ILO's Somavia: Don’t use the crisis as an excuse to weaken workers rights

Unbalanced economic growth has increased inequality throughout the world and the financial crisis has only contributed to this trend, said International Labour Organisation Director-General Juan Somavia at a special meeting on the social dimension of globalisation with MEPs in Strasbourg on 14 September. The time has come to put "the real economy in the driver’s seat" and start focusing on creating decent jobs for workers, he said. He told us more.

In the report "A new Era of Social Justice" you say "inefficient growth patterns (have increased) inequality throughout the world", can you explain?

Today 61 million people earn the same income as 3.5 billion. In the US 0.1% own 12.6% of total income, while in Europe 10% account for 50%. This is due to a growth pattern that has increased inequality and reduced wage participation in gross national product. This needs to be readjusted.

From the Second World War to the 80´s and 90´s Europe managed to combine high growth and productivity with fairness and good wages. So it's not impossible. We have to go back to the roots of European values and make fairness the main objective. Economic policies dealing with fiscal consolidation should be socially responsible. What people want to see is decent work and good jobs. The quality of work in so many ways defines the quality of a society.

You mentioned "decent work", what characterizes decent work?

Decent work has a number of foundations. The first is respect for international labour standards. Don’t use the crisis as an excuse to weaken workers rights. The second element is social dialogue. It is easier to solve problems when employers and workers come together.

The third element is social protection. Eight out of 10 people in the world don’t have access to social security, but many developing countries are moving in the right direction, including India, China, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. You have to prevent people from falling into poverty by protecting and empowering them. We need to put the real economy into the driver's seat of the global economy. The financial economy should be at the service of the real economy.

What impact has the financial crisis had on labour standards and social policies?

The financial became economic and the economic became social and the social is essentially the loss of jobs, growth of poverty and continued growth of inequality. Today we have 200 million unemployed. In addition, there is a tendency to use the crisis as an excuse to reduce workers rights.

It’s extremely important to remain based on the EU's founding values: basic human rights, rights at work and protection of the individual. The social market economy is about creating a service for the advancement of people and thereby creating increased wellbeing. That connection has been lost in the inefficient growth model, which hasn’t produced enough jobs and has produced inequality. 

These things can be changed, but we need the political will to move forward. I believe that Europe's interest today is to connect to the people who have become disaffected and distant from the establishment.  

How can the European Parliament contribute to this process?

I have enormous respect for the EP and the support it has given to very important areas around the world, such as the social dimension on globalisation, the Global Job Pact and social protection laws.  What the world needs today is strong political systems centred on parliaments and civil societies.

In many political systems the crisis is seen as a question of winning or losing the next election. Countries should instead come together and agree on the best way to move forward. That capacity of focusing on the collective interest, resides in the European Parliament. It has a difficult challenge ahead to guide and show leadership and reconnect political systems to the people.