Trade, Labor, and Trust

IMF Blog, February 24, 2017

Source details

Publication: iMFdirect
Date: February 24, 2017
Format: Blog post / podcast featuring Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
Central theme: The distributional challenges of growth, the relationship between trade/globalization and labor, and the implications for trust in institutions and democracy

The global workforce comprises "3 billion people"—the current economic model is described as "stagnating" for this population.
Even where there is growth, it is "certainly not delivering jobs," with particular vulnerability for "women and young people."
Trade and globalization are supported by Burrow, but she contends they have been "built on a low wage, labor arbitrage system" that has produced "insecure and unsafe work."
Women's workforce participation, which "after having grown significantly in recent years—has come to a near halt," a development Burrow identifies as counter-productive.

“If we’re fighting each other because we can’t design a system that actually works for everybody, then working people will again continue to mistrust our institutions, and the threat to democracy is very real; you see it.”
“The two most significant areas of growth for jobs is investment in infrastructure, and for immediate productivity gains—it’s women’s participation in work.”

Collective action is needed to better distribute the benefits of growth.
Support for trade and globalization should be paired with reforms addressing the low wage, labor arbitrage system and the prevalence of insecure and unsafe work.
Increasing women's participation in the workforce is presented as a key avenue for immediate productivity gains.
Investment in infrastructure is identified as a major area for job growth.

Source: iMFdirect blog post, February 24, 2017.