Annex A Joint ETUC-FNPR (Russia) letter Annex B Message to the EU and LAC Heads of State and Government Annex C Statement of the meeting of the ASEM Forum

ETUC and External Relations

The ETUC has consistently sought to work with the trade union Movements in countries and regions associated with the EU, and in cooperation with the international confederations, with a view to constructing a social dimension to the various association agreements. This document reports on recent activities directed towards that objective in relation to Russia, the Balkans, Euromed, ACP, Latin America, Asia, and North America.

With EU enlargement as from 1 May, association agreements with the new EU countries have been superseded. That does not mean that work in those countries, to which the ETUC and the Institutes have directed a large proportion of available resources, has ended. But continuing work will now take different forms while, it is hoped, progress made in the various trade union National Integration Committees will continue to be built upon. That, however, is not the subject of this document.

Work in relation to Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania is also excluded from its scope, but the Executive Committee will wish to note that a European Social Partners project covering those countries is under discussion. They will also wish to consider the question of Turkish accession, perhaps in October, in advance of the European Council’s decision on launching accession negotiations.

Meetings of the All-Cyprus Trade Union Forum have been deferred on a number of occasions, in part because divisions that have arisen in the context of Cypriot accession. The ETUC was very disappointed at the outcome of the referendum promoted by the UN, and the Steering Committee in May agreed in particular that ways of helping our affiliate in the Northern part of Cyprus, Turk Sen, should be considered.

The European Neighbourhood Policy and more widely

The EU has been concerned that, following enlargement, new dividing lines should not be created with our neighbours. In May, the Commission adopted a strategy paper proposing action plans aimed at sharing the benefits of enlargement in a way distinct from EU membership, in the form of European Neighbourhood Agreements, to replace the present generation of bilateral agreements, and covering in particular economic and development policy. Seven country papers were published covering some Eastern European and Southern Mediterranean countries, and more are expected.

The ETUC will wish to be party to these developments. The Executive Committee will be examining separately the Commission Communication of 18 May on The Social Dimension of Globalisation - the EU’s policy contribution on extending the benefits to all. This, in particular, seeks to develop frameworks of social cooperation and to exploit to the full social chapters which exist in EU agreements with countries and regions worldwide. The newly-established ETUC Working Group on International Trade has considered some related ILO and WTO issues. Work has also been undertaken in relation to the GSP and cases such as those of Belarus and Sri Lanka, which have been raised with the Commission.

EU-Russia

EU enlargement necessitated the extension of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation. After difficult negotiations, this was agreed on 27 April.

The ETUC and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, FNPR - the main Russian national trade union centre - took the occasion to attempt to develop a social dimension in this relationship. A joint ETUC-FNPR letter to this effect (attached as Annex A) was presented to Presidents Prodi and Putin on 14 May in advance of the EU - Russia Summit on 21 May.

Balkans

ETUC relations since 1999 have been developing on two levels. Regional, around the ETUC Balkans Forum, involving in its meetings practically almost all significant trade union organisations from South East Europe and other EU and CEE organisations interested or active in the regions. Second, bilateral with the individual organisations.

The efforts on the regional dimension have been aimed at maintaining and facilitating regional cooperation among the local organisations and the links of the region with EU and CEE organisations for support and assistance in the stabilisation and association process. The ETUC was one of the initiators and active participant in the activities of the Initiative for Social Cohesion (ISC) of the Stability Pact for SEE and is now a well established partner. Through that channel opportunities for involvement of local trade unions in the social activities within ISC and other areas of reform activities of the Stability Pact have been created. Since 2002 the ETUC activities on the regional level have been carried out through the project - Trade Union Legal Experts Network, run by the ETUI with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. It is assisting trade union work in developing the legal frames of emerging industrial relations systems and establishing arbitration and conciliation services, labour courts, dealing with “shadow economy” etc. However the last meeting of the Forum was in October 2001.

Bilateral relations have been triggered mainly by the dramatic events in the region, often linked emergencies or threats for the normal development of trade unionism in the respective countries. With the relative stabilisation of the region in the last couple of years these activities have naturally declined and ETUC support has been targeted on particular reforms issues such as restructuring and privatisation of the economy, and trade union strategies in the transformation process. The regional dimension is also taken into account in such cases through the participation of representatives and exchange of experience with other Balkans trade unions, CEE or EU organisations. In general the intensity of these relations has been on decline in the last couple of years.

