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Ver.di President, Frank
Bsirske
Greetings to delegates to Berlin from Frank Bsirske, President of ver.di - the United Services Union - UNI's newest and biggest affiliate
Sisters and brothers, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all delegates, guests and organisations to this first World Congress of Union Network International in Berlin.
It was here in Berlin that five German trade unions decided in March this year to merge and form ver.di - a united services union - with almost three million members.
The merger which created UNI and the one which created ver.di underline the similarity in the problems
confronting trade unions throughout the world - how can we maintain and expand the
influence of the unions given current developments in our countries and the pressures of international competition?
In industrialised countries it is our transformation into a service society that has been the main factor.
Work processes have changed. Employees today are expected to show independence, creativity and social skills.
Although this adds an additional burden, it also open us a space in which employees have a degree of autonomy in deciding how they do their jobs.
Ver.di realises that as there is a widening divergence in the interests and circumstances of individual employees in the service industries. We need to adopt a differentiated approach in
defending those interests.
We want to recruit new categories of workers into the trade union movement, for example the self-employed and highly qualified professionals in the new business sectors.
As far as international trade union work is concerned, ver.di accepts that unions from different countries do not necessarily share exactly the same concerns.
Trade unions, too, are players in the competition stakes for world markets, just like nation states, and are primarily interested in defending their own members.
But all unions realise one thing - we must not let anybody play us off against each other. That is the basis of all international trade union work.
Together we will fight to ensure that the globalisation process is subject to political and social control.
We demand from our governments and international political institutions the establishment of a social and just regulatory framework to tame market forces.
However, it is not just a question of setting out overall objectives.
The tangible steps needed to improve trade union representation are equally important. It is my hope that we succeed in putting our ideas into practice and building upon them.
For example, the right of trade unions to representation across borders in international groups.
We have negotiated an international collective agreement for the shipping industry and we will try to secure similar agreements in other industries.
And let us take a leaf out of the book of the environmental movement and improve our campaigning skills!
Creating a common basis for international trade union work also means continuing to fight for human and union rights.
People who are threatened or persecuted because they have stood up for human and trade unions rights need our help - and they should be able to count on it.
I hope that the new possibilities opened up by the creation of UNI and the strength of UNI, will be used effectively for our international trade union work.
For me, UNI stands for United, Numerous, Intelligent.
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