In their statement at a conference in Moscow in advance of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg July 15-17, heads of international and national trade unions said G8 governments had failed to abide by the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative for the heavily indebted poorest countries, agreed at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, and called for more countries to fall under the Initiative, with no strings attached.
The authors of the statement also pressed for canceling debts of medium-income countries observing human rights.
They said observing workers' rights must be no less important an objective in internal trade and investment agreements than the protection of intellectual property or foreign investment, particularly in the light of globalization trends.
The leaders urged for the objectives of the 1999 Cologne Charter on education in developing countries to be met, and highlighted the importance of raising the skills of workers, the unemployed, and providing schooling for children of migrants.
The statement addressed the problems of brain drain among developing countries, and human trafficking between Eastern Europe, former Soviet republics, and Western Europe. On the subject of illegal migration, the trade union leaders strongly opposed certain countries' overly restrictive regulations against the influx of foreign nationals.
The trade unions also called for G8 nations to formulate long-term strategies for environmental and energy security and competitiveness, focusing on energy supplies at reasonable consumer prices and the creation of new jobs to avert an unemployment boom, and ensure a smooth transition from traditional to alternative energy sources.
The representatives proposed that a permanent G8 task force be established to tackle the problem of AIDS, and monitor the international compliance with obligations in this field.