The main source of problems for the ETUC activities in the region of South East Europe obviously is the financial one. It comes both from the limited potential of ETUC to financially support major events and also the limited interest of the European Commission towards the Balkans, i.e. funds earmarked for activities in the social areas. In 2003 two attempts have been made to convene the Forum - at the time of the ETUC congress in Prague and later in the autumn without result. After the Thessaloniki Declaration of the EU Council in 2003 and more recent events in Kosovo there may be a reactivation of EU policies regarding these problems but they are directed to programmes for civil society development and not to the specific need to build a social dimension of the reforms process. There has been and is a good level of cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and there is potential to increase the output on that basis.

Euro-Mediterranean - Barcelona Process

Following the Barcelona Declaration and with a view to greater involvement by the trade union movement in the construction of a Euro-Mediterranean area of shared prosperity, using more democratic methods and based on a stronger social foundation, the ETUC and ICFTU with the participation of ICATU and USTMA created the Euro-Med trade union forum in Stuttgart in 1999.

The work developed by the Trade Union Forum concentrated on the aspects agreed upon at the Stuttgart conference, namely actions to strengthen and structure the Euro-Med trade union cooperation, the promotion of a balanced economic and social development, the setting up of social dialogue at national and transnational levels and the campaigning for democracy and the respect for human rights.

Clearly the context prevailing in the region is one of enormous difficulties, although the trade union forum has succeeded through its joint actions, to re-establish confidence between all the partners and the commitment to develop cooperation and partnership.

A number of meetings were held during the period 2001-2003, as well as several national reports on Labour Law, Social Dialogue and Social Security focusing on six of the partner countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine) through the financing of a project submitted by the ICFTU to the European Commission.

This project has come to an end in October 2003 and the partners in the coordinating committee have agreed on the content of a new project proposal to be submitted by the ETUC to the European Commission. Unfortunately, the difficulties linked to the legal status of the ETUC together with the non existence of any budget lines that could be used to present our project have lead to a certain slow down of the work of the Euromed trade union forum. The secretariat is currently working on a new project proposal to be submitted by the end of June 2004, although the difficulties in relation to the European Commission have not totally stopped since it is now necessary that not only the ETUC has a legal status but also all other organisations that are partners in the project.

Apart from the financial difficulties, the Forum counted upon a coordinator, colleague Rashid Kadim, who has left in the end of October 2003. This has also been a drawback in the work with the Mediterranean region.

As stated before, the Secretariat is following with great attention the proposals from the European Commission seeking to promote the new Neighbourhood Policy. It remains to be seen how the Barcelona process will fit into these new proposals, especially because this process had the merit of seeking to deal with the southern Mediterranean as a region. The new proposals are limiting themselves to bilateral actions.

In the meantime some informal contacts have been kept with colleagues from the Trade Union Forum and an informal meeting of this body will be organised on 1 July in Barcelona. The ETUC expects to enlarge the participation of its member organisations from the European side, in an operation which has been mostly lead by the trade union organisations from the southern states of the EU.

Finally, it should also be noted that the General Secretary attended the Congress of the USTMA in Tunis in January 2004.

Africa, Caribbean and Pacific - Cotonou Agreement

Together with the ACP trade unions, the ETUC, ICFTU and WCL have followed closely the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement since it was signed in September 2000. A joint Trade Union Report was published and widely distributed among ACP trade unions.

The Report stressed the positive aspects and opportunities for non-state actors while voicing concerns regarding their capacity for implementation, bearing in mind previous experience with Lomé. Such fears appears to be well-founded, as recent surveys conducted by ICFTU and WCL show that participation by non-state actors is often embryonic, and a number of unions have either been denied information or prevented from participating in the Agreement’s implementation, particularly in relation to capacity building. Trade unions are also worried that some specific issues might not be taken on board (such as decent work, social protection, education, health, and the promotion of social rights) permitting sustainable social development.

The mid-term review of the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement is currently being prepared, and trade unions are pressing for it to include a qualitative analysis of the application of those articles concerning the participation of non-state actors; and a qualitative analysis of the social aspects of Cotonou’s National or Regional Indicative Programmes (NIPs or RIPs).

The mid-term review ought to enable the contracting parties to refocus on key issues in the Agreement (i.e. participation and social change), which constitute the basis both for the reliability of the Agreement and for the contracting parties themselves.

