SIGN UP TO CAMPAIGN FOR A DECENT LIFE

12.00.00am GMT Tue 6th Nov 2007

Today's booming global economy is tainted by significant slave labour, underemployment and unemployment. To act against this and to try to reverse the inequalities in our society, a call to action was launched this week under the banner of Decent Work Decent Life.

Liz Lynne, local Liberal Democrat MEP, Vice President of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and rapporteur of a recent European Parliamentary report on social protection and social inclusion, has signed up to this call for action and is urging others to do the same.

Liz Lynne said:

"I warmly welcome this initiative as it calls for many things that ought to be fundamental rights for all including the right to decent work, social security and pensions, human rights, the right to form and join trade unions or not and the protection of migrant workers.

"It is scandalous for example that an increasing amount of people, particularly women, are forced to work in the informal economy without basic rights that many of us to take for granted. It is similarly disgusting that many of these people count towards the estimated 12.3 million people living in slavery. It is to these most vulnerable people that we must reach out and offer hope.

"In the EU prosperity is increasing but the gap between rich and poor is getting wider in many Member States. We are celebrating the European Year of Equal Opportunities for all, yet over 72 million European citizens continue to live in poverty. This raises tough questions about the kind of world we want to live in and the commitment of governments and international organisations to fight inequality.

"In a world where half the world's workforce earns less than £1 a day, governments need to learn more from each other and exchange best practice on these issues. NGOs and campaign organisations can be and are massive engines for change but governments should not just leave these issues to them."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Photo caption: Liz Lynne MEP at the launch of the Decent Work Decent Life campaign.

Individuals can sign the call to action via: www.decentwork.org. The campaign is led by the International Trade Union Confederation, the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert International, the European Trade Union Confederation and Solidar.

Liz Lynne MEP is author of the 2007 joint report for the European Parliament on Social Protection, Social Inclusion and Social Reality Stocktaking which was adopted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee last month. The report is the European Parliament's response to the adoption by the European Council in Spring and the European Commission of reports on social reality stocktaking.

The Parliament's report comes ahead of the revision of the Lisbon Agenda and the mid term review of social policy.

The report also emphasises:

• Employment as a key safeguard against poverty and stresses the role of education and training in achieving it.

• The need for equal access to goods and services for all, as well as the importance of high quality health and social services, affordable childcare and affordable housing in avoiding child poverty and social exclusion.

• The need to tackle inequalities in health and access to healthcare suffered in many ethnic minority communities.

• The need to provide better advice and treatment to those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, noting that these can lead to crime, unemployment and social exclusion.

• The need for all Member States to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, while providing sufficient community support in the light of the general de-institutionalisation of disabled people. Also to address the problems faced by carers, e.g. exclusion from the labour market.

• The need for a human rights-based asylum policy and to consider more legal immigration routes; legislation to prevent exploitation of vulnerable workers; and to enforce anti-trafficking and anti-discrimination legislation.