The Fight for Decent Work – PSI statement on World Day for Decent Work

World Day for Decent Work 2019 PSI banner

(7 October 2019) On this global day of acton, PSI draws attention to the devaluation of work which has a huge impact not only on workers but also on the citizens they serve. “One example is care workers: from cradle to grave, care work is central to humanity – the future is nurtured by child carers, and age care protects the dignity of the elderly; care services help secure equal opportunities and the rights of people with disability; and throughout our life cycle, most of us will need social support services to address needs including those arising from illness or poverty. And while the number of people requiring social care continues to increase, public care services have been under siege, resulting in the decline of quality and availability of care to poor people in dire need of social care. Care provision has become marketized, driven by profits. Exploitation of migrant labour, zero-hour contracts and informalisation of care jobs are some of the ways that starvation wages and poor working conditions have become the lot of care workers, who more and more frequently face violence and harassment in the course of their work.”

PSI draws attention to the fallacies of cheap private money via PPPs, social investment bonds and other private finance initiatives that put profits before the needs of people. “On this WDWD we say that the struggle for decent work is also a struggle in defence of humanity over for-profit interest and corporations who benefit from the commodification and marketization of jobs, health care and social protection.”

For the PSI Statement

For the EPSU statement