In addition, economic partnership agreements, EPAs, are currently being negotiated, and in November 2002 a trade union memorandum was published a on these negotiations, pointing to major risks. Representatives of the EU-ACP Trade Union Group have had meetings with EU officials to discuss a number of aspects of the EPAs, including international labour standards; the promotion of decent work; social dialogue; gender equality; and migration from Africa to Europe and within Africa. They have stressed the need to involve the economic and social actors, who will be affected by the outcome of the negotiations. ETUC affiliates were recently asked to raise with their governments the need to introduce a strong social dimension in the EPAs, and this request is hereby reiterated.

The General Secretaries of the ETUC, ICFTU and WCL met Mr. Goulongana, ACP Secretary General, on 23 April, to raise with him the concerns of the international trade union movement. Mr. Goulongana expressed sympathy for the trade union positions, and said that they were close to the concerns which had been expressed by civil society representatives in a consultation which had been held recently. Contacts are also being taken with the Commission to pursue the issues at high level.

Together with the ILO-ACTRAV, the Cotonou Trade Union Group also plans to publish a guide for trade unions in regions negotiating EPAs.

Latin America and the Caribbean

ETUC work in relation to Latin America was reinforced following the Prague Congress through a number of meetings with sub-regional bodies and with Mexico.

Relations were also reinforced with Latin America generally through a new trade union summit convened by the ETUC-ICFTU-WCL-ORIT-CLAT working group. A round table on Latin America and Europe was held during the European Trade Union Forum in Paris in November 2003, attended by 600 delegates.

Convened by the European Economic and Social Committee, the 3rd Meeting of Civil Society of the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) was held from 13 to 15 April with a substantial participation of trade union organisations as well as representatives of the employers, farmers, etc. The 2nd UE-LAC Trade Union Summit, organised by the ETUC, ICFTU, WCL, ORIT and CLAT, was held on 16 April. Both meetings took place within the framework of the upcoming 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the EU and LAC (27 and 28 May 2004, Guadalajara, Mexico), to which the unions submitted a number of proposals.

The ETUC Secretariat was represented by General Secretary John Monks, Deputy General Secretary Maria Helena André and advisor Juan Moreno. Several national confederations also attended the meetings. In addition to taking part in the Civil Society Meeting, the group of European trade unionists held parallel working meetings with trade unions from Mexico; Mercosur; and Central America; and with representatives of the Andean Consultative Labour Council (CCLA).

A report of the meetings has been circulated to affiliated organisations, together with the attached message to the EU and LAC Heads of State and Government (Annex B). Separate declarations were also adopted on Mercosur and EU - Mexico trade union relations.

The ETUC has also, for the first time, been involved in meetings with trade union organisations affiliated to ICFTU and WCL from various Central American countries involved in the Central American Integration System. Enquiries are being made of the Commission about the ongoing trade discussions between the EU and the regional body.

Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM)

The ASEM Trade Union Forum took place on 24 April 2004 in Hanoi, attended by some 30 union representatives from 12 ASEM countries and also the ICFTU, the ETUC, ICFTU-APRO, the WCL, UNI and the ILO.

The Forum discussed the need to strengthen social dialogue within the ASEM process and to incorporate a decent work agenda into the work of ASEM, with reference to the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation. The attached short statement (Annex C) was adopted at the end of the Forum, in which all participants agreed to continue developing dialogue among ASEM trade unions towards the 6th ASEM Summit, due to take place in 2006 in Finland.

In a meeting with Mr. Vu Kho An, the Vice Prime Minister of Vietnam and also the chair of the Organising Committee for the 5th ASEM Summit to be held in Hanoi in October, trade union representatives called for ASEM to set up a permanent Asia-Europe Dialogue on employment and labour issues, as initially proposed by the German government, and an institutional framework or trade union consultation in the ASEM process. Union representatives also raised the problem of violation of human and trade union rights in Burma, and rejected the contention of the Vice Prime Minister that it would be a natural trade-off to accept three new Asian members into ASEM, including Burma, in exchange for accepting the ten new EU member states.

A short report of the meeting has been circulated to affiliates, with the request that they approach their governments asking that they support proposals for a permanent Asia-Europe Dialogue on employment and labour and for the holding of a regular ASEM Labour Ministers’ Meeting with involvement of the social partners.

The ETUC will be hosting a trade union roundtable in a conference being organised by the Asia Europe Forum in Barcelona in June.

