`World financial institutions need ILO guidance'

GENEVA: The functioning of World Bank and IMF came in for severe criticism at a panel discussion on the second day of the ILO summit on job losses caused by the global economic slowdown.
While Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, demanded that IMF and World Bank stop interfering in the internal social policy decisions of the developing countries, Indian businessman Yogendra Kumar Modi defended the two financial institutions saying, "The person who takes a loan has to agree to the conditions of the loan as well."
However, Alicia charged that the two financial institutions tried to manipulate the policy decisions of developing nations always insisting that such nations must uphold the free market economy.
"It's not their (IMF and WB) business to determine what sort of social and economic policies a developing country needs to pursue. The country concerned and its people know better," she said and added, "Maybe the building or the institution (IMF and WB) needs to be there but the the mindset of the institution needs to change."
She was supported by Sharon Burrow, president of the International Trade Union, who said that these financial institutions were not concerned about the workers' plight.
On the other hand, OECD representative Eckhard Deutscher defended the financial institutions saying that all developing countries have their representatives in the IMF and World Bank and it is they who should be held responsible for the policies adopted and not the institutions as such.
Interestingly, even some leaders from rich countries like French President Nicolas Sarkozy had on Monday forcefully advocated inclusion of ILO in all WTO talks and all major agreements of countries with IMF and WB.
The objective of all panel discussions being held at the summit is to involve all social partners -- representatives of employers, employees, governments and representatives of market and financial institutions -- to draw up a pact or agreement which would help governments of all countries to prevent further unemployment and create more jobs. Concerned with the large scale laying off of workers the world over in just one year, ILO under the leadership of Juan Somavia has been trying to forge a global jobs pact.
During the panel discussion, there were interventions from the invited delegates which included among others some Indian trade union members like Amarjit Kaur of All India Trade Union Congress who wanted to know how the job pact would in reality protect the interest of the workers. Another trade union leader from India asked whether the present economic crisis or recession was an indication that the capitalist system itself had failed.
Many participants forcefully argued that market alone could not be trusted to protect the interest of all sections of society.
While both Latin American leaders, the charismatic Brazilian president Lula da Silva and Argentinian president Christina Fernandez, in their address on Monday had argued for key governmental role in building an equitable society, many others had asserted that there could be no development without a pro-people government.
In fact earlier, during a panel discussion, Alicia had forcefully argued that development needs to be brought back on the agenda on the lines of the Nehru era, instead of societies being left to the mercy of markets. However, she also insisted that each government must be left free to determine its own social and economic policies to bring about development, free from policy interventions by world financial institutions.