Economist Jim O’Neill (now Lord O’Neill) originally coined the phrase ‘BRICs’ in a 2001 Goldman Sach’s economic paper with the title ‘The World Needs Better Economic BRICs’ – which discussed the prospects for four emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
BRICs soon became a term used by journalists, pundits and politicians as a soundbite and buzz-phrase.
Last week in Johannesburg, South Africa the first conference of the BRIC countries took place and the media sat up and took note.
Many media outlets focussed on the unsurprising fact that Vladimir Putin didn’t attend in person as an international warrant would have been issued in South Africa for his immediate arrest.
However some media lead on what the conference of the BRICs would mean for trade agreements and bodies such as the G7 and the G20, would they form a trading bloc, how would they boost their economic power, was this a power grab by China and who else could join?
The BRICs is a diverse group with very different political and economic outlooks. Some want closer ties to the West, others want to go it alone, others want to expand the group’s clout.
“Right now, changes in the world, in our times, and in history are unfolding in ways like never before, bringing human society to a critical juncture. The course of history will be shaped by the choices we make” said China’s President Xi Jinping in remarks delivered at a BRICS business forum by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, – and interestingly not Xi, who had that same day already met conference host South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
But it was Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaLula who opened up the issue of the divergence of views in the bloc saying: “We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20 or the United States. We just want to organise ourselves.”
Also on the agenda were the dependency of the U.S. dollar. In his pre-recorded message Putin described the latter as “the irreversible process of de-dollarization of our economic ties” which he said was “gaining momentum.”
The South African hosts responded by making it clear there will be no discussions on a common currency – an idea that had been previously floated by Lula as an alternative to dollar-dependence.
Also on the agenda was how the bloc could expand and what would be the criteria to allow other countries to join.
Reports suggest that India was wary of expansion, suspicious of China’s motives but said it kept an ‘open mind’.
Lula didn’t want to dilute the influence of the current bloc but said he wanted to see Argentina join.
Russia is keen to expand membership and South Africa’s Ramaphosa expressed support for expansion at his meeting with Xi. China is busy with its ‘belt and road’ policy to extend its influence plus it has lodged its application to join the CTPPT trade deal which the UK recently joined.
Certainly the BRICs pledge to embrace the developing world with an offer of an alternative to Western nations, finds favour with many countries.
Depending on which reports you read this varies between 15 and 40 countries, some of whom have their written applications in the post.
Returning to Lord O’Neill (and his fondness for acronyms) these applicants may include countries with the potential of becoming members of the world’s largest economies – the N-11 (Next Eleven) including Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and the Phillipines) and the MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) which differentiate between the variety of emerging economies.
At this early stage it is difficult see how such a diverse group of countries (and applicants) could work on the basis of reaching a consensus on just about anything – but that does not mean it won’t happen.
The U.S. repose to these events? The White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told U.S. media he did not see BRICS turning into a geopolitical rival of the United States. We shall see.
Update: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, the UAE and Ethiopia have now been invited to join the the BRICs nations commencing in 2024.
First published in the Morning Star, August 26th 2023
The UK based Trade Union Campaign for Abdullah Ocalan was joined by members of the Kurdish community and over 40 trade unions, local governments, NGOs and others for a press conference in front of the European Parliament demanding international action on the case of jailed Kurdish political leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Turkish authorities have prevented Ocalan from communicating with the outside world for over two years. For the millions of Kurds who view him as their political representative, as well as their international allies, this situation has raised serious fears for his health and safety.
“We are here to say, yet again, that Ocalan’s treatment and isolation breaks international law on human rights. No-one should be treated in this way. We are here to remind European politicians, 100 years after the Treaty of Lausanne divided the Kurds among hostile nation states, that democracy and freedom in Turkey and the Middle East are not possible without a peaceful solution to the Kurdish Question, and that Ocalan holds the key to that solution,” conference moderator Sarah Glynn said to introduce the event.
Speakers representing trade unions, including Unite in the UK, local governments, and social movements across Europe called on Turkish authorities to abide by domestic and international law and allow Ocalan to meet with his lawyers and relatives; on European institutions to provide more information about his case and hold Turkey accountable for its failures to abide by these shared legal standards; and on the international community to work towards Ocalan’s release under conditions that allow him to play a role in negotiations to find a lasting, just, and democratic political solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey.
