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	Labour Rights are Human Rights by International Labour Organization (ILO)   July 2022   Workers in rural areas face severe decent work deficits. (ILO News)   About 80 per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas many among them workers who face severe decent work deficits, including inadequate safety at work, low pay, lack of stability and security of work, and excessive working hours, with women and young workers the hardest hit according to a new report from the Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV) at the International Labour Organization (ILO).   The report, Decent work deficits among rural workers is based on 16 cases studies covering 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Europe and Latin America.   The report finds that:   Chemical exposure poses serious health and other risks to agricultural workers, in particular to children and pregnant and lactating women.   Women workers are disproportionately represented in the most precarious positions. Female workers also tend to be in low-paying, low skilled jobs, suffer huge gender pay gaps, and are more prone to may workplace harassment and abuse compared to male workers.   Child labour, forced labour and debt bondage are still a reality. Up to 95 per cent of children engaged in hazardous work are employed in agriculture, notably in the cocoa, palm oil and tobacco sectors. Force labour is also a reality in some sectors and is linked to workers’ multiple dependencies on employers.   Weak social dialogue and barriers to accessing worker’s organizations. In many sectors trade unions are either non-existent or face major barriers to interacting with other workers’ organizations such as farmers’ groups and cooperatives.   Social dialogue and representation for female, informal, casual, seasonal, temporary and self-employed workers, are all areas of particular concern, as is the representation of smallholders.   Social protection remains a dream. Inadequate social protection is a particular issue for workers in precarious arrangements, including informal, casual, temporary and subcontracted workers and day labourers who form the large majority of workers on agricultural plantations.   The report makes a number of recommendations to help address these decent work deficits. They include:   Strengthening labour administration in rural economies. Improving the presence and capacity in rural economies of trade unions and other grassroots workers’ organizations. Formalizing informal enterprises and employment arrangements. Ratification of and adherence to relevant ILO Conventions and other International Labour Standards.   Integrating rural economic sectors into formal and institutionalized social dialogue processes. Strengthening crisis preparedness and social protection in the rural economy. More research and policy analysis for better understanding and response to the needs and expectations of rural workers and their organizations.   http://bit.ly/3c5P16L http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122142   May 2022   Those who resort to war deny social justice, says ILO Director-General. (ILO News)   The Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Guy Ryder, stressed the need to defend the rule of law in the face of those who “resort to war to deny social justice,” as he addressed the opening of the 110th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC).   “Lasting peace depends on social justice, and the achievement of social justice depends upon peace. Those who resort to war deny social justice. And those who obstruct social justice endanger peace,” emphasized Ryder.   With countries experiencing an uneven and sometimes “fragile recovery” in their labour markets from the COVID-19 pandemic , Ryder warned that there is “all too likely worse to come” for the global economy because of the impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.   The situation “is generating global crises in respect of food, of energy and of finance,” said Ryder, and “has put international cooperation under considerable and maybe unprecedented pressure.”   “Just as the flouting of the UN Charter by military aggression is not to be tolerated and must not prevail, so the violation of international labour standards must not go unanswered,” added the Director-General. He urged delegates to show “that multilateralism ‒ in this house allied with tripartism ‒ actually works”.   As at every ILC, delegates will examine specific country cases that are brought before the Committee on the Application of Standards.   Introducing his report to the ILC, entitled The least developed countries: Crisis, structural transformation and the future of work , Ryder said that “the LDCs are the most in danger of being left behind. So, if we are serious about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , we must be serious about the LDCs because it is there, above all that the fate of the Agenda will be played out.”   The Director-General welcomed key discussions that will take place during the Conference. Among them will be the possible amendment of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998 , to include safe and healthy working conditions.   Referring to the three million lives lost each year because of work-related accidents and diseases, he stressed the ‘stark and clear’ responsibility of the ILO to protect workers against sickness, disease and injury arising from employment.   An initial discussion on quality apprenticeships will also take place, with a view to the possible creation of a new international labour standard. In addition, committees will discuss decent work and the social and solidarity economy, and the strategic objective of employment as part of the follow-up mechanism of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization.   On 10 June, a high-level World of Work Summit will address the theme “Tackling multiple global crises: Promoting a human-centred recovery and resilience.”   The first day of the Conference saw Claudio Moroni, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security of Argentina, elected President of the Conference over its duration, from 27 May to 11 June.   “Putting into practice the ‘new normality’ that we so much advocate, placing people at the centre of our concerns, requires the urgent implementation of inclusive policies and a system of international rules and agreements that promotes growth with an equitable distribution of its results,” emphasized Claudio Moroni.   The ILC, underlined Renate Hornung-Draus, Employer Vice-Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body, “takes place in a period of complex global crises that create an existential challenge to the multilateral institutions and traditions as they were created and developed in the twentieth century and that may well constitute a turning point towards a future setting that needs to be shaped proactively, including by the International Labour Organization.”   “In 2022 we are facing the existential threats or nuclear war, climate change and pandemics in combination with a toxic mix of rising poverty and inequality, extremism, nationalism, gender violence and shrinking democratic space,” added Catelene Passchier, Worker Vice-Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body.   The ILC, sometimes known as the world parliament of labour, is the largest international gathering dedicated to the world of work, attended by representatives of governments, employers and workers from the 187 ILO Member States. Delegates discuss key world of work issues, adopt and monitor the application of International Labour Standards and set the ILO’s global priorities and budget.   http://bit.ly/3t7NMKf http://publicservices.international/resources/news/the-new-director-general-has-a-titanic-task-to-rethink-and-reposition-the-role-of-the-ilo?id=13096&lang=en http://ukraine.un.org/en/182130-nearly-5-million-jobs-have-been-lost-ukraine-start-russian-aggression-says-ilo   Feb. 2022   The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, whose work constitutes the cornerstone of the ILO's supervisory system on international labour standards, has just published its annual report.   