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Commonwealth countries urged to ratify ILO...
2007-11-20 09:40:33
By Guardian Correspondent, Kampala
Leaders of Commonwealth countries have been called upon to support universal ratification of International Labour Organisation Convention 144 on tripartite consultation.
The call has been made by the Commonwealth Trade Union Group (CTUG) to leaders on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that opens in Kampala, Uganda next week.
This message comes in the wake of insistence that governments invest in people, support access to justice, labour protection, education, culture, health care and clean water for citizens of the Commonwealth.
The CTUG - an organisation of some 30 million workers from 51 Commonwealth countries - will, with the International trade Union Confederation (ITUC), lead a workshop on Realising Potential through Respect for Worker`s Rights at the Commonwealth People`s Forum (CPF) in Kampala today.
The CTUC represents 168 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates.
The workshop will focus on specific proposals for actions by governments which will feed into the communique from civil society at the CPF.
Based on the theme, Realising People`s Potential, the CPF is a dynamic space for interaction, expression and debate for the people of the Commonwealth that sets the stage for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which begins on November 24, and from which will be drawn the People`s Communique.
The communique will be presented to governments for consideration at the CHOGM from November 24.
CTUG has been critical of the gap between the CHOGM declarations and some governments` record of democracy and human rights.
While welcoming the steps taken towards achieving economic development and institutionalising democratic systems throughout the Commonwealth, the group remains dissatisfied by efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The CTUC wants CHOGM to decide upon effective measures to promote reform and change in Commonwealth member countries that violate human rights and undermine democracy.
It also wants Commonwealth leaders to promote an international framework that will provide a structured approach to migration.
The framework includes measures to guarantee equal rights for migrant workers, encourage full integration, prevent exploitation by employers and protect them from discrimination.
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