Glenn Thompson of the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions addressing CSEU delegates.
Unions representing shipbuilding, aerospace and defence workers have agreed a job and union protection agreement which was launched at the recent conference of UK trade union federation the CSEU.
The agreement was reached by the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions, the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in the UK, the AFL-CIO Metal Trades and IndustriALL Global Union. The agreement provides for unions to co-operate in ensuring union the representation of workers employed in the building, build, and refurbishment of submarines and other vessels in Australia, UK and the USA.
The deal provides for workers seconded to sites outside their own countries to be represented by the appropriate trade unions in the host countries – from design to decommissioning of vessels; to build trade union power and influence and to ensure that workers in Australia, the UK and the USA are treated fairly , that the highest common standards apply, and co-ordinating trade union activities to maximise union power.
Workers seconded to another country will received union representation and have full access to local shop stewards and their union.
The unions agreed to ensure that they take responsibility for future generations and that workers are treated with dignity and respect.
Glenn Thompson Australian Manufacturing Workers Union National Secretary and national convenor of the Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions outlined details the deal to UK delegates in Birmingham and Ian Waddell, General Secretary of the CSEU told delegates that this was the first agreement of its kind connected with AUKUS and was a real breakthrough showing what can be done when unions work together. Also taking part in the signing of the deal were Atle Hoie General Secretary of Industrial Global Union and Anna Fenley director of regulatory and state policy of the United Steelworkers Union representing the AFL-CIO.
Under the AUKUS pact, the US and UK will share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia and the project is expected to create and safeguard thousands of highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships in the three countries.
The change of Twitter’s bird logo – named Larry after the US basketball player Larry Bird might seem strange and the name change to simply X (owned by X Corp) a bit sinister.
But it is not just a name change or rebrand – Elon Musk’s plan is to build a ‘super app’ modelled on those now powering ahead in South Asia is emerging – and explains why Musk was prepared to fork out $44 billion to buy Twitter. The implications are massive.
Twitter now X will no longer just be a messaging service, that is clear. Its future is now focused on being a ‘super app’ providing services including on-line retail, payment and delivery services, content provision and messaging.
Elon Musk dismantled Twitter and sacked 50% of of its worldwide staff while reducing moderation of its content, with the subsequent growth in fake news, rumours and abuse. It earned revenue for its ‘blue tick’ verification which was branded a gimmick, and limiting the number of messages Twitter users can read.
Super apps are now rampaging ahead in South Asia including China’s WeChat and Moj, India’s PayTM, Indonesia’s Golek and Singapore’s Grab which now provide on-line shopping, booking tickets for gigs and events, booking taxis and ride services, making cashless payments, personal communications and booking parcel collection and delivery.
WeChat like Twitter, was originally a social media platform, but today it offers a wide range of services not just messaging but payment and many other services and has around 1.3 billion users in China alone. Estimates are they spend a third of their waking lives using the super app.
Dedicated Twitter users may be moving to Meta’s Threads platform but if Musk’s gamble works the switch to the X super app will become dominant, leaving those without the technology or ability to afford it in the rear view mirror, the technologically left behinds creating bigger gap between the have and have nots.
There are also significant implications for jobs and job security, lines will be blurred. Pundits say to expect a growth in ‘one stop’ SME’s using the super app, but the acceleration of technology concentrated in the hands of one person is a frightening prospect.
As Louisa Bull Unite National Officer for the Graphical, Paper, Media & IT and Services Sectors says: “We have gone from the world of media ownership in the hands of a few to our minds and purchasing power being in the hands of a minority of extremely powerful influencers.”
Sharon Graham, Unite General Secretary
Brighton UK: Following a passionate and ‘well-tempered’ debate at Unite’s rules conference today (Monday 10th July) the union which is the Labour Party’s biggest affiliate has overwhelmingly rejected proposals that would have resulted in the union disaffiliating from Labour.
