International Labour Conference 15 Provisional Record Ninetieth Session, Geneva, 2002

Tenth (special) sitting Thursday, 13 June 2002, 10 a.m. President: Mr. Elmiger

ADDRESS BY THE RT. HON. OWEN SEYMOUR ARTHUR, the Caribbean. You have also spoken for small and PRIME MINISTER OF vulnerable States on the global stage. While you willingly engage in globalization pro- Original French: The PRESIDENT — It is my cesses, you have earned a reputation for fighting from honour, and a pleasure, to declare open this special within for a different kind of globalization; the global- sitting of the 90th Session of the International Labour ization that gives people and countries a fair and Conference, and to welcome our guest, His Excel- fighting chance to make their way with dignity and lency, Mr. Owen Seymour Arthur, Prime Minister of equity. Barbados. Please allow me, Prime Minister, to extend Prime Minister Arthur has served this cause as to you a warm welcome on my own behalf — and, of Chairman of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group course, on behalf of all the participants at this session on Small States, and as Chairman of the Global Con- of the International Labour Conference. ference on Small States. Having you here reminds us The rapid development of Barbados is an example that Barbados has achieved an admirable level of to remind us that it is quite possible for small coun- prosperity, security and stability in the global tries to build a society capable of meeting the chal- economy. Yet as so many other countries, it is small, lenges posed by the process of globalization of the open and vulnerable — and the comments that our economy. President has just made, in relation to 11 September, However, the tragic events of last September, which are so relevant. exacerbated the already clear signs of economic slow- Keeping steady in difficult times is a major chal- down, simply serve to underline the risks attached to lenge all countries face, and your experience in weath- an ever-increasing interdependence in the world ering that storm, balancing social and economic ob- economy. jectives after 11 September, is most relevant. These events had a particularly strong impact on We also greatly appreciate the importance that you the economies of the Caribbean — particularly on attach to social dialogue. It has been a keystone in the their economic activities linked to tourism, which was security and stability that Barbados has enjoyed. Per- one of the first areas to suffer. Faced with this situa- ceived not as a constraint, but as an instrument of de- tion, the economic and social measures swiftly taken velopment, it was normal, not exceptional, to shape by the States of the region, particularly by your coun- your government response to the recent crisis in part- try, Prime Minister, contributed decisively to safe- nership with employers, workers and other sectors of guarding employment and stimulating the local society. economy. We have much to learn from the experience of the Prime Minister, you have recently condemned and Caribbean, as we examine different ways of benefit- I quote from memory, if you will allow me, “the un- ing from globalization through the work of our World believable inability of the international community to Commission on the Social Dimension of Global- endow itself with the means to implement the identi- ization. fied objectives of development and reduction of We have today the privilege of enriching ourselves poverty”. At the same time you have called for an with your words, with your wisdom, with your real life overhaul of the international financial system, and experience. Thank you for being here today with us. the institutions responsible for global economic gov- Friends of the Conference, let us welcome the Prime ernment. Minister of Barbados, His Excellency the Right It is therefore with genuine interest that we await Honourable Owen Arthur. your words in a few moments. But tradition demands — and I wish to respect this tradition — that the The Rt. Hon. Owen S. ARTHUR (Prime Minister Secretary-General of the Conference, Mr. Somavia, of Barbados) — I accepted the kind invitation of the introduces our guest, His Excellency, Mr. Owen Director-General to be the first Caribbean leader to Seymour Arthur, to the Conference. address this distinguished assembly, conscious of the historic symbolism of my presence here and proud of The SECRETARY-GENERAL — Your Excel- the heritage in whose name I have the honour to ad- lency, I am particularly pleased to welcome you today, dress you today. the first Prime Minister from the Caribbean to For our modern Caribbean society, uniquely so address our Conference. Thank you for accepting our among the family of nations, has in every respect been invitation, honouring us with your presence, and shar- the product of the successful ordeal of free labour. ing with us your perspectives on globalization. You We are a resilient people, a people who have sur- have been, and are, a respected leader, and a voice for vived the trauma of genocide, wars and invasion, of

