Around 1,200 union leaders, representing 20m public service workers, are meeting at Public Services International’s world congress in Durban, South Africa, from 27-30 November.
Guided by the congress theme, In the People’s Interest, PSI members will contribute to a plan of action that advances quality public services and trade union rights for the common good.
UNISON general secretary, and PSI president, Dave Prentis will tell delegates about UNISON’s work with sister unions around the world to defend public services and protect trade union rights.
PSI members are on the frontlines of mass mobilisations of workers, students and other citizens that are changing the political landscape in many parts of the world.
These include the Arab Spring, the global Occupy movement, Los Indignados in Spain, the student uprisings in Chile and most recently in Quebec, the workers’ mobilisations in Jakarta, the anti-austerity demonstrations across Europe, and more.
Discussions at the global union federation’s congress will focus on advancing different approaches to social justice and economic challenges that are based on the needs of the many, not the demands of the elite few who already have so much.
Fair taxes are key to the equitable redistribution of wealth. PSI and affiliate members are working with civil society allies in growing global campaigns to close tax havens and implement financial transaction taxes.
For example, a Robin Hood Tax could help fund good sustainable jobs, tackle poverty and inequality, make public services accessible to all, and strengthen the global fight against climate change
Featured guest speakers include South African public serviee minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Durban mayor James Nxumalo, KwaZulu-Natal premier Dr Zweli Mkhize, South African human rights commission deputy chair Pregs Govender, the International Labour Organization’s Alette van Leur and Michael Cichon, and Oxfam International’s Pooven Moodley.
