By Victor Ahiuma Young
NO fewer than 1400 Labour leaders across the globe including officials of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday in Vancouver, Canada, began one-week meeting on world economy, climate change, workers’ rights, migrant workers and HIV/AIDS.

Under the umbrella of International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, with a total of 311 affiliated organizations, representing a total membership of 175 million workers from 155 countries and territories, the meeting is also expected to examine the future of the trade union movement under the theme “Now the people, from the crisis to global justice.”

Vanguard gathered that the ITUC Congress, “will focus its debate on different themes, such as the global financial and economic crisis, and will consider resolutions on peace, youth, human and trade union rights and equality. Delegates at Congress will deal with issues related to labour’s demands for restructuring and reform of the global economy with an emphasis on themes such as workers’ rights, migrant workers, climate change and HIV-AIDS.”

It was also gathered that speakers and panelists expected at the Congress include Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Mr. Pascal Lamy, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Mr.Helen Clark, Argentina’s President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; and Executive Director of the International Labour Organization, ILO, Mr. Kari Tapiola,

Among members of NLC delegation which Vanguard gathered was led by one of its deputies and General Secretary of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, are Congress’ General Secretary, Comrade John Odah, and President of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, Comrade Lateeef Oyelekan.

A statement from ITUC secretariat, said Canadian Labour Congress, CLC, which represents 3.2 million members, is hosting the ITUC Congress.

CLC President Ken Georgetti, at the commencement of the congress, reminded delegates of the province of British Columbia’s “proud and militant history of trade unionism.”

He proposed that those traditions of labour solidarity should serve to stop the CEOs and banks who “put greed before need” and caused the global recession, and who are now pressuring governments to undertake “mindless deficit reduction” instead of protecting jobs and public services.”