PSI Workshop against Corruption and for Fiscal Justice

PSI Workshop against Corruption and for Fiscal Justice Santiago de Chile, 7 - 8 October 2014 The Character of Corruption and the objectives of the PSI Campaign

Why is corruption a subject for trade unions? Corruption is the greatest obstacle to modernisation. It prevents political reforms and decent economic development. It is an attack on workers and trade unions. It destroys workplaces and damages public services. It is an attack on democracy and obstructs trade unions in social dialogue and free collective bargaining.

“Small scale” corruption Citizens have to pay bribes to obtain services to which they are entitled. People who pay bribes or have “special contacts” receive advantages. This form of corruption is an insult to democracy, defrauds the citizens and undermines the integrity of public service workers.

Two major reasons for “small scale” corruption Low salaries in public services, which are not comparable to salaries in other sectors, can be an incentive to taking bribes. Under conditions of bad governance and public services not equally accessible to all, citizens look for their own, sometimes corrupt, ways to obtain services like medical assistance, construction permits, judgements etc.

“Large scale” corruption Private companies, often from rich and democratic countries, are involved in large-scale fraud all over the planet. Multinational companies are seeking to control natural resources, privatise public services, obtain favourable legislation and conditions for their businesses. Large-scale corruption is a form of organised crime.

State capture Private companies establish networks to influence politicians and government officials with the aim of modifying laws and rules and providing them with control over parts of the economy and natural resources. Large-scale fraud by politicians and companies not only perverts the state itself, but disadvantages those who offer better or cheaper products and benefits those who were able to obtain illegal advantages.

Corruption has many faces When people think of corruption, they often think of only one facet of the problem: bribes and illegal payments. Some forms of corruption, which may seem to be “legal”, can have an even greater impact: donations to political parties – personal networks aiming at influencing politics – forms of lobbyism - patronage – nepotism. Tax fraud and evasion, hiding money in tax havens is stealing the property of the community.

Corruption and public services Many forms of outsourcing are open doors for private companies and offer great opportunities for corruption: Ø Ø Privatisation of public services Sale of state-owned industries Public procurement Long-term concessions of water, energy, medical or cleaning services, waste collection and treatment, construction or running of roads, schools, prisons etc.

Transparency, democracy and the “Culture of Corruption” The precondition and objective of corruption is the disparity of power and wealth. This is why there is corruption in all states on this earth and why it is also widely spread in capitalist democracies of the European Union or North America. However, political dictatorship or the lack of democratic rules, of transparency, of public control, of independent media are a perfect breeding ground for the emergence of a wide “Culture of Corruption” and make it difficult to fight against.

Public services unions reject corruption because our interest is: to have quality public services accessible equally to all citizens, to have services that maintain the integrity of public services workers as well as the rights of citizens, to earn decent salaries that don’t produce incentives to take bribes, to keep services in public, not private hands, to guarantee tax justice and fair contributions by all to finance the public services that society needs.

Our demands - I Respect for the rights of public service employees and their unions Decent salaries Stop privatisations Adequate financing of public services Confiscation of profits and gains obtained by corrupt means

Our demands - II Transparent rules on public procurement Installation and protection of independent public control and auditing bodies Protection of independent media and journalists Adoption of freedom of information acts and laws that protect whistleblowers from persecution

Our demands - III Prohibition on the participation of corrupt firms in public tenders Tribunals in both countries – the one of a company’s origin and the one of its operation – have to impose severe legal sanctions Tax justice and closing of tax havens. We want our money back!

PSI activities Lobbying inter-governmental organisations seeking the adoption of better international rules and norms. Working with the ILO to obtain an international Convention that will protect the employees of public control bodies and their independency. Developing training manuals for trade union seminars and workshops on corruption. Supporting and assisting our affiliates in their activities to fight corruption.

PSI activities As the conditions of the fight against corruption may vary from country to country, affiliates decide on the most appropriate actions to take. It is useful and necessary for PSI and its affiliates to form alliances with other forces in civil society. Allies can be, for instance, NGOs, media and journalists, religious organisations, political parties, social movements and organisations.

Fighting against corruption means fighting for justice and prosperity, for the future of our societies! We must prepare for a long-lasting but necessary battle!