FW: PSI Report on Meeting with Wolfensohn

[sawicky@xxxxxxxxxx (Max Sawicky)]

More re: the lesser of two evils.

mbs


"3 OUT OF 5" MEETS WITH DISBELIEF IN MEETING WITH WORLD BANK

   The 23-25 October meeting between labour organisations
and the World Bank
and IMF moved forward a little on trade union issues. Peter
Bakvis, director
of the ICFTU/ITS Washington office, played the central role
in arranging the
meeting. Also participating were ICFTU and ILO workers group
representatives.

  World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, offered to set up
a position in
the Bank to [monitor] progress labour issues in projects. He
also said that
the mission of both the Bank and the IMF is to reduce
poverty, but that the
main instrument to achieve this remains privatisation.

   For PSI, Larry Brown from Canada pushed the Bank to
accept that there are
clear alternatives to privatisation in the public sector
reform process. It
was also made clear that Bank consultation with union
leaders in countries
affected could be difficult because many of them are in
jail.

   Wolfensohn said that the Bank does respect 3 out of the 5
core labour
rights (anti-slavery, anti child labour and
anti-discrimination) but that it
cannot respect the other 2 (freedom of association and
collective
bargaining) because it does "not get involved in national
politics". This
statement was greeted with stunned disbelief by many
present.
   It seems the Bank wants to consult with unions, yet does
not recognise
their basic right to exist. Further meetings to keep
dialogue open are
likely.