He said democracy, which he said is in distress, is vital to addressing global challenges, as humanity will be unable to work together to meet the challenges facing the world with tenets of democracy.
He said this in his presentation at the just-concluded World Economic Forum (WEF), a yearly meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, with the theme ‘Rebuilding Trust’, where he stated that the global trade union confederation was putting democracy in front and centre in 2024.
He said restoring a democracy that delivers dividends for all working people was integral to combating climate change, ensuring sustainable peace, protecting public health and harvesting the best from technological change.
According to him, these are the five big challenges working people confront in the year.
While he listed accountability, public participation, inclusion and many other parts that make a democracy whole, he lamented that for the majority of people their work, from which they should be able to derive not only a decent livelihood but also a sense of value and connection, was a place where democracy was absent.
He said democracy at work comes from being part of a trade union, enabling people to negotiate and bargain collectively for decent and fair wages, working conditions, terms of employment, skill development and other things vital in a rapidly changing world.
According to him, trade unions provide a democratic system of checks and balances in the workplace, “one that assures working people are treated as human beings and common contributors to an enterprise or industry rather than mere commodities.”
Triangle said the ITUC Global Rights Index has, over the past decade, documented an alarming and consistent erosion of democratic rights at work.
He said the 2023 Index report shows that significant violations in the right to collective bargaining occurred in 80 per cent of countries, 73 per cent of countries impeded the registration of trade unions or banned them altogether and 69 countries saw arrests and detention of people simply because of their trade union involvement – something guaranteed in international law but too often denied in national law.
By every metric, Triangle said the decline in respect for democratic rights at work tracks closely with the decline in economic equality and a rise in political instability.
He said: “When democratic rights are locked out of the workplace, working people are not only deprived of the possibility to help shape their own working lives but their civic lives as well. Countries with lower rates of trade union membership and collective agreement coverage consistently place poorly on democracy researchers’ rankings of liberal and political democracy.
“People who spend their days in democracy-free workplaces are also left in a much more precarious situation than would be the case if they had the mutual protection of a union.
“Advancing democracy at work, through respect for internationally-recognised rights, is the key to revitalising democracy in all spheres of life. With it, the vision of a new social contract, built on key workers’ demands for decent jobs, rights in the workplace, living wages, social protection, and equality and inclusion can be realised.
“That is why the ITUC will put democracy front and centre in the new year because it is the most widely-held shared value among workers. It is also the most effective mechanism for building the unity of purpose needed to address our other key priorities – peace, climate, public health and technology.”
