Trade unions call for action

Trade unions call for action

Kuwaiti and other Arab unions are calling on the governments to grant unions more power to help save jobs in the Arab world

March 1, 2009 2:04 by Dana El Baltaji

Kuwaiti and Arab trade union members called for reactivating the role of Arab official bodies and trade unions in addressing the challenges of the global financial meltdown. The call was made by eight trade union members from Arab countries, including Kuwait, during a meeting in Amman on the conditions of the Arab trade unionist movement.

They called for stepping up efforts and reconsidering pieces of national legislation with a view to tackling economic changes triggered off by globalization and privatization. Kuwait’s delegation partaking in the meeting comprises deputy chairman of the Trade Union at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Saad Al Ratam and its secretary Falah Al Hadari.

Al Ratam predicted the international economic crisis to cause economic and social deterioration in Arab societies, with workers to be the most affected. The Kuwaiti trade union urged official agencies to involve the private sector in efforts aiming to alleviate the fallout of the economic crisis on the country’s labor situation.

Al Hadari said the Arab trade unionist movement was still facing privatization challenges and flawed labor legislation, hoping that the Kuwaiti trade union’s proposed amendments to national labor laws could be put into consideration.

He listed privatization and labor legislation as key challenges facing the Arab trade union movement.

The Amman meeting, which kicked off in Kuwait on Thursday, will wrap up later on Saturday, attracting 35 trade unionists from eight Arab countries, including Kuwait.

First seen in Kuwait Times.