International labour standards, which are made up of Conventions, Protocols to Conventions and Recommendations, are universal instruments adopted by the international community and reflecting common values and principles on work-related issues.   While ILO Member States can choose whether or not to ratify an ILO Convention or Protocol, the ILO considers it important to keep track of developments in all countries, whether or not they have ratified them.   Once a country has ratified an ILO Convention or Protocol, it is obliged to report regularly on measures it has taken to implement it.   The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) is an independent body composed of 20 high-level legal experts at the national and international levels, charged with examining the application of ILO Conventions, Protocols and Recommendations by ILO Member States.   The members of the Committee are drawn from all regions of the world in order to enable the Committee to have at its disposal first-hand experience of different legal, economic and social systems.   * The Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of International Conventions and Recommendations, includes Observations concerning particular countries.   Issues commented on cover such issues as:   Observations on serious failure to report concerns raised; Freedom of association, collective bargaining, and industrial relations; Forced labour; Elimination of child labour and protection of children and young persons; Equality of opportunity and treatment; Employment policy and promotion; Employment security; Occupational safety and health; Social security; Maternity protection; Migrant workers; Indigenous and tribal peoples..   Concerns raised by agencies such as the International Trade Union Confederation, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Countries replies are cited, with international law best practice standards applied by the Committee in recommendations to the concerns raised availed. See country reports.   * Note: The report is a 870 page document. Visit the related web page
	Taxing the World’s Richest would raise US $2.52 Trillion a Year by IPS, Fight Inequality Alliance, Oxfam, agencies   Jan. 2022   A new analysis, “Taxing Extreme Wealth,” by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires found a shocking rise in global wealth among the world’s richest people despite deepening inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic.   The analysis, “Taxing Extreme Wealth: An annual tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires: What it would raise and what it could pay for,” published on January 19 by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires found that globally:   3.6 million people have over $5 million in wealth, with a combined wealth of $75.3 trillion, according to data commissioned for this study from Wealth-X.   183,300 households own over $50 million, for a combined wealth of $36.4 trillion, according to Wealth-X data.   There are 2,660 billionaires with a total combined wealth of $13.76 trillion. (Drawn from Forbes on November 30, 2021).   An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year (with a graduated rate structure: 2 percent tax on wealth over $5 million; 3 percent on wealth over $50 million; 5 percent on wealth over $1 billion.)   A more steeply progressive wealth tax would raise U.S. $3.62 trillion a year (with graduated rates of 2 percent on wealth starting at $5 million; 5 percent on wealth over $50 million; and 10 percent on wealth over $1 billion.)   An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the whole world, and deliver universal health care and social protection for all the citizens of low and lower middle-income countries (3.6 billion people).   This new global billionaire wealth analysis comes on the heels of a new Oxfam International report based on World Bank data that shows that while 99 percent of the world’s workers earned less money in 2021, the world’s ten wealthiest men more than doubled their fortunes.   Meanwhile, global protests around the world are set to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s ‘State of the World’ online meetings.   In the US, roughly 750 U.S. billionaires have seen their wealth increase over $2 trillion since March 2020 for a combined wealth of over $5 trillion, according to previous research by the Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies.   And there are over 63,500 individuals with wealth over $50 million with combined assets of $12.8 trillion, according to the new report, Taxing Extreme Wealth. An annual wealth tax would raise $928 billion a year, enough to eliminate half of household out-of-pocket health expenses in the U.S.   It is time to levy a wealth tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires. This is not to simply raise revenue to vaccinate the world and invest in robust public health systems. But a wealth tax that is intended to save democracy from the extreme concentrations of wealth and power.   * Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies.   http://inequality.org/great-divide/tax-the-rich-global-wealth-report/ http://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Report-Taxing-Extreme-Wealth-What-It-Would-Raise-What-It-Could-Pay-For.pdf http://www.icij.org/ http://www.icij.org/investigations/russia-archive/why-western-governments-havent-gotten-serious-about-tackling-offshore-corruption-yet/ http://taxjustice.net/ http://wir2022.wid.world/ http://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files http://itep.org/whopays-7th-edition/ http://americansfortaxfairness.org/ultra-wealthys-8-5-trillion-untaxed-income/ http://rooseveltinstitute.org/2023/09/27/supreme-corporate-tax-giveaway-who-would-benefit-from-the-roberts-court-striking-down-the-mandatory-repatriation-tax/ http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/western-sanctions-russia-oligarch-dark-money-by-daron-acemoglu-2022-03/ http://gfintegrity.org/press-release/report-finds-trade-misinvoicing-continues-to-be-a-massive-and-persistent-problem/   Investments in social protection and their impacts on economic growth: tax financing options. (Development Pathways, agencies)   The report builds on our previous research with ITUC, showing the economic benefits of social protection by examining the different financing options that states have at their disposal in order to strengthen and extend their social protection systems.   The study simulates the effects of different tax financing scenarios for social protection on household income, employment and overall GDP. We carried out computable general equilibrium analysis for Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Georgia, Ghana, India, Rwanda and Serbia.   The report finds that overall, progressive forms of taxation generate much better outcomes in terms of redistribution and incomes for poor households and lead to increased employment and GDP over time.   The study underscores that those who can afford to pay more should pay more and that financing inclusive and resilient social protection systems in a fair way is possible. It is just a matter of political will.   http://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/publications/tax-financing-options/ http://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/news/ituc-report-reveals-the-economic-benefits-of-social-protection/ http://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/news/social-protection-paving-the-way-towards-a-happier-post-covid-19-world/ http://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/publications/the-social-contract-and-the-role-of-universal-social-security-in-building-trust-in-government/ Visit the related web page
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