Congress General Secretary David Begg has said that priority must be given to the creation and maintenance of decent work as a cornerstone of any drive for national recovery.
Mr Begg was speaking ahead of World Day for Decent Work, an initiative of the International Trade Union Confederation, which falls annually on October 7.
He said the creation and protection of Decent Work was "the fundamental task of trade unions in Ireland and internationally. This goes to the core of what we do and why we were founded - to raise standards and protections for working people.
"If we are serious about genuine and sustainable recovery in Ireland, we need to focus on the creation of decent jobs and decent work. You cannot build recovery on the back of badly paid, insecure and precarious work that drives people into poverty.
"The Decent Work agenda is about giving people security, the means to raise and educate a family and the capacity to develop their skills and knowledge, which aids competitiveness" Mr Begg said.
"Across Europe there is a drive to reduce standards to the lowest common denominator and strip away rights that unions and working people have won over generations: equality, health and safety, paid overtime, holiday pay, occupational pensions, social protection and the five day working week are all under threat.
"This is exactly the wrong way to go and will lead to more inequality, rising poverty and a loss of social cohesion.
"The best protection people have is to join a union.
"It is no accident that the countries least affected by the current crisis - the Nordic states - are those which prioritise social protection and good employment. Ireland needs to learn from that example to ensure we do not repeat the mistakes of the past," Mr Begg concluded.
A short animated film on the theme of Decent Work can be viewed here
WHY DECENT WORK MATTERS
World Day for Decent Work falls each year on October 7 and is an initiative of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), to which Congress is affiliated.
The ITUC represents some 175 million workers in 153 countries and territories, around the world.
Decent Work is defined as work that is productive and delivers a fair income to ensure a decent standard of living that provides security in the workplace and good social protection for families. Trade unions believe Decent Work is central to the building of a fair and more equal society that puts people first.
The creation of new, decent jobs will help drive national and global recovery by getting people back to work and sparking economic growth.
Unfortunately, Europe is currently in thrall to a near religious belief that the route to economic salvation lies in removing worker protections, cutting incomes and driving standards down to the lowest common denominator.
But as history clearly shows, the reverse is true. Only by driving standards up and ensuring people have access to decent, well paid and secure work can we hope to kickstart recovery.
The current crisis makes the achievement of a more sustainable economic order - with Decent Work at its core - an absolute necessity.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has outlined five key components of Decent Work:
1. End Precarious Work
This is work that is highly insecure, badly paid and incapable of supporting a household or family. Precarious work has spread rapidly in recent years, particularly with the growth of contract labour. Both young and female workers feature prominently in the ranks of this new workforce.
According to Prof. Guy Standing - author of The Precariat - this workforce includes "many (who) are temps, part-timers, in call centres or in outsourced arrangements....its growth has been accelerated by the neoliberalism of globalisation, which put faith in labour market flexibility, the commodification of everything and the restructuring of social protection."
Precarious work represents a huge threat to existing wages and working conditions. Those in temporary, casual and contract jobs have fewer rights and are less likely to join a union.
2. Social Dialogue & Union Rights
The full involvement of worker organisations in all decisions on the labour market and incomes is a vital in ensuring that the 'market' is not left unchecked to wreak havoc. Unions play a crucial role in income redistribution with numerous studies showing that where unions are weak, income inequality rises. Unions in Ireland currently enjoy far less rights than many of their European counterparts.
3. Strong Employment Protection
Far from being an obstacle to a dynamic, labour market good employment protection has been shown to boost productivity and skill levels, as it encourages workers to innovate and upskill. Many experts highlight the fact that countries with comparatively high levels of labour market (and social) protection - the Nordic states - have emerged relatively unscathed from the current global crisis.
4. Better Work Organisation
A basic principle of Decent Work is the creation of workplace environments where workers are fully informed and consulted on all decisions affecting them. This helps in balancing the demands of work and home life and facilitates ongoing learning and upskilling.
5. Good Social Protection
With unemployment in Europe reaching levels last seen in the post war years - 25 million and rising - a strong social protection system is vital to ensure that people maintain an adequate standard of living and have access to training opportunities. In addition, many economists believe that social welfare spending acts as a 'stabiliser' during a recession, helping to buttress an economy as recipients spend the vast bulk of their income on local goods and services.
