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Fired Up for Change: PSI Congress 2023 Kicks Off in Geneva

The Public Services International (PSI) 31st World Congress opened on October 14th in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together over 1,200 trade unionists from around the globe. Festive drumming and dancing from a Brazilian Samba troupe set the tone for the four-day event focused on the theme "People Over Profit in a World of Multiple Crises."

PSI President Dave Prentis welcomed delegates and condemned ongoing violence in Israel-Gaza and Ukraine. He paid respects to public service workers who lost their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prentis also recognised the "passionate leadership" of PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli over her 11 years in the role.

The Global Scrub Choir, made up of healthcare workers led by Dr. Emma O’Brien, gave a moving performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in multiple languages.

The State Councillor of Geneva, Thierry Apothéloz, welcomed delegates to Geneva, a city of social dialogue and trade unionism. “Workers' rights represent the very foundation upon which sustainable social peace lies. The importance of dignity highlighted by this congress is not to be underestimated. Your commitment on a daily basis is urgent to carry out this fight,” he acknowledged.

In the opening keynote address, ILO Deputy Director-General Celeste Drake called for increased investments in quality public services, including workers. "You provide services that are essential to the life, safety and health of our communities, and yet your essential value is often not reflected in your remuneration and other conditions of work," she added.

Drake also noted that recent ILO research has confirmed many nursing personnel and care workers, the majority of whom are women, lack access to decent work. Deficits include understaffing, excessive working hours, low pay, limited career prospects, and heightened risk of workplace violence and harassment.

PSI Vice-President Ritta Msibi echoed the need to prioritise decent work for public servants. She pointed out that while collective bargaining and freedom of association are protected in some countries, this is still the exception globally. She highlighted that the erosion of rights and underpayment of public servants has impacted generations, from baby boomers to millennials.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed the need to support health and care workers in a video address to Congress. He called for countries to protect the rights of these essential personnel, "WHO calls on all countries to abide by the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and refrain from active international recruitment from the 55 countries on the Support and Safeguard list.”

Procedural matters were addressed, including adoption of standing orders, election of officers like the Credentials Committee, and endorsement of Congress committees. The energy and commitment on display sets the stage for four days of inspiring dialogue and action to protect public services globally.

WOC highlights Rosa Pavanelli's leadership in gender mainstreaming at PSI

On 14 October, nearly 100 women filled Hall K of the Palexpo to participate in the World Women's Committee meeting prior to the 31st World Congress of Public Services International (PSI), in an emotional atmosphere of "task accomplished" and the end of an era for important women on the committee and in PSI's own structure, who over the past 11 years have put "real gender mainstreaming in PSI policy" at the heart of the global union's actions, as general secretary Rosa Pavanelli emotionally noted in her final address to the WOC.

"I want to recognize the incredible work of the committee, which despite the difficulties experienced by the pandemic, was able to adapt and maintain the work to not give up the fight for women's human rights," said Pavanelli in her speech highlighting the agenda that has driven the PSI on gender violence in the world of work with the ILO Convention 190, the reconstruction of the social organization of care and influence on global governance as UN Women.

In this regard, she pointed out that "we have promoted the issue of care as a rethinking of the sexual division of labour and society and today it is on the agenda of the world economic forums," she said, while emphasising that at the last meeting of the CSW, PSI addressed the empowerment of women and girls in the digital age, promoting "a feminist digital pact".

Of course, this work, she said, "could not have been done without the help of you and Verónica Montúfar", referring to PSI's global gender officer, who has tirelessly supported the work of the committees at the regional level.

Margarita Lopez, from the Andean Sub-region of Inter-America, then asked for Rosa to receive a round of applause, which turned into a standing ovation.

In this atmosphere of recognition, the women highlighted the companions who had left us this year, pausing to pay tribute to a deceased member of the World Committee, Maria Ester Hernandez from ANPE, Costa Rica, and then thanking one of the WOC Vice Presidents who is leaving after the Congress for her work, Jillian Bartlett from the Inter-American Region, who also gave a management report for the current year, highlighting Rosa's leadership in "promoting gender mainstreaming in PSI and a transformative agenda to balance power relations at work, in the union and in society".

Gloria Mills, WOC vice-president for Europe, highlighted the transformative changes of women's participation at the World Congress, noting that of the 757 participants at the 5th Congress, 397 are women and 357 are men. While Annie Geron, WOC vice-chair for Asia Pacific, emphasised the collective power of the committee and the need to continue to build capacity for PSI women at local, sub-regional, regional and global levels.

