mbs
"3 OUT OF 5" MEETS WITH DISBELIEF IN MEETING WITH WORLD BANK
The 23-25 October meeting between labour organisations and the World Bank and IMF moved forward a little on trade union issues. Peter Bakvis, director of the ICFTU/ITS Washington office, played the central role in arranging the meeting. Also participating were ICFTU and ILO workers group representatives.
World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, offered to set up a position in the Bank to [monitor] progress labour issues in projects. He also said that the mission of both the Bank and the IMF is to reduce poverty, but that the main instrument to achieve this remains privatisation.
For PSI, Larry Brown from Canada pushed the Bank to accept that there are clear alternatives to privatisation in the public sector reform process. It was also made clear that Bank consultation with union leaders in countries affected could be difficult because many of them are in jail.
Wolfensohn said that the Bank does respect 3 out of the 5 core labour rights (anti-slavery, anti child labour and anti-discrimination) but that it cannot respect the other 2 (freedom of association and collective bargaining) because it does "not get involved in national politics". This statement was greeted with stunned disbelief by many present.
It seems the Bank wants to consult with unions, yet does not recognise their basic right to exist. Further meetings to keep dialogue open are likely.