International human rights day - 10 December Decolonising Labour Regimes
On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, PSI is launching a new report which looks at tackling racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance in the context of workers’ and labour rights and access to universal quality public services for all.
Verónica Montúfar
The paper attempts to look at some of the work that has been done by anti-racist and decolonial scholars and activists globally to offer propositions as to (i) why racism and white supremacy (as a legacy of slavery, imperialism and colonialism) remain entrenched in the global political economy and (ii) how the resurgence of both overt and covert racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance are constitutive of neoliberal globalisation.
Decolonising Labour Regimes
This paper is an attempt to contribute to a discussion on how we can transform labour regimes that continue to be engineered to serve the interest of a global capitalist elite bent on maintaining an extractivist system of increasingly extreme exploitation and accumulation.
Read the reportA first discussion took place at PSI's 31st World Congress on 17 October 2023. The panel was facilitated by Agripina Hurtado, coordinator of the Interamerican Committee for Combating Racism, Xenophobia and All Forms of Discrimination, and included Nancy Kachingwe from South Feminist Futures, study author, and Lesley Dixon, Māori Vice President of the New Zealand Public Services Association (NZPSA).
The panel discussed the coloniality of power, racial capitalism, and specific actions taken by unions with decolonial and intersectional approaches, including understanding the historical and contemporary relationship between capital, racialisation, and the control of labour for profit.
From left to right: Nancy Kachingwe, Agripina Hurtado, Lesley Dixon
PSI is taking the lead in strengthening decolonial, intersectional, and feminist approaches to combat racism, xenophobia, and all forms of intolerance in the world of work and public services and is gaining momentum in working with its affiliated unions on its Programme of Action, with a focus on Section 3: Respect and dignity for all.
Read the report
Tackling racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance in the context of workers’ and labour rights and access to universal quality public services for all.
