Sharan Burrow: The world must change - Investment Magazine
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Sharan Burrow: The world must change
This was the powerful message delivered by Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation in the keynote speech to ACSI’s annual conference.
“If we don’t heal the fractures of today’s workforce that have been caused by the current model of greed, we will see even greater inequality in years to come,” she told conference delegates.
Burrow said there were a number of lenses that could usefully analyse the impact of pursuing maximum returns at any cost based on the narrowest definition of fiduciary responsibility.
Inequality is one lens, Burrow stated.
The ITUC head urged attendees to examine local practices.
“Please don’t think this is just ‘over there’ such as migrant workers in construction or domestic work in the Gulf countries, or enslavement in the fishing industry in Thailand,” she said.
“Right here on Australian strawberry farms Fijian women are exploited or likewise Pacific Islanders and Asian workers in construction and other industries. The entire supply chains of Australian supermarkets need to be cleaned up.”
In short, Burrow said investments at home and across entire international investment portfolios are implicated in violations of fundamental rights even slavery.
To battle this, Burrow wants businesses to hold a “social license to operate” such that they are registered and pay tax in each country of operation, that they have an employment relationship with those they depend on for doing the work that earns their profits and that they contribute to social protection.
ACSI, International Trade Union Confederation