An Executive Council statement made it clear the the consequences of backing proposals that would have allowed the union to make contributions and support other parties and groups would have lead to Unite automatically being expelled from the party.
The vote to support the EC statement (see above) was overwhelming.
Speaking in the debate Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said there would be “no blank cheques” for Labour as there had been in the past:
“This is the moment of maximum leverage for the union where we can hold Labour to account. Now cannot be the time to walk away. We would be weakening our own arm.
“It would be the worst time to leave the Labour Party when they are in touching distance of power, if we leave we wouldn’t influence that power.
“Labour must be Labour and the union must push them into that position we must make them take different choices. We will not make the same mistakes of the past there will be no blank cheques for Labour until we see tangible results.”
Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Labour Party is due to address delegates who represent the Labour Party’s biggest affiliate on Thursday
“We have witnessed an unfair election marked by violations of basic democratic rules, which took place under the repressive conditions of the one-man regime.”
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Mithat Sancar and Green Left Party co-spokespersons Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar and İbrahim Akın held a press conference on the presidential run-off elections. here is their statement in full:
According to the preliminary results of the presidential election, Erdoğan received 52 per cent of the votes in the run-off for the highest office in the country on Sunday, while his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the CHP came in at just under 48 per cent. According to Akın, this was a clear expression of the people’s will for a change of system despite all the repression.
“We have witnessed an unfair election marked by violations of basic democratic rules, which took place under the repressive conditions of the one-man regime,” said Green Left Party co-speaker İbrahim Akın. Akın criticised unfair conditions in the run-up to the election and state manipulation. “There was no free media, no independent judiciary. State resources were used in favour of the incumbent and a troll army on the net, in the service of the palace propaganda apparatus, by creating deep-fake content and spreading disinformation in the form of information pollution, has repeatedly made it clear that the election was not fair.”
‘Our people did not step back’
Akın said: “We have expressed and defended that the main thing in these elections was to change the regime. We made an effort to open the door to democracy by offering realistic promises to a society faced by a choice between authoritarianism or democracy. With this strategy and our fight accordingly, we stopped Erdoğan in the first round. In the second round, we continued with the same strategy with the aim of changing the regime. The results show that our voters have resolutely supported our party’s policies and goals, and have strongly expressed their will in this direction. The vote preference for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in 16 regional provinces where most Kurds live was as high as it was on 14 May. Despite all the pressure and dirty propaganda, our people did not take a step back.”
Akın thanked the Kurdish people and all the voters of the Green Left Party for expressing their desire for change and democracy in line with their party policies and hailed their stance and struggle. At the same time, he was self-critical. It is necessary to analyze and work through the causes of the election results and draw the consequences, Akın said. “This is a requirement of our responsibility to our people and our tradition of struggle. In the heat of the struggle, we must keep one thing in mind: If the so-called People’s Alliance persists in its strategy of encircling and suppressing society, which it has been practicing especially since 2015, the hyper-crisis in Turkey with its economic, social and political dimensions will open the door to a major collapse.”
Against these policies and practices, the Green Left Party and HDP want to continue to defend society and its rights with all their strength and fight in all fields, Akın elaborated. “With all our deputies, we will defend the principles of democracy, peace, justice, equality and freedom under the umbrella of parliament and take our resistance for a democratic republic to the next level. Therefore, the main task of the political actors:in Turkey is to change the current system, which is clearly blocked, polarizes the society and destroys the foundations of democracy. With the 100th anniversary of the Republic in mind, it is crucial that we work together to create a civil and democratic constitution.”
Society and politics are not hopelessly at the mercy of the downward spiral, but have the chance to consciously and actively intervene in the process of change, Akın stressed. Green Left Party and HDP are ready in any case, he said: “We are here. We will continue the democratic struggle for change both in parliament and in all other areas of life, we will make democratic politics grow. We will not deviate from this path. With the base of society, we will fight and win together.”
Source: Press and HDP
By Simon Dubbins Unite International Director
Brexit was always a project led by nationalist far right forces who wanted to divide UK workers.
With Europe and the world at the most dangerous moment since World War II, it’s essential that we fully engage in all the issues set out in this section.
