The World Federation of Trade Unions [WFTU] Trade Union International Public Services and Allied [TUI PS & A] held its World Secretariat meeting on the 5th of August 2020 to assess the progress of its four year plan as adopted in its last Directive Committee meeting held on the 11th – 12th March 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Secretariat meeting received a political, socio-economic and organisational report as well as briefings from the various Continents on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting also discussed in details the May Day celebrations, the 75th WFTU anniversary celebrations and the roll- out of our anti-privatisation campaign.
The meeting was chaired by the President Comrade Artur Sequeira and addressed by the General Secretary Comrade Zola Saphetha. Present in the meeting were the Vice- Presidents rom Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America.
There is no doubt that the world is currently confronted by complex and difficult challenges that affirms the inability of capitalism both structural and systemic, to respond to the same crisis it perpetually creates. Workers all over the world are therefore encouraged to be united in fighting the system of capitalism whose sole interest is to only exploit workers for profits. Moreover, workers are called on to rally behind the TUI Public Service & Allied which is a class oriented organisation and its main preoccupation is the end of all forms of exploitation, privatisation and unsafe working conditions in all workplaces.
The meeting reiterated the demand for the provision of sufficient Personal Protective Equipment [PPEs] for all frontline workers across the world. The TUI PS & A will aggressively drive a campaign to force employers to comply with all health and safety regulations and to enforce employers to provide safe working conditions that do not recklessly expose frontline workers to the coronavirus.
The meeting resolved to intensify the call for governments around the world to increase their spending in public services such as health, education, and transport for the benefit of the working class and the poor who are in the main are victims of the brutal system of capitalism which makes it difficult to afford basic commodities.
As part of strengthening our organisation, we will deepen our work on ideological training for all our members on the shop floor so that they can be able to articulate issues on the anti-privatisation campaign, defense of workers’ rights and the campaign for universal free social services for all.
As we witness the emergence of right-wing governments in Europe and Latin America, billions of dollars are being spent in bailing out big corporations instead of saving jobs of the working men and women. Thousands of workers have been laid off or put on temporary work. This has had negative impact on vulnerable workers like women, and migrant workers all over the world. This has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the coronavirus which has caused unprecedented damages to the economy coupled with an unacceptable number of deaths, job losses, and loss of personal income of millions of our people.
The TUI PS & A will continue to coordinate all its class-oriented unions around the world to unite along its common demands for governments to:
- Invest more money in public services and stop privatisation of social services
- Provide adequate protection to all frontline workers by providing the necessary PPEs
- Respect the rights of workers and their rights for collective bargaining
- Respect the rights of migrant and refugees’ workers wherever they are around the world
- Stop the using the lock down regulations to violate workers’ rights
- Respect the rights of women and their struggles for gender equality at workplaces.
- Protect the youth and all vulnerable workers
“Workers of the world unite you have nothing to lose but your chains”
Issued by Zola Saphetha General Secretary TUI-PS&A
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