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German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Dear participants at the first World Congress of Union Network International. We live in a time of rapid change. The service sector is gradually catching up with industry and manufacturing in
terms of importance. Of course, we will continue to need a strong industrial base in the future too, but services and human knowledge are becoming increasingly vital. The traditional
economy and the new economy will continue to interact - and each stands to profit from the other.
Even though the new economy is sometimes heralded as an "economic powerhouse and a creator of jobs"- thereby prompting some justified euphoria - it also has its downside as the last
few months have shown, and sometimes the human dimension does not get the attention it deserves. But what are the working conditions like in the information and communications
sectors? Will everyone stand to benefit from the opportunities and possibilities created by the new media ?
Workers who are employed in the new economy share the same interests as their colleagues in the more traditional industries. They, too, want to have some influence over their workplace
environment, their working hours and work processes; they want to help shape the future of the companies they work for, and participate in the development of new products. My hope is
that trade unions will continue to reach out to employees, that they learn to attract new members and thereby succeed in organising these new sectors.
It is our common aim to ensure that information and communication technologies provide access to the new media for as many people as possible. We cannot accept the idea of a
permanent gulf between users and non-users. This applies both nationally – and here we have already had some successes – and internationally.
That is why I am happy that you have chosen as the motto for your first World Congress: "For the people in the New Economy". 1500 participants gathered here in Berlin from the four
corners of the earth to exchange ideas and experiences are a powerful symbol of the fact that the new media will not only radically change educational curricula and professions, but will
also contribute to a greater understanding between different cultures.
What happens here during your congress in Berlin will have an international dimension, after all Union Network International represents more than 15 million trade unionists in more than 950
unions from about 150 countries. Size alone, however impressive the numbers may be, is actually not what really counts. What does count is learning to target information at, and
successfully represent the interests of, workers employed in the different sectors.
It is particularly important that an international trade union organisation such as yours, which operates on the world stage and covers such diversified services, learns to pool its forces and
to speak with one voice. That is why the merger of Communications International (CI), the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees
(FIET), the International Graphical Federation (IGF) and Media and Entertainment International (MEI) to form Union Network International represents for me a milestone in international trade union
co-operation.
I am convinced that in the 21st century, too, people will have to struggle for social justice, solidarity, participation and self-determination. With these words, allow me to wish the World
Congress in Berlin every success - and, in particular, the World Women's Conference which precedes it.
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