But coming from a 1 million strong UK union how can I not mention Brexit and the devastating effect that is having on the UK’s economy and society.
And I want to stress this, as Owen Reidy from the Irish Congress Of Trade Unions said a couple of days ago, although the UK has left the EU – our trade union movement has most certainly not left Europe or the European trade union movement!
Brexit was always a project led by nationalist far right forces who wanted to divide UK workers from their brother and sisters on the continent – and we must all continue to work tirelessly to stop that happening!
It’s in all our interests to stop the UK becoming a deregulated haven for business – so we really need you to keep the pressure up from the EU side.
If the UK starts to violate the level playing field provisions of the TCA – then the EU must act and act fast to stop it!
And make no mistake – this battle is a long way from over yet!
Having driven the UK off the Brexit cliff – the UK government is now busy attacking workers by holding pay down and restricting even further our rights to strike.
And as the next election approaches there is no doubt at all that they will turn up the racist and anti-migrant rhetoric further.
But UK workers are fighting back to defend their living standards in the biggest strike wave in over 40 years – and the union movement will continue to fight back and resist.
But our cooperation and involvement with each other on European issues can and must go much further.
Because what happens on the continent of Europe will still have a massive impact on us whether the UK is in or out of the EU.
And what happens in the UK will also have a massive impact on you.
So I assure you that we will continue to be part of the struggle to stop the rise of racism and the far right in Europe.
We will continue be part of the struggle for a just transition to protect jobs and European manufacturing.
We will continue to be part of the struggle to maintain and develop a social Europe.
And we will continue to be part of the struggle to push for more equality and social justice at the global level.
Aa class and a union movement, our job is always to resist division, to continue to fight for solidarity and unity, and to continue to move forward together.
My union, Unite, will remain fully involved in IndustriALL-Europe, and indeed in all the other 5 European federations we are in, we will carry on fighting with you for the Europe that all our members need.
Speech made at the ETUC on May 25th
Unite National Officer for the Graphical Paper, Media and IT Sector and the Service sector Louisa Bull tells the European TUC that companies in AI have a business model that is based on the exploitation of its workers.
Like any technological change the key to ensuring worker participation and protection within the process, is to make it an integral part of our collective bargaining.
In doing so we ensure that we negotiate agreements about the introduction, application, and governance of any technological change and right now one of those is algorithmic management tools in the workplace.
Unions need to make sure that they are aware of what surveillance and performance monitoring tools are actually being used in our workplaces and how they are replacing human intervention. It is never acceptable to pass off responsibility for key decisions to non-human agents and yet that is happening.
Algorithms should advise, and humans should decide, it is that simple – and yet we have much still to do in stopping this trend as our sister Sarka from the women’s committee explained yesterday afternoon.
Uni Europa has recently produced a guide on algorithm management and this has helped to inform the work of our affiliates. My own federation the TUC has done great work on this as well in producing a strong manifesto for workplace bargaining and in producing e-learning tools for reps in the UK
The second area in which we need to be vigilant is in the services sector where digital labour platform companies have grown exponentially -particularly since the pandemic- and often with a business model that is based on the exploitation of its workers.
The use of bogus self-employment and the avoidance of employers’ responsibilities towards workers and the state is a dangerous trend that must be stopped. UNI Europa has been working with its affiliates to strengthen their capacity to organise and bargain collectively in the platform economy and has been engaged in the effort at the European Union level to have adequate legislation that protects workers.
Finally, UNI Global Union, and us in UNI Europa are a leading voice in the large coalition of actors loudly telling Jeff Bezos and Amazon to end union busting practices, Amazon embodies in one company most of the risks that the trade union movement is facing: algorithmic surveillance, platformisation, bogus self-employment and union busting. Organising and delivering trade union collective rights to workers across the new digital and tech sectors, giving everyone a strong collective voice.
This is not an easy task but globally we are hopeful having seen recent growth within Google and the signing of the first EWC this year that included workers from both the UK and Switzerland was a great success.
In the UK along with our sister union the CWU we are now building for recognition and collective bargaining. So it is possible to win but we have to work together to make this happen.
Louisiana Bull’s speech to the European TUC Congress May 24th.
By Barry Camfield 