PSI General Secretary's speech

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the failure of the austerity policies, the interconnection of health, environmental, economic and social crisis and the fragility of a globalized world.

Underfunding and privatization of health systems are responsible for inadequate staffing and unpreparedness that caused thousands of unnecessary deaths among workers and patients.

Building resilience requires investments to address structural problems such as:

• Funding of universal public health systems.

• Filling the global health staff shortages in all countries.

• Strengthening the role of primary care services.

• Integration of social care services in well-resourced health and care systems.

• Ensuring health and care workers have decent wages and conditions, OSH protection, the right to social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Furthermore,

• introducing a 25% minimum tax on Corporate and a wealth tax to raise immediate revenues and

• Supporting the temporary waiver to patents in the WTO TRIPs Agreement for COVID 19 vaccines and drugs

are measures necessary if the recovery has to contribute to a more sustainable and just world.