What is The Union Show?

The Union Show broadcast on community TV C31 in Melbourne Australia from 2005 to 2009 and is a rich source of information on unions and issues affecting unions in this country. Whilst the program is no longer produced for television, the producers, United Productions maintain both a Union Show blog and the UnitedPro2010 YouTube channel as a means of disseminating union information that would otherwise be lost in time and in the morass of anti-union misinformation that is distributed by mainstream media.

An extensive archive of Union Show episodes is available for viewing at http://theunionshow.blip.tv. Current union information can be sourced at www.theunionshow.com.au and at the UnitedPro2010 YouTube channel. There are many other web sources for union information that deal mainly in the written word. One of those sites and perhaps the venerable example is www.labourstart.org.au where you will find links to many other like-minded information outlets.

Second ITUC World Congress concludes by electing its first female General Secretary

25 June 2010: On Friday 25 June, Sharan Burrow was elected General Secretary of the ITUC. On the fifth and final day of its second World Congress in Vancouver (Canada) Sharan Burrow was elected to succeed Guy Ryder, the first General Secretary of the ITUC, the world’s largest international trade union organisation, founded in Vienna in 2006. Sharan Burrow will leave her post of President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), that she has held since 2000, to become the first woman at the helm of the ITUC.

“It’s a very proud moment for me, but I hope it will be also a very proud moment for every woman around the globe,” commented Burrow after her election.

“The ITUC is still facing many challenges in the wake of the global financial crisis. Although we have seen some exceptional results in a small number of countries including Brazil, Argentina, China and Australia, the recovery in jobs has not been universal. Global unemployment and underemployment continued to rise throughout 2009 and during the first half of this year” Burrow added.

The election of the first female General Secretary of the ITUC is historically significant for the global trade union movement and occurs at a time of high participation for women at the ITUC Congress with 50 % of delegate’s seats being held by women.

Michael Sommer, DGB, Germany, has been elected as the ITUC President. Jaap Wienen has been elected as the Deputy General Secretary Luc Cortebeeck, CSC Belgium, has been elected as ITUC Deputy President Nair Goulart, Força Sindical, has been elected as ITUC Deputy President

Sharan Burrow’s acceptance speech

Sharan Burrow photo gallery

Sharan Burrow- Biography

Born in 1954 in Warren, a small town in western NSW (Australia), she started a teaching career in 1976 and became an organiser for the NSW Teachers’ Federation. President of the Bathurst Trades and Labour Council during the 1980s, she became Vice-President of Education International (EI) from 1995 to 2000. President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 2000, she also became in 2006 the first President of the new ITUC founded in Vienna.

See the entire biography

In support of Global Social Justice and World Public Services Day: ″Global Justice Now!” say 1500 rally activists

24 June 2010: About 1,500 trade union activists called on world leaders to move towards global justice at a rally held outside the Vancouver Convention Centre today. Delegates and guests to the ITUC Congress were joined by many local Canadian trade unionists, who together called for in-depth reform of the global financial system, including the introduction of a financial transaction tax. Rally speakers from all five continents also emphasised the critical role that public services play in our societies, and cheered in support of World Public Services Day, which is celebrated on June 23 every year. As Mody Guiro of the CNTS Senegal said: “Trade unions want strong public services at the service of the people and social security for all.”

The ITUC is convinced that, after decades of injustice, it is now the turn of workers and citizens to enjoy the benefits of globalisation. Workers and taxpayers bailed out the banks during the financial crisis. In return, they are now losing jobs and access to education, healthcare and other critical public services.

“We insist that G20 governments increase economic stimulus to create more jobs. The 34 million workers who have lost their jobs since 2008 need public services,” said Barbara Byers, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Seventy million children around the world are still denied basic education, yet governments are cutting education budgets. This is plain wrong,” declared Susan Hopgood, President of Education International. “This is not only about public service workers but about all of us and our societies. This is about a commitment to collective values,” added Peter Waldorff, General Secretary of Public Services International.

Daniela Aleksieva, President of the Pan-European Regional Council Youth Committee talked about the importance of decent work for young adults and added: “It’s time to act now, because tomorrow depends on today.” Trade unions believe global social justice is the only equitable path forward from the crisis. “We have some clear messages to deliver: Now the People! No to austerity measures! Yes to jobs! Yes to a financial transactions tax,” said ITUC president Sharan Burrow, alluding to the past three days of discussions at the ITUC World Congress. The world is at a tipping-point between one future which can offer decent work, sustainable and balanced development, improved living standards and respect of human rights and another which would plunge millions into unemployment, poverty and helplessness, with all the dangers as well as suffering that would bring, Congress discussions indicate.

At the midday rally, short and intense solidarity messages were delivered from all over the world: “Now the people. Always the people. We want justice, we want parity,” were the rousing words of Thampan Thomas, President of Hind Mazoor Sabha India.

PSI | Public services build a sustainable world

PSI | Public services build a sustainable world.