The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work We are living in a time of profound economic transformation. The denial of workplace rights and freedoms in one country affects workers in all countries.
Workers are unable to buy the goods and services they produce.
History continues to show that where unions are repressed or absent, economic justice, human rights and democracy are at risk. Corporations must be held accountable for these anti-worker practices. They must not be allowed to drive artificial wedges between working families in our country and working families in other countries, especially those whose economic development is just beginning. From the WTO meetings in Seattle to the march for children that began in Thailand, from Washington's World Bank meetings to the courageous struggles of workers in every region of the world, the issue of fairness and justice for working people is now at the center of worldwide political debate. Now is the moment to press even harder to secure the fundamental rights of workers in all the international institutions and organizations.