15/1 slavery and indentured servitude, and have forged our However, it would also be freely conceded that the own creolized culture, our own Caribbean civiliza- benefits of globalization in all places and circum- tion. None of what we have achieved would have been stances remain more in the realm of things hoped for possible without the monumental role played by the rather than evidence of things already achieved. labour movement in the political, social and economic To begin with, one of the most troublesome aspects development of our region. of contemporary international developments has Trade unions in the Caribbean arose in the late been the coexistence of a process of lopsided global- 1930s out of the widespread social protest against the ization, reinforced by an equally lopsided interna- conditions of extreme poverty, economic deprivation tional policy agenda — a phenomenon that, un- and exploitation, social injustice and racism which checked, will perpetuate long-standing asymmetries characterized the colonial societies of that era. in international development and indeed, will invent From their very beginning, and ever since then, new ones. they have been concerned not only with wages and Quite frankly, the conditions for genuine global de- other conditions of labour at the workplace, but with velopment can only be achieved if the existing domi- wider political and social issues and, fundamentally nant agenda in support of , the protection of so, with matters of governance within the context of private investment and intellectual property rights, social justice. and the creation of an environment conducive to fi- Indeed, the labour movement across the entire Car- nancial and capital mobility, is counterbalanced and ibbean was the crucial force in the vanguard of the enriched by equal concern for matters pertaining to struggle for self-governance and its essential contribu- labour mobility, codes of conduct for transnational tion has been to fashion the forms of governance for corporations, the development of sound rules to gov- the new societies and economies that have been built ern international competition and the development of from the ground up in our Caribbean region. compensatory financing mechanisms to sustain the It is therefore no coincidence that three of Barba- participation of those in danger of being left out or dos’ ten national heroes have held offices of leader- being left behind. ship in the trade union movement in our nations, and The new global economy also requires rules, instru- two of ’s, as well as the national heroes of ments and institutions to mitigate the worst effects of Antigua and . unfettered market forces and, in so doing, to ensure This is in addition to the role that our Caribbean the widest and the most equitable distribution of the trade unionists have played in the ILO and in the in- benefits of an efficient and dynamic global economy. ternational labour movement. Indeed, two distin- Indeed, we have especially to be on our guard to guished Barbadians, Sir Frank Walcott and Senator avoid falling victim to the beguiling allurement of the Leroy Trotman, who is here with us today, have had dominant ideology of globalization, the ideology of the honour of presiding with distinction over the In- liberalization. ternational Confederation of Free Trade Unions. For the free market cannot do it all. It does not con- I address you today, therefore, from the perspective tain the sum total of all human knowledge and wis- of a tradition which is rooted in the conviction that the dom, nor does it encompass and reflect the full range possibilities for successful societal transformation and of human endeavour, human needs and concerns. In- development cannot be conceived in isolation from deed, that is precisely why for millennia people have concepts of governance. It is in such a context that I invented governments in the first place, so that citi- share with you a perspective of the labour movement zens can together act consciously to shape the sponta- and the governance of global development. neous economic and social natural processes that are We are in the throes of a historic transition in the going on around them. Here, perhaps, lies the differ- affairs of this world. I refer, of course, to the emer- ence between a bazaar and a civilization. gence of a global economy which holds the enormous There is now abundant evidence, as Will Hutton potential for either expanding the world’s wealth and has recently observed, that the indiscriminate work- lifting all of mankind to a new, permanent plateau of ing of the market is creating a new, dangerous situa- material fulfilment, or for tearing apart our very tion in which careers, living standards and relation- social fabric. ships are being placed in a permanent state of It is as if the words of Charles Dickens apply: these contingency, dependent upon the next twist in the can be the best of times or the worst of times, a season market’s volatile judgement. of light or a season of darkness, the spring of hope or Indeed, across too wide a band of economic activ- the winter of despair. ity, the ends of production are now being set only to No one in their right mind would question the ne- maximize shareholder value. And the shareholder- cessity for national economies to participate and be value driven global corporation has come to enthrone integrated in the global economy. No one really wants aggressive cost-reduction strategies, focusing on lay- a return to the inefficiencies of state-controlled offs, pay and benefit reductions and a peripatetic ap- economies or to the bloated bureaucracies of the wel- proach to hiring as their essential elements. fare state. There can be no doubt that the free and fair In addition there is clearly too great a tendency for market can itself be the most effective force in society national economies to be pressurized to compete for for innovation and the creation of wealth. foreign investment by providing lower standards of It would also be an idle occupation to seek to stand labour rights and protection, as well as lower taxes on in the way of the transforming effects of the revolu- the profits of corporations. Capital can therefore go tion in information and communication technology, regime shopping for the best conditions, stimulating a or to dispute that an expansion of world trade, fairly race to the bottom in respect of labour standards and distributed, can generate a sustained improvement in social investment. global welfare. The robust flow of capital internation- As if all of this were not bad enough, the incessant ally, in support of the sustained expansion of produc- flow of capital globally has led financial markets to a tion capacity, is indeed to be welcomed. new propensity for booms and busts which, because of

