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2nd Regional General Council - Resolution on Institutional Reform

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Resolution
1
Nov 2008

In this resolution, the Second Regional General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation – Asia Pacific notes with deep concern the growing inequality and inequity in the region and globally that is mainly due to the weak redistribution mechanisms of national wealth and income including inadequate social safety nets and inefficient fiscal policy and taxation. The Council reaffirms that social safety nets are mechanisms reflecting universal minimum floor for decent work and decent standard of living and are essential parts of government policy on social development where national revenue from taxes and other sources should be extensively used.

The Council is concerned that the impacts of taxes on redistribution of national income is limited and that there is a trend towards less taxation on assets, more taxation on consumption, the reduction of corporate tax, and the inadequate government budgetary allocations for social expenditure such as education and training, and health as opposed to the larger allocations for military expenditure and debt servicing. It demands institutional reforms for better and adequate social safety nets and fiscal policy and that employers share gains from production and other operations with their workers and that they pay the proper taxes to the government.