PSI has played a key role in the creation of global labour standards, outlawing child labour, forced labour, excessive working hours and establishing core principles on union rights and freedom of association.

But in the past few decades, a concerted effort by employers and the forces of capital has attempted to undermine these rights. Negotiations at the ILO have consistently stalled, right-wing governments have actively undermined union membership and, in many countries, working conditions have deteriorated and wages have not kept up with the cost of living.

In the face of these attacks, a reinvigorated labour movement is now more important than ever.

Employers are seeking to manipulate the rules of the game in their favour.

If Uber were to classify their drivers as workers, Uber would be among the largest employers in the world. Instead, they claim the drivers are 'self-employed entrepreneurs,' allowing the company to avoid providing them with the same levels of benefits, health care provisions and safety nets which regular employees would be assured.

Not only does this model undermine workplace rights - it also creates an increasingly fragmented labour market where workers are forced into ruthless competition with each other, making trade union organising and building solidarity increasingly difficulty

On top of this, the use of short term, casual contracts and agency workers is increasing across all sectors - including for the public sector and the international civil servants - further undermining employment security and union organising.

Austerity and underfunding are fuelling work intensification and creating pressure to work longer - and often unpaid - hours, even in areas where unionisation is high.

The sad reality is union power is under attack across the globe. Trends in the last five years suggest that restrictions on the right to strike have already increased beyond the limits established by the ILO supervisory mechanisms. Many countries have established laws restricting, and sometimes criminalising, the right to organise and strike for public sector workers, often by abusing the “essential services” provisions.