The TUAC Working Group on Economic Policy has wrapped up in Washington DC. Discussion continues with the ITUC, IMF and World Bank – from technology and labour markets to global debt, job quality and social protection.
@ituc.bsky.social @aflcio.org
3/3
With contributions from @darrickhamilton.bsky.social , @hshierholz.bsky.social , @jaredb-econ.bsky.social , @joshbivens-econ.bsky.social, Candace Archer, Mary Beech, Rebecca Reindel, Ambassador Katherine Tai and Erica Owen.
@aflcio.org @epi.org @centeronbudget.bsky.social
2/2
Discussions ranged from risks in economic distribution and growth to deregulation, AI and OSH – and what a worker-centred trade agenda should look like, including how unions can build a progressive narrative against a sweeping deregulation agenda.
1/3
Day 1 of the TUAC Working Group on Economic Policy in Washington DC. One thread ran through it all: unions and collective bargaining remain indispensable for tackling rising inequality and redressing the shift of gains from labour to profits.
3/3
TUAC is launching a series of webinars and articles to mark this milestone. The first webinar takes place on 24 March at 1pm CET.
More details here 👇
tuac.org/news/fifty-years-of-the-oecd-guidelines-how-trade-unions-shaped-the-rules-for-multinational-enterprises/
2/3
As the Guidelines turn 50, TUAC is calling on the OECD to ensure coherent and binding implementation – creating a genuine level playing field for multinationals that protects workers and their unions.
1/3
📢 This year marks 50 years of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. Trade unions were instrumental in their creation, and have used them to hold MNEs to account ever since.
2/3
💬 "Fair wages and strong domestic demand are the foundation of balanced trade and financial stability, so as long as governments refuse to address inequality at home, they will not solve imbalances abroad."
– Veronica Nilsson, TUAC General Secretary
1/3
A TUAC policy paper published today argues that trade frictions and tariffs are the long-term result of domestic policy choices that have failed to protect workers and jobs.
(3/3)
TUAC urges the OECD to properly acknowledge these risks and promote labour rights across AI development.
(2/3)
The guidance ignores risks AI poses in the workplace, fails to stress the need for AI deployment to comply with ILO fundamental rights standards, and fails to acknowledge how AI undermines freedom of association.
(1/3)
The OECD's new Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible AI explicitly adopts a "risk-agnostic approach", a significant missed opportunity for workers.
Without concrete recommendations on AI risks, it falls well short of what is needed. #AIPolicy #LabourRights
TUAC Senior Policy Advisor Sarah Jameson speaking on "Artificial intelligence – a tool of worker and trade union empowerment or disempowerment?"
TUAC General Secretary Veronica Nilsson at today's SSSH conference in Zagreb on digital and green transitions, ahead of Croatia's expected OECD membership this year.
"To be effective, social dialogue should involve workers from the beginning of the process, not at the end."
🌍 Trade unions are setting out a vision for a just transition in the textile & garment supply chain.
Join us at the OECD Garment Forum on 10 Feb for the launch of the Just Transition Manifesto, with @industriall-union.org @industrialleurope.bsky.social @ituc.bsky.social
🔗 tinyurl.com/mshafmw7
Strong unions are key to combating forced labour and counterfeit trade, @oecd-ocde.bsky.social evidence confirms. However, the OECD’s recommendations remain "remarkably silent on trade union and collective bargaining rights" @tuac.bsky.social points out tuac.org/news/strong-...
(2/2) The findings reinforce trade unions' long-standing position: empowering workers is fundamental to tackling exploitation and criminality.
tuac.org/news/strong-un...
#LabourRights #OECD
(1/2) 📊 New OECD report "From Fakes to Forced Labour" finds countries with higher trade union density and collective bargaining coverage show lower counterfeit trade intensity. Counterfeit trade is valued at close to half a trillion USD annually.
🎧 Listen: TUAC General Secretary Veronica Nilsson on the Global Minimum Tax deal – what it is, why it matters, and where the loopholes remain.
radiolabour.net/nilsson-1901...
#GlobalMinimumTax
📚 Teachers face administrative overload, lack of resources, and unsafe classrooms, causing burnout and threatening their health. 🤝 Collective solutions, better support, and agency at work are essential to retain teachers and protect their wellbeing.
👉 Read the article in HesaMag n.30: etui.org/4Z7
📢Giulia Bartoli from our Italian affiliate @Fillea Cgil :
More workers injured, more fatal accidents at work.
⏰ Time to Act!
Limit subcontracting ⛓️
#timetoact #limitsubcontracting
👉 bit.ly/45u1BCP
When nurses are outside, something is wrong inside.
America’s unions stand in solidarity with the 15,000 @nynurses.bsky.social on strike today fighting for safe staffing, workplace protections and health care.
Like all workers, nurses deserve to work in safe conditions!
It’s unacceptable that a corporation can pay their CEO 6,666x what the average worker is paid, while those same workers need food assistance to make ends meet.
Starbucks @sbworkersunited.org baristas deserve better. We stand with them in their fight for a fair contract.
"Workers on the ships described physical violence, including hitting or strangulation, wage deductions, intimidation and debt bondage – a system that in effect traps them at sea. Many reported working excessive hours with little rest."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The union card. HT @etuc-ces.bsky.social
(3/3)
But trade unions regret the lack of recommendations on key levers to lift wages and security at work:
🔹collective bargaining
🔹minimum wage
🔹social dialogue
Full analysis: tuac.org/news/croatia...
(2/3)
TUAC welcomes OECD recommendations to:
🔹expand early childhood education and care
🔹modernise vocational education and training
🔹reinforce efforts to reduce disability employment gap
(1/3)
New OECD Labour Market Review says Croatia must tackle low pay and precarious work, and address key labour market gaps.