The Asia-Europe relationship through the ASEM process is one of the least structured of the EU’s various regional linkages. It is particularly noteworthy for the trade union Movement, however, because of the inclusion of China, and of the official All China Federation of Trade Unions. The development of trade union policies in respect of China is fraught with difficulties because of the absence of an independent movement in the mainland, but this is an area that the ETUC, together with the internationals will wish to develop.

The Commission has, for many years, invited trade union representatives to join tripartite delegations to Japan and this will continue.

Transatlantic Labour Dialogue (TALD)

Contacts have been maintained with the AFL-CIO with a view to giving more substance to the Transatlantic Labour Dialogue, at least at a par with the ongoing Business and Consumers dialogues. An EESC opinion currently under discussion on the subject should be helpful in advancing trade union objectives. Consideration is being given to holding structured high-level meetings in the framework of a project to be presented to the Commission.

Joint activity is also envisaged in relation to the EU/US summit meeting to be held in Dublin in June.

Some contacts are maintained in relation to Canada, and further work might be developed in the context of the EU-Canada Trade and Investment Enhancement Agreement of March 2004, which establishes a dialogue on sustainable development, including its social dimension.

Future Work

The views of the Executive Committee on this ongoing work will be welcome. Given the proliferation of EU agreements with countries and regions worldwide, there is increasingly a need for a strategic approach to be taken and priorities to be set. They will wish to bear in mind a number of considerations.

The question of the paucity of available resources is, of course, a key issue but other aspects need also to be borne in mind.

The ETUC is heavily dependent on Commission budget lines to carry out international projects. The new financial regulations necessitated the creation of the ASBL, but there are now indications that partners in third countries are also being required to establish a legal personality. This issue arose recently in the context of a proposed Euromed projet, and the General Secretary has written to the External Relations Commissioner to point out that such technical requirements could lead to the extinction of trade union development projects, in contradiction with the stated political objectives of the Commission.

Related to the issue of resources, is that of the implication of the European Economic and Social Committee in international work. The EESC has resources not available to the ETUC and provides a focal point around which trade union meetings are held, for example in relation to ACP, Latin America and Euromed, as well as the European Economic Area. However, coordination problems do occur and discussions are under way with Group II with a view to smoothing them out. A related issue is that of the substitution by the European Institutions and in particular the Commission of consultation of the EESC for that of the ETUC directly.

De facto, groups of representatives of interested affiliates have been set up more or less informally to accompany the work of particular inter-regional relationships. While the setting up of such groups appears to be the best way forward, there is a need to improve transparency and coordination and to involve a wider range of affiliates.

There is also a need to better information exchanges with affiliates and the internationals about the presentation of projects for financing by the Commission so as to avoid harmful competition. Information exchange about the availability of resources from other sources, including at the national level, is also necessary.

Finally, the place of the ETUC in relation to the international trade union organisations will need to be borne in mind. While it is clear that there is a specific European dimension to be pursued and the specific interests of European workers to be protected and advanced, particularly in relation to sectoral issues which underscores the need for the European Industry Federations to be fully involved, it is not in our interests neither politically nor practically to duplicate and compete with the work of the ICFTU and WCL. Currently, most initiatives are taken in cooperation with them and the system works reasonably well. If, as it is hoped, current discussions between the internationals about the future architecture of the world trade union Movement lead to a unified body, the ETUC will need to reflect on consequences for its own work.

Annex A Joint ETUC-FNPR (Russia) letter Annex B Message to the EU and LAC Heads of State and Government Annex C Statement of the meeting of the ASEM Forum

Annex A Joint ETUC-FNPR letter

 EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION - ETUC (CES)



FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS OF RUSSIA - FNPR

Brussels, 6 May 2004 JM/TJ/cd

To the attention of: To the attention of:

Romano Prodi Vladimir V. Putin President President of the Russian Federation European Commission Avenue d’Auderghem, 45 Kremlin, Moscow

B - 1040 BRUSSELS RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Re: relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union

Dear President Prodi, Dear President Putin,

The FNPR and the ETUC have been following the development of relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union with close interest and welcome the agreement on 27 April to extend the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to the enlarged EU. We fully subscribe to the commitment of the EU and Russia to ensure that EU enlargement will bring them closer together in a Europe without dividing lines. We write today to express our will to contribute to this objective.

