Global Unions Statement to the G20 Seoul Summit - 11-12 November 2010
English, French, German, Spanish
14/10/2010
The G20 must prioritise jobs
G20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh in September 2009 committed to putting “quality employment at the heart of the recovery.1” They have not lived up to this promise. It is of deep concern that employment does not figure on the initial G20 Summit agenda. The economic crisis that has wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihoods of working people is far from over. It is now a social crisis. There are currently more than 220 million unemployed in the world, the highest level ever recorded, and an increase of more than 31 million over 2007.2 An extra 100 million people – mainly in developing countries – have been pushed into extreme poverty. Not only is the global recovery fragile and uncertain, but the rise in unemployment is itself sapping confidence and undermining recovery. Fear of the financial markets is pushing many G20 governments into retreating from expansionary policy in favour of austerity programmes, which if implemented will sharply increase the risks of our economies returning to recession, devastate public services, and reduce living standards. Governments should not accept the prospect of a decade of stagnant labour markets in industrialised countries, the entrenchment of poverty in developing countries and a lost generation of youth shut out from productive activity. (...)
1 G20 Pittsburgh Leaders summit