Finally, WOC chair Irene Khumalo closed the session by highlighting Rosa's work and transformative role in highlighting women's issues and bringing them to PSI's internal policy and global stage.

"Our driving force to ensure that our rights continue to be guaranteed is in the collective work of the Committee," she said.

Organising for power: Lessons from organising around the world

The organising workshop was opened by Daniel Bertossa, who said that unions need members to be powerful, and power is not inherited but needs to be nourished, so unions must always keep up their organising efforts. He was followed by UNISON General Secretary Christina McAnea, a union with about 1.3 million members, who appealed for a proper use of resources in organising work to ensure that members are involved.

The workshop featured inspiring presentations on building union power through organising around the globe. Speakers included Artem Tidva, an EPSU organiser from Ukraine; Dr Davji Atellah of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union; Michael Whaites of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association in Australia, and Dharti Durugwar of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Temporary Health Employees Union in Maharashtra, India.

Tidva outlined EPSU’s central and Eastern European organising strategy (in North Macedonia, Poland and Ukraine) focusing on developing "a subculture of trade union leaders from different countries who understand what organising is and how it must be implemented." Atellah discussed forming unconventional alliances beyond the workplace in Kenya, noting "We have taken up issues of medical students and unemployed health professionals. These alliances have increased our membership and strengthened our union." He also described the courageous struggle to get doctors to join unions and be able to strike, that was itself achieved through strike action.

Whaites also explained how nurse strikes in Australia engaged members to kick out an anti-union government, stating "Perhaps the most important thing we achieved was kicking out a conservative government that had refused to listen to nurses and midwives for over ten years. Now we are strike ready and we will not give that power back." 

Durugwar shared how organising helped municipal health workers in India win recognition, emphasising "We protested during Covid-19 for our salaries. The success of our agitation made us aware of the importance of unions." The presentations of this panel are in the link above in the newsletter.

The first part of the workshop was moderated by Fathimath Zimna, General Secretary of the Maldives Health Professionals Union.

The second part was moderated by Steven Ward who is doing organising work with PSI.

Renowned author and organiser Jane McAlevey delivered an inspiring keynote address on achieving high participation, stressing that "Unity, tight workplace structure, and sustainable majorities are needed along with high participation." She outlined core organising concepts like identifying organic workplace leaders who can mobilise workers. McAlevey asserted that "With high participation and tight workplace organisation, unions can build the power needed to win."

The lively Q&A portion focused on applying organising principles in restrictive contexts. Challenges were raised around countries lacking union rights, and employers ignoring unions. McAlevey emphasised creating a ‘crisis’ through massive strikes, even illegal ones, with savvy community support. Building public backing counters employer propaganda. McAlevey and panellists stressed the importance of  identifying organic community leaders, forging strategic alliances beyond the workplace, and recognising universal organising principles. One example was miners in Ukraine and South Africa relating their shared struggles, despite geographical and cultural divides. While organising faces challenges globally, participants showed that strategic militancy and community solidarity can transcend barriers and build real worker power.

EB-162: Dave Prentis thanks Rosa Pavanelli for her work and collaboration during eleven years at PSI.

Ahead of the 31st World Congress of Public Services International (PSI), the Executive Board (EB-162) met this Saturday afternoon, 14, in Geneva. On the agenda were preparatory items for the Congress, such as the presentation and approval of the recommendations for the appointment of Congress Vice-Presidents, the nomination of auditors and scrutineers, as well as the recommendations for the appointment of members of the Credentials Committee and the EB on pending Resolutions and Amendments.

In addition to this, the report of the Standing Orders Committee, which met for the fifth time on the evening of the 13th, was presented. Key resolutions and amendments tabled for a vote at the World Congress included an emergency resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has worsened in recent days.

PSI President Davis Prentis highlighted the contribution of Rosa Pavanelli for her work over the past eleven years as PSI General Secretary which has contributed to the growth and strengthening of the global union, and bade farewell to the EB members in her final term. "I want to thank Rosa for her contribution to the growth and strengthening of PSI, and for the strength and enthusiasm she put into each of her ideas, which undoubtedly demonstrates her great leadership".

Rosa Pavanelli, who is now retiring as general secretary, thanked the Executive Board for its work, and Dave Prentis for his collaboration and friendship: "Without a doubt, all the work I was able to do is because I had a great president by my side who was by my side at crucial moments. He gave me his support and helped PSI to become what it is today.

