Spring Meetings of World Bank and IMF, 17-19 April 2015, Washington

I am enclosing a copy of the statement issued by Global Unions on the occasion of Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF to be held from 17 to 19 April 2015 in Washington and request you to support the global trade union position on growth, inequality and respect for workers’ rights.

The statement endorsed by the TUC emphasizes the need for a consistent approach to the global jobs deficit and to growing inequalities in income and wealth, urges international financial institutions to ensure that their policies and operations contribute to the creation of decent work and warns against attempts to further weaken labour market institutions.

The IMF and the World Bank should ensure, inter alia, that:

• countries make use of the opportunity of the drop in oil prices to finance energy-efficient infrastructure and vital public services;
• an effective global recovery strategy consisting of a policy mix of public investment and of coordinated wage increases is adopted to stimulate the global economy and maintain growth;
• activities financed by the IFIs comply with the ILO’s core labour standards and provide safe working conditions and adequate wages;
• measures to reduce income inequalities are adopted through social dialogue, collective bargaining and enforcement of minimum wages;
• women benefit from these policy actions to avoid a further deterioration of gender gaps in employment and income levels;
• action plans are in place to support the implementation of a global social protection floor as developed by the ILO and endorsed by the United Nations; and that,
• a multilateral framework is created for negotiating binding international debt restructuring agreements when countries face unsustainable sovereign debt.

I look forward to hearing from you on the UK Government’s stance on these important issues.

Yours sincerely,
FRANCES O’GRADY