Unite and USW global union call on G20 to take action to invigorate manufacturing

Contact: Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444

(London) — Workers Uniting, which represents three million working people from every industrial sector in Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada and the Caribbean, today challenged the G20 global leaders to protect working people as the current financial crisis jeopardises millions of jobs and livelihoods.

Workers Uniting called for support for the manufacturing sector, particularly the auto companies and their suppliers. It set out immediate and medium term strategies to address the consequences of mismanagement in the financial sector.

Workers Uniting is the first global union created through the joining of Unite, the UK’s biggest union, and the United Steelworkers (USW), the largest private sector union in the U.S. and Canada. The G20 is scheduled to begin meetings Thursday.

Derek Simpson, Joint General Secretary of Unite, said: “Workers Uniting has today set out our demands for G20 global leaders to support workers through this period of recession, and beyond. The action taken so far by our national governments are simply not enough.

“We have seen that the free market policies advocated by most domestic governments are totally discredited. We need fundamental change to ensure we put people first. There can only be one solution to this downturn and that is through worker prosperity and the creation of supportive jobs.”

Workers Uniting will campaign for job retention and creation and policies which facilitate sustainable growth and transition to a greener economy. Unite is the Labour Party’s biggest affiliate and donor and the USW is a major contributor to and supporter of the Democrats in America and the New Democrats in Canada.

Leo W. Gerard, USW President, said: “Governments around the world must step forward to provide meaningful economic stimulus to mitigate the impact of what is rapidly becoming a devastating worldwide recession. They must also begin to re-establish their role in regulating economic activity in a manner that ensures that the interests of working people are properly addressed.”

Tony Woodley, Joint General Secretary of Unite, said: “Workers Uniting is fighting to ensure individual workers are not made to suffer in the current downturn. G20 world leaders must take decisive action to mitigate the recessionary impact to build sustainable growth.

“Workers across the world are calling for an end to the unregulated markets and a new approach is needed. We now have a unique opportunity to lift people out of poverty and create good quality jobs.”

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