Camdessus Calls for Actions to Make Globalization Work for Workers

• Pages: 391-392

Page 391

Following are excerpts of an address by IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus to the World Confederation of Labor in Bangkok on December 2.

Globalization is an issue on which many people disagree. Some believe that the opportunities that globalization can bring outweigh its risks; others see in globalization the undoing of all they are striving to achieve. But one thing is certain: we already live in a global economy, and it is becoming more closely integrated in terms of trade and financial flows every year. As the representatives of unions from all over the world, your task is to help your members understand and adapt successfully to the forces of globalization-to make globalization a positive development for them and, I hope, for all working people.

Concerns About Globalization

But many working people have concerns about global markets. In the advanced economies, many people worry about growing income inequalities between skilled and less skilled workers. The share of industrial jobs in total employment is declining in advanced economies, but for the most part, this is the natural consequence of technological progress and increased industrial productivity.

How can advanced economies cope with deindustrialization and widening income gaps? The answer is to provide workers with opportunities to adapt to the fundamental change that is occurring in all advanced economies: the shift from an economy that relies heavily on manufacturing to one that is based increasingly on services. This development should be greeted with attention to the opportunities to be seized. Contrary to popular misconceptions, many service sector jobs pay good salaries. But it does point to the need for more flexible labor markets so that workers can move easily from one job to another, carrying their pension rights with them. It also calls for better education and technical training, so that workers have the skills they need to fill better paying jobs. And it calls for a very proactive policy to be conceived and implemented in a tripartite context.

In emerging market economies, there are other concerns and, at times, tragedies. In Asia, for example, despite rapid growth in many countries, there are still nearly one billion people living in poverty. And even in the best of times, working conditions and labor rights in many countries fall short of what human dignity and ILO...