15/2 their global scope and their global power, have be- everywhere, engage in the struggle to ensure that the come the new modern destabilizer. And it is sadly aims of global economic growth are compatible with workers everywhere who are bearing the brunt of the the aims of global social justice. new destabilization in the form of job losses, disloca- The 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia, which pre- tions and community and family breakdown. ceded the setting up of the Bretton Woods financial Our world needs a new, sensitive and sensible bal- institutions, reaffirmed this broad social mandate of ance between the market and the public interest, the International Labour Organization. It explicitly keeping in the forefront the needs of the people that called for the ILO to ensure that international econ- the public interest must serve. omic and financial policies were consistent with social This matter is truly urgent because perhaps the policy objectives and the welfare of all people. most alarming feature of today’s world, characterized While the ILO in the period following the Second by the rapid globalization of markets and production, World War focused more on ensuring national com- is the conspicuous absence of a meaningful interna- pliance with labour standards, it is clear that under the tional agenda for social development and upliftment. leadership of the current Director-General, Juan There is indeed an international agenda of sorts, as Somavia, the ILO is returning to its fundamental has been expressed in well-intentioned declarations at vision of promoting broad social objectives. United Nations summits. But the purposes of such an In this regard, we are pleased that the ILO played a agenda have been undermined, monstrously so, by critical role in fashioning the outcomes of the 1995 the demonstration of a remarkable unwillingness to World Summit on Social Development, and last year provide the supporting resources, as reflected in the established a World Commission on the Social Di- drastic decline of official development assistance and mensions of Globalization. This is a brilliant initiative the harshness of the conditionalities still attaching that I hope will pave the way for an international con- to financial support for the programmes to lift the sensus on the type of global governance without poorest of the poor out of their deprivation. which it will be impossible to civilize globalization. Professor Helleiner, in an address to UNCTAD in Indeed, there is no international organization that December 2000, put the issue in this way: is better placed to ensure that global economic growth “As the full implications of a globalized economy is socially sustainable than the International Labour become more apparent, it becomes ever more evident Organization. It is a tripartite organization. It is the that many of the functions of government, in particu- social organization par excellence, not because lar the supply of public goods and the pursuit of social health, education and housing are not important, but objectives, will somehow have to be undertaken at the because work is so central to our lives. global level. Yet there is nothing remotely resembling Freud got it exactly right when he claimed that the a ‘global government’. Nor is there one visible on any two enduring human pursuits are love and work. And reasonable time horizon.” work is not just a means to an end. It is a source of I submit to you that there is nothing inherent in the self-esteem and self-fulfilment. It is the most common new global economy or the technologies which drive way of engaging with society. It makes man the social it that makes it imperative or efficient to treat labour animal that he is. It gives structure to life itself. Hence, like a commodity, or that generates the lopsided econ- the vital importance of ensuring humane conditions omic development agenda or the weakness of the so- of work, in other words “decent work”. cial agenda. For globalization is not a freely existing You must allow me to use this occasion to support entity, created by nature, it is shaped by and is the the evolving consensus that the primary responsibility product of policy decisions and it is a reflection of a for supervising, regulating and ultimately enforcing specific form of political economy. global standards, encompassing the core ILO Con- There will in consequence be no balanced and hu- ventions, rests with the International Labour Organi- mane agenda for global development unless and until zation and not with the World Trade Organization nor the distortions in the structure of global governance any other international organization. are acknowledged and corrected. I submit to you that the linkage of labour standards This brings me to the issue of the relationship with trade is both immoral and counterproductive. It between the labour movement and the governance of is immoral because it reduces what is an end in itself international development. Trade unions and the — human rights — to a means to an end. Compliance fight for decent labour standards have proven histori- runs the risk of being applied and enforced selectively, cally to be the agents of social stability. Karl Polanyi, and of being biased against the developing countries. writing at the end of the Second World War, for For example, in one of the most advanced indus- example, argued that the dismantling of labour mar- trial societies, juveniles are judicially executed. This is ket regulations in the late nineteenth century pro- morally repugnant, and a violation of the Convention voked such social and political upheaval in the twenti- on the Rights of the Child. eth that it led to the collapse of the But it would be foolhardy to suggest that such a and to two world wars. practice should attract sanctions against that industri- On a more positive note, however, in my own alized society. English-speaking Caribbean region, the relative po- It is even reasonable to fear that the conditions un- litical, social and economic stability that we have en- der which migrant labour works in the industrialized joyed over the past 50 years is attributable in no small countries will also escape scrutiny in any linkage measure to the preponderant role that the labour between labour standards and trade. movement has played in fashioning the new forms of It is also unconscionable that countries in which governance that we now enjoy. trade unions are being squeezed out of industries Just as trade unions in the Caribbean in the colonial should be advocating linkages between labour stan- era went beyond wages and conditions of work to dards and free trade. Frankly, the advocacy of linkage fight for the wider social objectives of the working is often only a protectionist device. If competition people, so too must they, and their counterparts from abroad gets too tough, rich countries feel that

