Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his US counterpart Joe Biden launched a partnership to promote “decent work.” They affirmed their mutual commitment to workers’ rights by signing a protocol, in an unprecedented move between the two countries. The initiative aims to combat precarious work through trade unions.
“We don’t just want one class to do well, we want the poor to have the opportunity to move up in life. The rich don’t pay enough tax. That vision is driven by a strong labor force. I’m proud that my administration has been characterized as the most pro-union in US history,” Biden said in his address.
The guidelines of the Partnership for Workers’ Rights include the protection of labor rights, the promotion of decent work in public and private enterprises, the fight against discrimination in the workplace, a worker-centered approach in the transition to clean energy, and the use of technology and the digital transition in favor of decent work.
In his speech, Lula praised the historic nature of the alliance and talked about the current challenges to promoting decent work on the planet, after a decade of neoliberalism, an economic regime of intense exploitation of workers.
“The result is that we have 2 billion workers in the informal sector, according to the International Labor Organization. The concrete fact is that we have 240 million workers who, despite working, live on less than $1.90 a day. It is unacceptable that women, ethnic minorities and LGBTQIA+ people are discriminated against in the job market,” he declared.
The Brazilian leader also advocated strengthening the role of trade unions. “Anyone who believes weak unions make entrepreneurs make more money, that the country will be better off, is mistaken. There’s no democracy without strong unions. Because unions are effectively the ones who speak up for workers and try to defend their rights,” he went on to say.
The two heads of state pledged to encourage other nations to join the partnership and to try to reverse the existing situation of exploitation. “In all these international forums, we’ll be working to create the conditions for all governments to accept a protocol like the one we are signing here,” President Lula said.
They also plan to establish an agenda focused on valuing the role of workers in multilateral institutions such as the G20, COP28, and COP30.
Source: Agência Brasil