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The GCTU Council, held in Moscow on April 2, heard information on the activities of the GCTU Executive Committee for the period from April 2023 to March 2024, which was presented by GCTU Secretary General Viktor Pinsky.

The Council proposed to continue work on the implementation of the Main Activities of the General Confederation of Trade Unions for 2022-2027, taking into account the specifics and challenges of the current moment.

The Council stressed that threats and risks in the field of economic, information, technological, and biological security persist in the world, which affect the countries of the region, affect the position of workers and require a joint response from trade unions.

The Council of the GCTU has considered the issue "On the socio-economic situation in independent states of the region where the GCTU member organizations operate, and positions of trade unions."

The Council of the GCTU noted that against the background of a slowdown in the global economy, most countries in the region have demonstrated strong economic growth.

Work continued on technological renewal and on digitalization of the economy.

The labor market responded to the growth of the economies of the countries of the region and ongoing transformations with an increase in employment and a decrease in unemployment, and some changes in the structure. Nominal and, to a lesser extent, real wages have increased significantly.

At the same time, the imbalance of the labor market remained. There is a shortage of qualified personnel, especially engineering, IT and working professions.

The digital transformation that has begun, the introduction of artificial intelligence carries both positive consequences and certain risks for the economy, society and people.

Self-employment and platform employment are becoming widespread, while legal regulation of the work of such workers has not yet been established in most countries of the region.

Despite the increase in wages, the level of wages for many workers remains low. There remains a significant stratification of the population by income, unjustified differentiation in wages.

The Council of the GCTU called on member organizations to fight for the priority of human interests, to achieve the realization of the right to decent work, welfare improvement and social justice.

In these purposes:

– elaborating national development programs, insist on a socially oriented approach, principles of social dialogue and justice;

– to seek measures to mitigate the risks of the introduction of digital technologies, the use of artificial intelligence;

– to make proposals on time to ensure full productive employment of the population;

– advocate for the regulation of the activities of platform workers and self-employed, ensuring their rights and guarantees;

– during negotiations pay special attention to raising the salary level, its indexation not lower than inflation level;

– continue to strive for the introduction of a progressive scale of taxation of citizens' income;

– to insist on the accessibility of education and professional training, its budgetary and free forms;

– demand an increase in government spending on health care.

The Executive Committee of the GCTU will support member organizations in their struggle for the rights and interests of working people, and when they apply promptly ensure the organization of solidarity actions.