Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the 18th ICFTU World Congress in Miyazaki, Japan on 9 December 2004

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to speak at this summit of the international trade union movement. This World Congress represents workers around the globe in an excellent way and I believe it will also considerably influence matters related to work across national borders.

I have been invited here above all as co-chair of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which was established by the ILO.

Let me say once again how glad I am to be here. I value the trade unions' work to strengthen democracy and human rights in daily life. I served as a lawyer in one of your member organizations for nearly a decade in my younger days, and I am still thankful for that experience.

I have studied with great interest the Congress Theme document that was prepared by your General Secretary. The subject is quite timely and appropriate: Globalizing Solidarity. I believe this document outlines the general impacts and challenges of globalization in a similar way as the ILO World Commission that I co-chaired with the President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa.

Our commission's task was somewhat broader and its goal is to help implement the United Nations Millennium Declaration. Therefore the members of our commission represented many different regions, interest groups and fields of experience.

I would like to emphasize, however, that work and issues concerning working life also played a central role in our commission. Work is a matter of primary importance for people and globalization strongly affects employment and conditions and rights at work. In discussing these matters representatives of labour market organizations played a key role.

The World Commission included representatives of employers and workers. In this connection I would like to in particular thank President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO and General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi of COSATU for their valuable contribution in the commission's work, which resulted in a unanimous report.

I would also like to thank the representatives of the ICFTU and the countless representatives of the trade union movement who were involved in the process in many different ways.

The members of our commission who represented employers also endorsed the recommendations in our report. This helps me believe that the labour market parties can find a common basis for discussing basic issues and rights involving globalization and working life at the supranational level. I appeal to everyone that this opportunity should not be wasted.

You have a natural forum for discussing these matters: the ILO. I hope that the international labour movement will through its activities and cooperation help the ILO to become an even more important actor in dealing with global issues involving employment and work and seeking solutions.

Globalization could be a great help to development, but in its current form it does not appear to be answering expectations on it. This was pointed out both in our report to the world as well in the document prepared by General Secretary Guy Ryder for this Congress.

At present the results of the globalization process are not distributed fairly among or within countries. Even in countries that have done well economically, globalization has had a detrimental impact on some workers and communities. Wealth is constantly being created, but too many countries and too many people miss out on the benefits and do not have a say in shaping the globalization process. The workers' ability to influence matters is not strong enough.
Global Union Federations have concluded over 30 framework agreements with multinational companies concerning the rights and working conditions of over three million workers. This is a good and encouraging example of how globalization can be governed, along with the roughly 700 agreements that have been concluded on European Works Councils in the European Union. We should remember that there are about 60,000 multinational companies in the world. So I urge you with all my heart to keep working.

I know this is not easy. Tasks have grown and become more complex. For an enormous number of women and men, globalization has not met their legitimate aspirations for decent jobs and a better future for their children. Women and poorly educated, unskilled workers are most vulnerable, and quite often we are speaking of the same people.

In fact, I believe that improving women's position in working life is crucially important for the internal and external credibility and entire future of the trade union movement. Women are often more oppressed and more unprotected than men. I have with pleasure noted that the need to improve women's position and get them more involved in the trade union movement has been recognized in your World Congress documents. I am so happy to see so many women here at the Congress. This is improving the position of women and strengthening the whole trade union movement.

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We state in our report that the current global imbalance is ethically unacceptable and politically unsustainable. In our opinion globalization should benefit every country, and it should improve people's welfare all over the world. This means that it should accelerate economic growth in poor countries and reduce world poverty, and it should not increase inequality or endanger countries' internal socio-economic security. But how can we harness the opportunities provided by globalization so that they benefit everyone and how can we avoid the downside?

The problems we defined in our report are not entirely due to globalization. They are due to the failure to govern it. Global markets have grown rapidly, but the economic and social institutions that are required for the smooth and balanced operation of markets have not developed along with them.

Our commission notes that the behaviour of nation states is essential for the quality of global governance. Their degree of commitment to multilateralism, universal values and common goals, the extent of their sensitivity to the cross-border impact of their policies, and the weight they attach to global solidarity are all vital determinants of the quality of global governance. How nation states manage their internal affairs influences the extent to which people will benefit from globalization and be protected from its negative effects.

Democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance are important for every country. It is important to achieve economic growth, but social justice is also necessary for people's welfare. Investing in education or health care improves people's lives as well as a nation's competitiveness. So meeting the challenges of globalization begins at home. Even in the global age people live locally within nations.

I believe this intertwining of the local, national and international also holds true for the trade union movement. It, too, consists of independent national organizations that are responsible to their own members and above all have to take care of their interests nationally. This is certainly much easier in nation states that respect their own citizens’ rights.

In a globalizing world, however, trade unions must realize that it is no longer possible to take care of members' interests at the national level alone. They must increasingly work supranationally and multilaterally and be aware that activities at home have consequences in other countries as well.