Towards International Whistleblower Protection

A whistleblower in a public service is simply a worker who witnesses wrongdoing and wishes to report it. The fear of retribution is real. Whistleblowers are threatened, are sent to prison, are victims of violence and sometimes even killed. 

PSI  started working on anti-corruption in 2012, and since the last congress in 2017, where PSI held a symposium on protecting whistleblowers, progress has been made on the development of standards and guidelines for trade unionists. 

At the 14 October  2023 pre-Congress meeting on whistleblowers, Camilo Rubiano, PSI trade union rights officer, introduced Nayla Glaise, President of Eurocadres, Macarena Fernández from the government control workers’ union APOC, Argentina, and Ariel Pringles from the judiciary trade union UEJN, also in Argentina.

In Argentina, there is a serious issue of corruption within public companies and in public health. Ariel Pringles gave the example of inferior building materials that were used as a result of corruption, resulting in a fire in a disco where several young people died. Hospital managers who have access to drugs are put under pressure by traffickers to accept money in return for those drugs. 

Macarena Fernández is part of a network of legal government control workers. She explained that corruption creates many problems within the public service in Argentina, including making public services inefficient and slowing investment, with the result that people no longer believe in politicians. She said corruption presents a threat for public administration, and whistleblowers have a key role in exposing wrongdoing. But they need strong protection.

Between 2019 and 2021, PSI organised a series of trade union training sessions around the world, many of them held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with FORSA, PPLAAF, WIN and other international support organisations, PSI was able to offer training on whistleblower protection to public sector trade unions in dozens of countries.

Nayla Glaise described the EU directive that was drawn up by Eurocadres in collaboration with PSI and the ITUC. It has been signed by all but three EU member states. While the directive only applies to Europe, it is a useful guide for unionists. In the rest of the world there are over 30 different standards and laws, but none are effective. That is why we are working towards an international standard.

Before the publication of the EU directive, cases of whistleblowers were only heard about when they went to court and appeared in the media.  However, thanks to the directive, many cases are now solved internally between the employer and the whistleblower, without the need to involve the judicial system and without incurring penalties to the employer. Whistleblowers can be accompanied by a facilitator, who receives the same protection as the whistleblower. In some countries, the facilitator can be a legal entity such as a trade union. The whistleblower and the facilitator can both remain anonymous if they wish.

Whistleblowing is a workplace issue. A whistleblower is an employee who is threatened because of doing their job. PSI and ITUC have been pushing for an ILO resolution on whistleblowing for more than ten years, and even though it is getting closer, we need to continue to work for its completion. The ILO has published documents about whistleblower protection (here and here) and we now need to push for an international ILO resolution to protect whistleblowers around the world. 

“There’s something about being gay that’s just fabulous.”

PSI’s LGBT+ Workers’ Network met to discuss Congress resolutions and how to ensure that PSI’s Programme of Action effectively contributes to a more inclusive labour movement. Key takeaways from the caucus were on the broader importance of self-organising, visibility, and intersectionality in advancing the fight of LGBT+ workers.

The participants underscored the importance of LGBT+ workers coming together and creating formal networks and committees. The goal is to create a more inclusive trade union movement by recognising and addressing the specific challenges faced by these workers. Through self-organisation, the aim is to build a stronger, united front within PSI. Self-organisation empowers marginalised groups to take control of their representation and make their voices heard.

Visibility emerged as a central strategy for promoting the rights and voices of LGBT+ workers. To effect change, it is not enough to merely acknowledge their existence; instead, visibility becomes a powerful tool. By being more visible in the labour movement, LGBT+ workers can draw attention to the issues they face, build empathy, and inspire action.

The meeting also focused on the importance of encouraging diverse voices and considering intersectionality. Speakers acknowledged that certain regions face unique challenges, as LGBT+ issues may not be seen as a priority in their countries. For the LGBT+ group to build effective change in these countries, during this Congress and beyond, the gaps between different struggles must be bridged, and commonalities must be found. A crucial way to achieve this is to ensure the labour movement represents all minority groups. The importance of not organising in silos but rather working laterally in a collective spirit was emphasised as a valuable tool in advancing LGBT+ causes.

Members expressed hope and determination to make history with the upcoming congress. The discussions revealed a commitment to building visibility and ensuring representation, taking PSI one step closer to a more inclusive and intersectional future.