A report released on April 20 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Fighting for Alternatives: Case Studies of Successful Trade Union Resistance to the Policies of the World Bank and IMF, highlights how unions in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America have organised workers to defeat International Monetary Fund and World Bank initiatives such as the privatisation of essential services and “reform” of the labour market. Some examples include Croatia, where five labour federations united to defeat a proposal to make it easier for employers to fire workers; Uruguay, where unions led the organisation of a national referendum against water privatisation; and Zambia, where unions forced the IMF to rescind debt relief conditions requiring the privatisation of strategic public enterprises. To view the report visit <http://www.icftu.org>.

From Green Left Weekly, May 3, 2006.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

Tools

• Bookmark This Page
• Print This Page