Our commission's goal is a process of globalization with a strong social dimension based on universally shared values and respect for human rights and individual dignity. The core labour standards defined by the ILO are part of these rights.

We also demand that the rules of the global economy must offer equitable opportunities and access for all countries and recognize the diversity in national capacities and developmental needs.

Liberalisation in global financial markets has improved opportunities to make profitable investments in developing markets. The globalization of production has brought many new opportunities to accelerate industrialization and employment in many developing countries. Globalization has also brought many workers material benefits, sometimes a lot. Creating new jobs and maintaining or replacing existing jobs is also the goal of the trade union movement everywhere in the world.

In his report to this World Congress, General Secretary Ryder says:
"A key question for the global trade union movement is how to face up to the realities, often harsh, of the international relocation of work. The extent of the problem is a matter of debate, and its impact on trade unions uneven. The starting point must be the recognition by all that the overall cohesion and integrity of our movement requires our general agreement about the fundamental principles upon which the world economy should be based."

As if to answer this question, our commission recognized that we need a balanced strategy for sustainable global growth and full employment, concerning the developing countries and the industrialised countries alike. Improved market access for developing country exports will be far easier to achieve in this kind of context.

Employment promotion should be set more clearly as goal for national and international economic policies. We really need to study, which sectors are most affected by globalisation – positively or negatively. People experience globalization foremost on how it affects employment. And people in the South and in the North rightly want to have a decent job to support themselves and their families as a wage earner, as an entrepreneur or as a farmer.

From this viewpoint we also recognize the need to protect and promote the rights of workers in both industrialized and developing countries. Let me emphasize: in all countries. We cannot leave any country out or give any country an exemption in this basic question, but we can agree to give development time.

The best means to achieve this is strong adherence to the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Assuring fundamental rights at work is not only desirable in its own right and an essential aspect of fair trade. It also empowers workers to gain a fair share of the increased productivity they are creating.

There is a strong need to reform international policies to make them more supportive of growth, enterprise development, poverty reduction and the creation of decent work for all. At present these policies emphasize market-opening measures and give low priority to goals such as full employment and social protection.

The ILO World Commission wants globalization with solidarity. We have a shared responsibility to assist countries and people excluded from or disadvantaged by globalization. Globalization must help to overcome inequality both within and between countries and contribute to the elimination of poverty.

Here lies one big problem in today's globalization. There is still no clear framework for the cross-border movement of people. Fair rules for trade and capital flows need to be supplemented by fair rules for the movement of people. This is a difficult but crucial matter. Could a multilateral regime for the cross-border movement of people make the process more orderly and eliminate the exploitation of migrants and in this way offer gains to all?

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Many different parties are working to achieve global social and economic goals: international organizations, governments and parliaments, businesses, workers, civil society and many others. A dialogue and partnership among them is an essentially important democratic tool in building a better world.

During this Congress you have already heard many times how this World Commission was a great experience for all of us. We started as a “not-like-minded” group, but we made an unanimous report. But this is not enough. The work must continue, so that change really takes place.

Perhaps most important so far has been the work we have done in the UN system. In September we arranged a high-level seminar in connection with the UN General Assembly on the theme "A Fair Globalization: Implementing the United Nations Millennium Declaration". This seminar was attended by some 30 heads of state or government and other key persons. Most of the participants expressed clear support for our commission's work and our report.

On Tanzania's and Finland's initiative the UN General Assembly adopted unimanously a resolution concerning the World Commission's report on December 2nd 2004. This resolution places the Commission’s report within the context of the forthcoming Millennium Review, thereby ensuring the continuing relevance of the Commission’s conclusions to the future evolution of the global debate. I would call this a quite remarkable achievement!

Regional co-operation is ever more important in a globalising world. It also important that regional organisations have and are tackling the issue of globalization. Therefore I am pleased to note tha The African Union has approved the World Commission's report as part of its own work. Discussion is also under way in the European Union. The European Commission's communication is very positive and notes that the report is relevant to a number of the EU's policies.

I hope that the international trade union movement and you representatives of national trade unions will support the recommendations of the ILO World Commission through your own activities. I believe that our goal of a better globalization is extremely timely and that it will unite us as it united the members of our commission, who represent so many different groups.

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Our commission noted that strong organizations representing workers and employers are essential for a fruitful social dialogue and governing globalization better.

I am here because you are important. Through its own decisions the ICFTU can influence what role it will have in governing globalization. As we have noted countless times, the challenges are enormous, and they continue to grow.

You have long traditions in international activities and co-operation. The oldest international trade unions were established well over a hundred years ago.

You also have a serious responsibility. You can shape the future of the world. Your representativeness, your strength and your support at home and in the eyes of the world depend on the policy decisions you take. I trust that the decisions you make here will create a good basis for the successful and responsible promotion of your members' interests.