PSI presents health sector reform at IFI high level labour consultations

They included a meeting with the IMF to discuss country reforms in selected European countries.

Key matters that were raised included:

• The need for the WB Safeguard Review to ensure that labour rights are safeguarded and in particular that the public sector safeguards for core labour standards are raised to at least the level of the WB’s private sector lending safeguards.
• The need for the IFIs to have a clear action plan for the implementation of the Social Protection Floor (SPF).
• The importance of job creation and the need to deal with climate change related structural adjustment.
• The problems with the continued imposition of conditionalities on loan arrangements
• Particularly the attacks on labour rights and the one size fits all advice to countries on the need to always promote further labour market flexibility, lower wages and a smaller public sector.
• Our strong opposition to the imposition of structural reform – and the need for structural reforms to be undertaken with the inclusion and agreement of the labour movement .
• The urgent need to deal with the crippling social and economic consequences of increasing economic inequality.
• The importance of tax reform to ensure that the wealthiest individuals and companies pay their fair share.
• The problematic mismatch between many positive IFI policies and public statements and country level action that in practice is harmful.

Daniel Bertossa, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer, represented PSI at the meetings. He made a presentation about Health Reform, and has written a report about the meeting (see links below)