Signature Campaign Against Globalisation

A press conference was organised by the members of the women workers workshop in the APPA meeting. Women workers from different countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Pakistan and Australia presented women workers perspective to the issue of globalisation. At the end of the press conference, a signature campaign to resist globalisation was launched ( for petition refer below)

A coordinating network was formed to ensure "Campaign Against Globalisation" will be implemented at local level. The participants in this workshop will be part of the network. CAW will play the key role of coordination.

As a follow-up Plan of Action, efforts were made to mobilise the local women's organisations, women workers' organisation, trade unions and other concerned organisations/ Individuals to launch the signature campaign during the International Day Against Violence Against Women on Nov. 25 or the International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 in 1998. The signature campaign will continue on March 8th and May 1st in 1999 and last until APEC summit in 1999.

Other proposed action is to mobilise the local participation in symbolic synchronized action in their own country, denouncing globalisation and its effects on working class people, for example, wearing red hand band or scarf on March 8 and May 1st in 1999 during the anniversary activities of the local groups.

Campaign Statement

Globalisation and liberalisation have resulted in the erosion of workers' rights; the greater exploitation of labour with mass unemployment, contractualization, casualisation and flexibilisation; and the privatisation and reduction/destruction of social services. All of these have had their most negative impacts on workers, especially women and migrant workers.

In the face of this, we need to campaign internationally to defend the rights and conditions that workers have fought for and won over centuries.

We call on workers across countries and regions to support this petition for the application of basic common standards to be guaranteed by all national governments.

These include:

• The rights of workers to freedom of association and the right to organise. This includes, as a minimum, the right to form trade unions; to strike; and to bargain collectively.
• The rights of workers to safe and secure employment without threats of company closures, lay-offs, reduced hours and restructuring in order to deny workers' rights and reduce terms and conditions of employment.
• The unconditional rights of workers to the provision of essential social services such as health, housing, education, child care, sickness and unemployment benefits/ support systems.

These rights must be available to all workers without discrimination.

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, call on our governments and employers to guarantee these rights in law and in practice.

 NAME  (Indv/ Org)               NATIONALITY                       SIGNATURE               

1.___________________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________________

(Reference: ILO Conventions 87, 95, 98, 100, 102, 111, 117, 118, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 175, 177)

We invite all individuals and Organisations who believe in workers rights to join hands in resisting Globalisation by collecting signatures and sending it to CAW secretariat latest by September, 1999.