Globalization has much potential. It could be the answer to many of the world's seemingly intractable problems. But this requires strong democratic foundations based on a political will to ensure equity and justice.
Sharan Burrow
Out of the fires of desperation burn hope and solidarity.
We need economic growth, yes, but growth can be jobless, so a sustainable development framework for employment must include a job creation strategy.
We all need to work together, because there are no jobs on a dead planet; there is no equity without rights to decent work and social protection, no social justice without a shift in governance and ambition, and, ultimately, no peace for the peoples of the world without the guarantees of sustainability.
Globalization can be shaped to ensure that people matter.
Large swathes of people losing faith in democracy is a dangerous thing. Conflict, desperation, totalitarianism are the products of that loss of faith.
A new business model based on old principles of social justice where people matter - now that's a revolutionary way to reduce inequality.
Investment in jobs at a time when millions are unemployed can only be a good thing: all the better if the jobs help us shift from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.
There is no doubt that the participation of women in the workforce is a serious productivity boost, but to enable this ambition, there must be investment in care - child care, aged care, disability care, health, and education - which are essential social support structures to enable women to work.
Technology can be used to make people's lives easier, to reduce inequality, to facilitate inclusion, or to solve intractable global problems, but without dialogue and governance, it can be used against humanity - the choice on how we use technology is ours.
Care work contributes enormously to the well-being of our societies and to the sustainability of our economies.
Governments that fail to provide jobs to those who are willing and able to work begin to lose their legitimacy and will face the anger of the electorate.
If multilateral institutions cannot bring about peace and the rule of law because of the vested interests of their members, then both national democracy and global governance will continue to be rocked by crises.
It seems evident that the IMF has learned nothing from its inequality-inducing policies during the 1980s debt crises in Latin America nor from its recession-deepening response to the East Asian crisis of the late 1990s. In both regions, the IMF has become synonymous with making bad situations worse.
It's never been clearer that unrestrained market forces do not produce the kind of societies we aspire to - economically stable and socially inclusive, where citizens have access to secure jobs with the dignity of a fair wage and a welfare safety net.
With global rules for global supply chains, we can end corporate greed.
Trade unions have stood at the front lines of struggles for democratic change and social justice throughout history. In many countries, we are the organized voice of oppositions to governments operating at the behest of corporate power and vested interests.
Anyone who has lived in an area with high unemployment knows how it erodes social bonds, lowers the resilience of the unemployed and their families, and damages the prospects of the next generation.
Inequality is a poison that is destroying livelihoods, stripping families of dignity, and splitting communities.
Many women drop out of the work force altogether, which holds back our economy with a loss of skills and personnel.
If people do not have jobs, they do not have a secure income, and they do not have a sense of security.
If there are not jobs or adequate forms of social protection, there is not enough income to create the consumption base that drives demand and sustainable economic growth.
Creating a Financial Transactions Tax would go a long way to curbing short-term speculative trading, including high-frequency trading.
Banks don't come with an internal switch that says, 'Enough! Let's slow down a little.' Or, 'Let's just share this wealth around for the benefit of the community now.' That's the job of government.
When work is not underpinned by social protection, people risk falling into poverty traps.
When we see the banks get bailed out with seemingly no consequences while ordinary people pay the price with job and wage cuts through austerity measures, who could blame a person for wondering where the loyalties of their elected leaders really lie?
When governments are cowed or simply don't care to enforce fundamental human and labour rights or to ensure corporate tax is paid so that they can invest in social protection and in the health and education of their people, they cede control to corporate greed.
There's not much more of an honour - to work for, and with, working people.
Stark inequality, poverty, and unemployment are driving increased social unrest and, consequently, social and economic risk. Environmental deterioration may well intensify social inequality.
When corporations refuse to practice due diligence by not establishing grievance mechanisms for remedy of abuses against the hidden 94% of their workforce in their global supply chains, they perpetuate a depraved model of profit-making that has driven inequality to a level now seen as a global risk in itself.
Climate impacts hit working people first, and with extreme weather events, changing seasons, and rising sea levels, whole communities stand on the front lines.
In terms of emerging economies, we absolutely believe that the prescription is social protection and a minimum wage on which people can live.
The cycle of jobless youth, uncertainty about the future, depressing consumption, and weak investment and stresses on both the supply and demand side of economies are all thorns in the wheel of capitalism.
Limiting the destructive risk-taking by large financial firms and banks which are 'too big to fail' is needed.
We need to decarbonise our societies and economies.
No country can afford to lose a generation to unemployment.
The rules of the global economy are rigged against those who have to work to earn a living and in favour of multinational corporations and the ultra-rich.
South Carolina is a 'right to work' state - a misnomer of a phrase, as the laws limits union representation of workers. It does does not guarantee workers a job or fair wages and conditions.
We need investment in green economy infrastructure; public services, training and education; and a multilateral plan to create youth job opportunities.
When minimum living wages, bargaining for fair wages, pensions, and job security are denied in too many countries, it is not rocket science to understand the drivers of inequality.
Technological developments are changing the way we live, and there is much talk of digitalisation and the disruptive business models enabled by smart phones, tablets, computers, and the 'Internet of things.'
As we contemplate a world which is still choosing to deploy technological innovation in a way that deepens inequality and divisions within and between nations, we need to set global foundations back on track.
If you put stimulus into an economy, you know there is a time lag in terms of depending where you invest it. If it's family transfers, it might be quick. If it's infrastructure, it might be two, three, five years.
Collective bargaining, and the fundamental human right, freedom of association, is seen as an anathema to American business, and people just - it doesn't seem to register that there's no universal social safety net that people can touch.
Global supply chains are founded on a Darwinian model that rewards employers who treat working people as less than human.
When working men and women have secure jobs with living wages and social protection, they can invest in the economy at levels which will increase demand and help overcome the twin challenges of ageing populations and economic stagnation.
Disproportionate corporate power over governments is giving license to the greed that denies workers even minimum living wages. It is also seemingly a license to allow the sheer brutality of treatment of working people at the base of the supply chains.
The corporate community understands the need for rules. Indeed, it argues for regulation to protect intellectual property, physical property rights, and contract law. So why does it oppose global regulation to protect people and the environment?
We all eat breakfast in the morning, we all go to sleep at night, and we all want our kids to have opportunities that we didn't.
Democracy is becoming collateral damage in a world where global risks have been ignored or exacerbated by those with the power to act.