We believe that the development of the EU-Russia Common European Economic Space requires a social dimension and the involvement of the social partners along the lines of initiatives taken by the EU with other partners and adapted to particular circumstances, for example in the EEA, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, in the context of the Cotonou Agreement, Mercosur, the Trans-Atlantic Dialogue, and the Asia-Europe Meetings. The FNPR and ETUC affiliates have been taking part, and are intending to continue to do so in the future, in activities around the Northern Dimension of the EU policies and “Plans of Action”, as well as in connection with programmes of Baltic and Barents Seas co-operation.

We also note the high degree of recognition extended by the EU and Russian authorities to the Russia-EU Industrialists’ Round Table and the European Business Club in Moscow and would wish for an equivalent relationship to be extended to the Trade Union organisations we represent. An impetus for that approach was given at the 2001 EU-Russia Summit, but this appears to have faltered. The Report of the High Level Group on the CEES to the 10th Summit in November 2002 stated that ‘The HLG welcomes statements of interest from the business community as well as representatives of civil society and intends to solicit input from such bodies by spring 2003.’ However, there has been no follow-up with the ETUC and FNPR.

In concrete terms, we should be grateful if you would consider the facilitation of:

  a formal exchange of views between ourselves and the Presidency of EU-Russia Summits;
  periodic meetings of the Labour and Social Affairs Minister and Commissioner of both sides, with the opportunity of an input by the social partners; and
  the establishment of permanent consultative arrangements for the social partners on issues of economic and social interest.

The ETUC and FNPR believe that a real Social Dialogue should become a constitutive element of EU-Russia relations and would make a positive contribution to their development. We hope that you will be able to respond positively to our proposals.

Yours sincerely

John Monks General Secretary ETUC Michael Shmakov President FNPR

Annex B Message to the EU and LAC Heads of State and Government

Message to the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean

The Trade Union Summit calls on the Summit of Heads of State and Government to take into account its views on the above-mentioned issues and, bearing in mind the fact that the high deficit of social cohesion wreaking havoc in the LAC and the risk that the LAC will be weakened within a 25-member EU will be the key issues of debate, the Second European Union-Latin America and Caribbean Trade Union Summit:

REQUESTS THAT:

(I) the heads of state and government of the EU and LAC take determined steps to tackle, within a spirit of compromise and unambiguous action, the underlying causes of the alarming level of social disruption in the LAC and the current pressure on the "European social model".

Accordingly, integration processes or negotiations under way must have precise and measurable objectives: eradicate poverty, hunger, infant mortality and malnutrition, unemployment and extreme job insecurity, pressure on weakened social security and solidarity structures and on what remains of the bodies responsible for establishing social and labour legislation and standards, the tragic impact of all of this on the most vulnerable segments of our societies, namely young people, migrants, the disabled and the elderly.

Accordingly, we stress the need for action- and consultation-oriented policies and tools consistent with these superior, ongoing social and humanitarian objectives. We also call for lower spending on defence - since such is now totally unjustified - and a sharp increase in social investment (health care, education (including political and trade union training), housing, social protection, etc.).

(II) The fundamental Labour Conventions, particularly those enshrined in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, be ratified and implemented. Special attention should be given to ensuring compliance in transnational companies.

The Trade Union Summit urges that steps be taken to promote corporate social responsibility, in particular in European multinational companies and urges the drafting of a "Charter of Principles on Corporate Social Responsibility".

The governments of the LAC and EU should ensure full respect for human rights and the freedoms of workers, their organisations and peoples, including economic, social and cultural rights. We urge that the ILO be recognised as the social pillar of a new architecture for global governance. Therefore, its status as an international institution should be on a par with that of the IMF and the World Bank, and it should be able to influence their policies.

Multilateral institutions should support the conclusions of the new ILO World Commission with regard to the social dimensions of globalisation.

(III) In all countries (such as Mexico and others)wheretheystill do not exist, mandatory consultation bodies with the ability to take initiatives should be set up along the lines of social and economic committees, with the aim of promoting social dialogue and concertation and the active participation of the representatives of the workers, the employers and other social organisations.

In this context we propose that a Latin American Economic and Social Committee (LAESC) be created with the aim of promoting social cohesion, with the participation of the regional organisations and that this body establish links with the EESC of the European Union. Furthermore, we propose that the EU assign resources to the EESC to support the LAESC during its start-up phase.

