Protecting labour rights as human rights

PERC Youth Committee Statement on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, 10th of December.

‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’ – these words belong to Eleanor Roosevelt, who made a great contribution to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the International Days of Human Rights we want to remind the important principles of the Universal Declaration. Also we would like to tell about our beautiful dream: world with decent work, equality, social justice, peace and environmental sustainability. This dream is very important to our generation. To fulfill it we have to overcome challenges.

Modern world is changing rapidly and the economy is becoming increasingly global. The steady advance of new technologies strongly affects our daily lives. Unfortunately the practical implementation of human rights is still lagging behind. Despite this, on the global level we are still committed to the main principles stated in the Universal Declaration.

This situation has a particularly drastic impact on young people. On one hand digitalization brings positive changes into their lives. On the other the young have to face the following challenges: unemployment due to automation of jobs, unstable employment and non-standard labour relations. Young people can have modern devices, but can be poor and be affected by inequality. We see how the global supply chain economical model is developing fast and it is undermining decent work. It causes exploitation of young workers, violation of their their right to organize the trade union and at the same time it makes rich people richer.

The violation of human rights and rising inequality, companies’ pursuit for money are threats to our world. In a landmark UN report on the freedom of association, it is underlined that labour rights are human rights. The PERC Youth Committee stresses the necessity of protecting the human right to achieve a better future and save our Planet. In this context we insist that labor rights are also human rights.

We do believe that united we can fulfill our dream of a better world.