PSI brings perspective of public service workers to social dialogue in "Global Deal" Flagship Report
22 May 2018
The very first Global Deal Flagship Report “Building trust in a changing world of work” was launched at the OECD in Paris.
Quoted in the Report, PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli discusses how:
“Real social dialogue means that all social partners enjoy their human rights and benefit from society’s common wealth. Public sector workers, who serve us all, must have the right to form unions, bargain collectively and not be subject to unilateral cuts to their rights and conditions. PSI is proud of its commitments under the Global Deal – working with health workers in Liberia and public sector workers in the Philippines – to guarantee they have the legal and practical ability to exercise their trade union rights.”
The report stresses the critical role of social dialogue in creating decent work and inclusive growth, but that new efforts are needed to ensure the recognition and realisation of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The report also highlights the crucial role of social dialogue in enhancing the inclusiveness of labour protection and the important role played by social partners in shaping the future of work, through workplace cooperation, collective bargaining and tripartite social dialogue.
The report is co-written by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and coordinated by the Global Deal Support Unit located in the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Senior Advisors of the Global Deal have reviewed the report and contributed with valuable input.
The report outlines three PSI initiatives:
Philippines
One of the commitments made by PSI focuses on promoting and supporting social dialogue and collective bargaining between the Government of the Philippines and trade unions representing public sector workers. Since the implementation of PSI’s project, the Philippines has ratified the ILO Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) addressing the right to organise and bargaining collectively in the public sector – the first country in the Asia region to do so. PSI continues to support the efforts of its affiliates in the Philippines, to apply the Convention through the creation of enabling legislation and the creation of an institutional environment for effective social dialogue. By building strong partnerships to effect this change, PSI affiliates and other public sector unions in the Philippines have contributed to sound industrial relations in the country.
Liberia
The second of PSI’s pledges aims to address the challenges of health workers in post-Ebola Liberia,where the severe lack of personal protective equipment caused Ebola infection among health workers. Public sector trade unions were banned in Liberia, meaning health workers themselves had no avenues to collectively address problems, compounding problems in the country’s already weak health system. By seeking to establish long-term social dialogue between the Government and the newly-formed health workers’ trade union in Liberia (NAHWUL), PSI sought to improve working conditions in the health sector, promote health and safety and ensure universal access to quality public health care in the country.
Tax
PSI has also been engaged in facilitating effective and informed social dialogue on tax policy byeducating workers and the public on current aspects of tax policy, the effects of tax policy on their lives and credible alternatives. It seeks to open up the tax policy debate to citizens and workers who are often not encouraged or given opportunities to participate in this debate, taking it beyond the realm of powerful countries, organisations and individuals that usually dominate this policy space. In this way, PSI is committed to ensuring that workers understand and have all the necessary information regarding tax policy and practices, so that the latter may better reflect the needs and interests of all social partners.