15/3 they have the right either to use conventional protec- partnership will have to grapple will broaden and tion against imports or, through linkage, to attempt to intensify as we, the social partners, confront to- drive up the costs of production in poor countries. gether the complex new global matters that we cannot It is, however, a misguided exercise because the ignore — for such is the price of global interde- weight of the evidence generated by economists has pendence. shown that trade with poor countries is not respon- I submit to you today that Barbados’ development sible for driving down wages in rich countries. has already been civilized by our social partnership. Human rights, including labour standards, are too Thanks to it, we face the present and the future with sacrosanct to be used as bargaining tools or as instru- confidence. That is our happy lot because there are ments of foreign or trade policy. Human rights should persons who have constituted the Barbadian delega- be advanced by the appropriate international agency tion, and who are here today at your meetings, who within an evolving framework of global governance. have practised what they preached and have infused The ILO should therefore be charged with the their contribution to our national development with responsibility of ensuring compliance with interna- the best precepts drawn from your deliberations. tional labour standards. If the ILO lacks teeth, as I would therefore fail in an important way were I some complain, I say give it teeth. And let those teeth not to place on international record the gratitude of a bite indiscriminately, wherever labour standards are grateful nation for their work and their worth, and for violated, in developing or developed countries alike. the inspiration that the International Labour Organi- The ILO must have more clout in the formulation zation has provided for the very ethos of my nation’s of global financial and trade policy, and must not func- development. tion in solely an advisory capacity. This may well en- The age of global governance has arrived. Our own tail creating new mechanisms for coordination experience at governance suggests that this will re- between the ILO, the IMF, the World Bank and the quire new processes through which disputes are re- World Trade Organization. It may, indeed, call for re- solved, consensus is built and performance continu- form and restructuring in all of these institutions. But ally reviewed. Such processes must, of necessity, be it is essential that we develop, as a matter of urgency, transparent, accountable and democratic. They must an international consensus of what is required to involve State, business, labour and civil society, all of maintain a socially responsible global economy; one whom have equal stake in human sustainable devel- whose benefits not only include working people but opment. also include the many developing countries that find We fully anticipate that the International Labour themselves currently suffering only the negative Organization will be called to play a crucial role in effects of globalization and trade liberalization, and ensuring that such global economic development pro- reaping none of the benefits. ceeds in a more equitable manner, and that we truly The Government of Barbados believes that the In- reconcile the needs of a dynamic global economy with ternational Labour Organization’s Decent Work the human rights to security, fairness and sustainable Agenda and its four principal pillars — employment livelihoods. creation, respect for fundamental principles and And you must press on with the performance of rights at the workplace, social dialogue and social pro- that role in the assurance that the distant sounds that tection — constitute an essential part of the strategic you hear are those of your Caribbean supporters framework within which our national development cheering you on. must be carried out. Indeed, I cannot begin properly to express the Original French: The PRESIDENT — Prime Minis- great value to my country, Barbados, of the operation ter, in your excellent speech for the delegates here in of a social contract between the Government, the the assembly you have underlined what are for you — labour movement, the private sector and civil society, and the international community — the framework as expressed in four protocols over the past decade. conditions necessary to assure balanced globalization. That social contract has generated the social capital You also outlined the means for establishing a fair that stabilized our economy and society during its distribution of the benefits of globalization; and with most dangerous depression, and it has been the chief great political intelligence you reminded us of the resource on which we have drawn in recent times to breadth of the social justice mandate, which is that of underwrite the longest sustained period of prosperity the ILO, and at its heart the key concern of any politi- in our history. cal policy — human beings. We have indeed now evolved a social dialogue in You have given us a message of hope, the hope that Barbados through which a national consensus is ar- we can all continue unceasingly to carry out the work rived at before any important decisions affecting the of the ILO in the framework of decent work in the economic or social well-being of our society are put in context of the globalization of the economy. place. In this respect, Prime Minister, on my own behalf The Barbadian delegation here today will leave and on behalf of all of the participants here who ap- your conference to participate in national consulta- plauded you so warmly, I would like to express my tion to develop policies to comprehensively reform deepest thanks. our taxation system, to revolutionize our social secu- It was a real privilege for everybody here to be able rity and pension arrangements, and to continue to re- to listen to your message of hope for the future of the fine the policies to reposition our national economy world and the ILO. so as to integrate more effectively it into the new We paid very close attention to your words and I Caribbean single market and economy, the hemi- think that they have encouraged us all to complete the spheric economy of the Americas, and indeed the en- task which we have before us. tire global economy. Thank you once again, Prime Minister. In the years ahead, there is every good reason to believe that the range of issues with which our social (The Conference adjourned at 10.45 a.m.)

15/4 CONTENTS

Page Tenth (special) sitting: Address by the Rt. Hon. Owen Seymour Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados ...... 1 Speakers: the President, the Secretary-General, the Rt. Hon. Owen Seymour Arthur

No. 15 – Friday, 14 June 2002

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