Alive and Well, the Unions Roll Out a Vision for Life After the Crash

The unions are not dead. They are frustratingly old fashioned, still led by gray-haired middle-aged men, and sentimentally attached to political friends who have generally betrayed everything they stand for, but they are alive and, interestingly enough, well worth listening to. Later in March the G20 club of big-shot nations will meet for the first time under Obama's watch. They will be expected to provide some answers to questions on how to rebuild the world economy in the face of financial collapse, global recession and massive social dislocation.

The bankers' lobby have already rehearsed their lines -- the system is inherently stable they say. Of course, we can do with a bit more regulation, but hold off on any serious state intervention beyond bailing out the banks to get money flowing again. Once the wheels of private enterprise are suitably greased, the invisible guiding hand of global capitalism will soon get us back on track. When that happens, so the line goes, the state can move back into the shadows from whence it emerged.

Many western governments will go along with this because it is what they have grown up with. They have no alternatives. Even social democratic governments fool themselves into believing that they manage capitalism better than conservatives; that the system can be patched up and made to work; that they can tame the beast.

But the realities of the last six months -- and the hardships yet to come -- tell another story. This crisis is the worst for half a century. It is about to get much worse. Countries are on the verge of bankruptcy. Millions of workers are crossing continents -- some on the move to try to work their way out of poverty, others are being sent back by the plane and busload to their countries because migrant labour is no longer wanted. The chasm of inequality between rich and poor is widening dangerously by the day.

It's time for change say the unions. It is not just a matter of tinkering with systems of regulation or capping bonuses, or throwing money into a few public infrastructure projects. The major depression of the Twentieth Century lasted more than a decade and was finally extinguished on the back of massive investment in the economics of war.

This time around there needs to be a wholesale redrawing of political and economic architecture based upon a fresh vision of social relations, and rooted in respect for public service values, redistribution of wealth, and social equality. That is what unions are calling for:

Regulation and social and economic policy shaped by a global administration with the power to act, that is inclusive of voices from the south as well as the north and that is transparent in its work. What they have in mind is something like the United Nations Security Council, but that is not an exclusive club for the nuclear elite and former colonial powers, and which has a mandate to shape and dictate global development and investment strategies. In short, the first steps towards a new landscape of democratic global governance;

Invigoration of the public sector with more investment in health and education, less privatisation and a commitment to building healthy and thriving communities through, initially, actions over climate change and the Millennium Development Goals;

Redistribution of the world's wealth by releasing the workforce from the scourge of poverty and denial of human rights and giving them the chance to form unions and to bargain for better wages and conditions. Today this remains the most efficient and effective way of challenging social inequality and ensuring a fair distribution of wealth.

These pillars of policy are being shaped by the unions at international level for presentation to world leaders at the next G20 meeting. They will argue for conviction politics to deliver a future for world trade and development based upon respect for rights and elemination of social inequalities.

Of course, the unions support extra regulation of banks and new forms of international supervision of financial affairs, after all who can argue against it? But this will not provide a durable solution.

Having tried the disastrous model of capitalism nourished and cultivated by neo-liberal economists in the Reagan and Thatcher years, few will contest the need for a complete change of direction.

After years of stagnation, the global union movement has found new energy and fresh enthusiasm based upon a traditional vision of their virtues -- community, humanity and decency. The major question now is whether political leaders are ready to listen.