Feb. 20 is being marked by the Global Union Movement as the World Day of Social Justice by calling for a new economic model that emphasizes jobs, not profits.

Our current system of globalization has created the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. 

"Millions of men and women have been denied social justice and have been hit by unemployment or marginalized into the ranks of the working poor"says Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 

Deep systemic reforms are needed, that would result in the effective regulation of the operations of banks and institutions such as hedge funds, private equity funds and highly leveraged instruments. Supervisory authorities must be transparent and accountable. Strict oversight of fiscal practices is needed in order to minimize losses to national income through tax evasion, mis-pricing, transfer pricing, and the use of tax havens. Progressive taxation reform is also key to providing public funding for socially sustainable investments. All of these reforms must be part of a new framework for distributive justice.

The ILO Global Jobs Pact is also central to such a framework. It provides a comprehensive set of measures that will result in distribution of resources to stimulate demand-led growth in the real economy, by creating decent jobs and ensuring social protection through genuine consultation with the social partners at the national level. The
Pact proposes measures and policies

•  to promote investments and job creation in employment intensive sectors, including the green economy,

•  to retain women and men in employment as far as possible,

•  to support skills development,

•  to provide income support to those in need, through such measures as cash transfers and employment guarantee schemes,

•  to establish or strengthen social security and social protection schemes.

 You can read the entire statement by ITUC here.