Unions, civil society and ten thousands to G20: we need fair trade, social and climate justice and more democracy

G20

(29 June 2017) The leaders of the G20 will meet for their annual meeting, 7-8 July in Hamburg. Trade unions and civil society will be present to underline their demands for Another World. Many of the issues important to public service workers in Europe and beyond are on the agenda like trade, climate change, digitalization and gender equality.

EPSU’s General Secretary  “The G20 have the capacity to change the world for the better. Public service workers are expecting an end to austerity and policies for public investment in public services like health so the sustainable development goals in Europe and globally can be achieved. We want the EU to play a key role to promote gender equality, just transition and the Paris agreement, to fight for an end to tax dumping and to address increasing wealth inequality. “  He continued “ With government leaders from several countries present that are attacking workers’ rights and undermine democracy, the EU countries and institutions should stand up for social dialogue, public participation, trade union and human rights.” 

Unions including EPSU affiliate Verdi have been very active mobilizing for different protests including a demo with ships on water, a march with self-made banners and a massive rally. Opposition to trade deals like CETA and JEFTA will be part of the actions.

For information on the protests

For the demands

The G20 are:  Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Saudi-Arabia, South-Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, UK, United States and the European Union. Official info on G20 in Germany is available at: www.g20.org/

For the statements of the Labour 20 (the trade unions in the G20 countries)  www.ituc.org/l20 

For information of the German trade union confederation DGB on the G20 www.dgb.de/l20

The unions have been cooperating with the Women’s group that are active in the G20 context and adopted a joint statement to promote Women’s Economic Empowerment and Decent work in an interconnected world.

 

Germany