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Global Reach of Samsung's medieval practices
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Samsung workers have shed light on the working conditions throughout the multinational’s supply chains. The International Trade Union Confederation and IndustriALL global union have released a new report, Samsung - Modern Tech Medieval Conditions.
“From denying justice to the families of former employees who died from cancers caused by unsafe workplaces, to dodging tax and engaging in price-fixing cartels, one thing is constant: Samsung’s corporate culture is ruthlessly geared towards maximising profit to the detriment of the everyday lives of its workers,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
Taking on inequality
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Fifteen years after the World Bank put poverty on the international agenda with its World Development report in which inequality was totally ignored, it now recognizes the fight against inequality has to come first!
Corporations running the world?
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The power of corporations has reached a level never before seen in human history, often dwarfing the power of states. That is why civil society organisations are backing the new UN initiative for a legally binding global treaty on transnational corporations and human rights.
Imagine a world in which all of the main functions of society are run for-profit by private companies. Schools are run by multinationals. Private security firms have replaced police forces. And most big infrastructure lies in the hands of a tiny plutocratic elite. Justice, such as it is, is meted out by shady corporate tribunals only accessible to the rich, who can easily escape the reach of limited national judicial systems. The poor, on the other hand, have almost no recourse against the mighty will of the remote corporate elite as they are chased off their land and forced into further penury.
Poverty eradication, the greatest challenge
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The 133-member Group of 77 (G77), joined by China, unanimously endorsed a Ministerial Declaration strongly reiterating its support to the UN's post-2015 development agenda, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Change agreement.
The Declaration, which was adopted at the 40th annual meeting of G77 Foreign Ministers on September 23, reaffirmed "the overarching objective of eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions," describing it as "the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development."
Reiterating that poverty eradication is a central imperative of the UN's Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Ministers emphasized "the need to address poverty in all its forms and dimensions in order to truly leave no one behind."
Global Poverty and National Inequality: what's the connection?
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The Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve a world free from extreme poverty by 2030, as well as a reduction in inequality within countries. Although presented as two separate issues, these goals are interrelated in a fundamental way. In fact, the key finding of new research is that three-quarters of global poverty could be eliminated by addressing inequality and redistributing existing resources within developing countries.
Read more: Global Poverty and National Inequality: what's the connection?
