
justice prevail.
The impact of climate change on transport workers, the lingering effects of
the Covid-19 pandemic, the wars in South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, and
the threat of world-wide recession were all discussed.
Climate change and the need for a just transition to zero-carbon transport
systems were major points. Transport represents 25% of global energy-related
greenhouse gas emissions, 15% of all emissions, and is the fasted growing
sector for emissions – they are set to double by 2050.
“We are in a race against time to stabilise the planet and mitigate the
impacts of climate change,” said Stephen Cotton, the ITF’s General
Secretary. “But social and economic justice must go hand-in-hand with
technological advances, so that we emerge with a better world for everyone and
not just another crisis averted.”
The transport sector requires investment of USD $32 trillion by 2050 to
decarbonise. In responding to this crisis, transport unions demand that workers
have a say. We must ensure that we see a just transition to a carbon-neutral
world, Cotton said, particularly in the Global South.
Progress for women has stalled
Cotton also pointed out that all parties need to re-energise work in
building a gender-equal society. Women are still under-represented in the
transport sector and are more likely to have the lowest-paid and most
precarious jobs. A collective focus on this issue remains essential, he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Argentine transport workers’ union FNTCOTAC, its
Vice President Pablo Moyano said that unions have a history of
fighting for working people in times of crisis.
“The strength of solidarity among transport workers is a solid foundation
on which to shape change,” he said, “whether on technology, climate justice, or
in fighting human trafficking and corruption.”
Other union leaders addressed the need to champion democratic values,
tackle corporate greed and support the role of young workers in driving change.
The wars around the world, and the suffering they cause, cast a shadow over
the meeting. As a result of conflict, one person is forcibly displaced every
three seconds, it was noted. The bravery and tenacity of transport workers who
continue to risk their lives to get vital supplies into these countries must be
applauded, the meeting agreed.
“If we don’t build a shared and sustainable future and protect and preserve
the rights and opportunities for future generations, we fail to uphold our
values,” said Crumlin. “Together with all of our allies, unions will organise
for rights and social justice. We will act together in solidarity. We will
leave no one behind.”
Click here to read the joint statement.
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