(IV) The EU-LAC Partnership should give priority to strengthening the democratic processes in all countries as well as to putting an end to political violence and eradicating corruption and impunity. To this end we support the existing plans to set up a European-Latin American Political and Security Partnership, the signature of a European-Latin American Charter for Peace, and the creation of a Transatlantic Parliamentary Assembly.

(V) All EU and LAC countries should ratify recognition of the International Criminal Court in order to combat impunity.

(VI) Urgent measures should be taken, without however encroaching on Colombia’s national sovereignty, to resume the peace process in that country. Heads of State and Government should insist on this until they succeed in bringing the opposing parties back to the negotiating table and consolidating political negotiations as the only viable solution to the conflict. Guerrilla groups and paramilitary organisations should cease or indefinitely suspend armed hostilities, while for its part the government should accept that a solution to the civil conflict cannot be based on the mere use of force.

(VII) The United Nations should assume its responsibility in Haiti so as to put an end to the violence, to promote national reconciliation within the framework of holding elections in the near term. It should accompany this with an Integrated Development Programme designed to create jobs and stamp out poverty.

(VIII) Legislative measures should be taken to ensure that immigration host countries recognise full civil rights for immigrants, respect their dignity and value their cultural contribution.

(IX) Furthermore, we urge the Heads of State to conclude the EU-MERCOSUR Partnership Agreement by October 2004 in a spirit of fairness, which guarantees balanced and harmonious economic and social development; to review the EU-Mexico Partnership Agreement so as to provide it with greater social and participatory contents; to start negotiations for the establishment of a Partnership between the EU and the Andean Community of Nations, Central America and the Caribbean; and to take on the board the proposals made by the trade union organisations to include a chapter on social and labour issues in these agreements.

(X) The Summit should demand that the United States lift the embargo which it has imposed on Cuba and which is seriously harming the economy of the island and the living conditions of its inhabitants, and should lead the reactivation of a political dialogue leading to the conclusion of an EU-Cuba Cooperation Agreement.

(XI) The Third Trade Union Summit notes that trade union leaders are being held prisoner under trumped-up charges in various Latin American countries as a result of their trade union struggle and asks the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the EU and LAC to take the measures necessary to secure their immediate release.

(XII) We urge the government of Venezuela and the opposition, in connection with the current conflicts, to respect the constitutional channels and to refrain from any moves to hinder or force determined action by citizens. The difficult situation must be overcome through dialogue and political, peaceful and democratic consultation, with the full and free involvement of the people.

(XIII) We urge the adoption of concrete measures to solve the problem of the foreign debt, including procedures to establish the legitimacy of the debt on a case by case basis, and putting the right of peoples to grow and develop ahead of repaying the foreign debt. Furthermore, the governments of the more developed countries should fullfil their commitment to assign 0.7% of GDP to development cooperation and should also seek other means of ensuring a more equitable distribution of wealth at both the national and international levels, such as, for example, social compensation funds, a tax on capital transfers and funds based on common international assets. All of these measures should be geared to combating poverty and promoting sustainable development and social justice.

Mexico City, 16 April 2004

CONVENING ORGANISATIONS:

ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) WCL (World Confederation of Labour) ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) ORIT (Inter American Regional Organisation of Workers) CLAT (Central Latinoamericana de Trabajadores)

Annex C Statement of the meeting of the ASEM Forum

STATEMENT OF THE MEETING OF THE ASIA-EUROPE TRADE UNION FORUM

Hanoi, Vietnam, 24 April 2004

The Asia-Europe Trade Union Forum was held in Hanoi on 24 April 2004 with the participation of trade union national centres in ASEM countries, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the ICFTU Asia Pacific Regional Organisation (ICFTU-APRO), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Global Union Federations (GUFs) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The meeting was inaugurated by Madame Cu Thi Hau, President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), the host organisation of the Forum.

The participants of the Forum were received by H.E. Mr. Vu Khoan, Vice Prime Minister representing the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Participants in the Trade Union Forum expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the Vietnamese trade unions in making trade union inputs into the preparatory process for the 5th ASEM Summit possible, through organising the Forum and a meeting with the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Forum recommended that the government of Myanmar (Burma) pursue every effort for national reconciliation and democracy on the basis of ILO resolutions. Participants looked forward to continuing development of the dialogue between trade unions in ASEM countries, building on the Statement of the Trade Union ASEM Conference organised in Copenhagen on 19-21 September 2002, and to meeting again in 2006, on the occasion of the sixth ASEM Summit in Finland.