President Lula’s statement during the launch of the Global Coalition for Social Justice in the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference

I return to the ILO with renewed hope in the joint action of governments, workers, and employers to overcome these adverse times.

The world has often looked to the ILO for solutions throughout its 100 years of history.

This was one of the first international organizations to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969.

It was at this assembly, in May 2003, that I chose to make my first speech as head of state before a United Nations body.

It was also here that we met to discuss the labor crisis caused by the 2008 financial collapse.

This time, we are living in a much more complex global context.

Our societies are still recovering, at very unequal rates, from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

New geopolitical tensions have entered the stage with existing conflicts across different parts of the planet.

The energy and digital transitions are already making workers impatient in all countries.

The effects of climate change have deteriorated the quality of life globally.

2.4 billion workers are directly affected by excessive heat.

The role of the ILO and its tripartite arrangement is even more relevant today than when it was created.

Never, ever has social justice been so crucial to humankind.

Rescuing the spirit of the Philadelphia Declaration, adopted 80 years ago, is imperative.

In it we stated that work should not be treated as a commodity but as a source of dignity.

The wellbeing of each and every person depends on the wellbeing of all.

As Pope Francis said, there is no democracy where there is hunger, no development where there is poverty, and no justice where there is inequality.

That is the reason I accepted Director-General Gilbert's invitation to co-chair the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

The Global Coalition will be instrumental to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

SDG 8—on “Decent Work for All”—is not advancing at the speed and scale that are needed to achieve its indicators.

Although global unemployment rate projections for this year and the next suggest a modest 5% to 4.9% drop, we should not delude ourselves.

Informality, precarity and poverty are persistent.

The number of people in informal jobs leapt from approximately 1.7 billion, in 2005, to 2 billion this year.

Labor income continues to fall for those who have less education.

The new generations do not find their place in the market.

Many do not study or work. Discouragement is soaring.

Almost 215 million people —more than Brazil’s population— are living in extreme poverty even though they are employed.

Inequalities in gender, race, sexual orientation and geographic origin are aggravating this scenario.

Around the world, women are one of the most vulnerable links in the labor chain.

The maxim “equal pay for equal work” is still utopic.

More than half a billion working-age women are out of the workforce due to the unequal division of family and caregiving responsibilities.

Of the 280 million migrants worldwide, 80% live in the Global South.

In many cases, the funds sent by these workers surpass foreign investments in their countries of origin.

Nearly 650 billion dollars have been sent by immigrants to low-income and middle-income countries.

These resources are fundamental but insufficient.

Our financial architecture is dysfunctional and it fuels inequality.

Development banks invest very little.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is an old proverb that says that, “If we want peace, we must prepare for war”.

When laying the foundations of the ILO, our predecessors knew and subverted this logic by enshrining the motto, “If you want peace, cultivate it and do not allow injustice”.

This maxim is even more pertinent today.

The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and so many other forgotten conflicts distance us from this ideal.

Workers who should be dedicated to their lives and families are sent to battlefronts from which they don’t know if they’ll return, or who will emerge victorious.

It was like this in the First World War, from the rubble of which emerged the League of Nations and the ILO itself.

The Second World War ended after 70 million deaths, 3% of the world population at the time — mostly youngsters.

In 2023, spending on weapons rose 7% compared to 2022, reaching 2.4 trillion dollars.

The irrationality of a conflict in Europe rekindles fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

In Gaza, more than 37 thousand people have been killed—most of them women and children.

This conflict also boasts the miserable record of humanitarian worker deaths. That is why it is so important to say: the world needs peace and prosperity, not war.

In 2024, the largest number of voters in history will head to the polls.

Almost half of the world's population will participate in electoral processes, renewing hopes for a better future.

Democracy and social inclusion are essential to achieving labor rights.

Without democracy, a mechanic would never have reached the Presidency of a country like Brazil.

Attacks on democracy have historically resulted in the loss of rights.

It is no mere coincidence that my country was investigated for violating the rules of this Organization during my predecessor's government.

Political extremism attacks and silences minorities, neglects the most vulnerable, and peddles a great deal of illusion.

Denial of politics leaves a vacuum to be filled by adventurers who spread lies and hate.

Challenging the current order cannot be the privilege of the far-right.

The anti-hegemonic flag needs to be recovered by popular progressive and democratic sectors.

Recovering the role of the State as a development planner is urgent.

The invisible hand of the market only worsens inequalities.

Productivity growth has not been followed by rising wages, generating dissatisfaction and a great deal of polarization.

One cannot discuss economics and finance without discussing employment and income generation.

We need a new globalization—a globalization with a human face.

Social justice and the fight against inequality are priorities for Brazil's G20 Presidency for next November.

I especially invited the ILO to contribute to the Group's discussions.

We are discussing how to promote a fair transition and to use emerging technologies to improve the world of labor.

Our priority initiative, the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, strives to hasten efforts to eliminate these scourges.

In G20 debates, Brazil is promoting the proposal to tax the super-rich.

Never before has the world harbored so many billionaires: about 3 thousand people who hold almost 15 trillion dollars in assets.

This is equivalent to the sum of the GDPs of Japan, Germany, India and the United Kingdom.

It is more than what is estimated to enable developing countries to deal with climate change.

This concentration of income is so absurd that some individuals have their own space programs.

We do not need to look for solutions on Mars. It is the Earth that needs our care.

The floods that brought destruction to Southern Brazil, Kenya and China, and the droughts in the Amazon, Europe and Africa prove that the planet can no longer take it.

The climate crisis will be a priority at COP30, which will be held in the city of Belém, in an Amazon state.

Tropical rainforests are not sanctuaries for the pleasure of the global elite.

Nor can they be treated as reservoirs of wealth to be exported.

Under every tree live workers who need jobs and income.

Socio-bioeconomy, green industrialization and renewable energy are great opportunities to increase collective well-being and implement the fairr transition that we are calling for.

Actions and policies aimed at developing digital and sustainable skills will be fundamental in an increasingly decarbonized and technology-intensive global economy.

In previous industrial revolutions, we learned that technological innovations can broaden humanity's horizons.

But it was the workers' struggle that disciplined and democratized their use.

Artificial intelligence will radically transform our way of life.

We will have to act so that its benefits reach everyone and not just the same countries that always get the better part.

Otherwise, it will tend to reinforce geopolitical, cultural, social and gender biases and hierarchies.

A third of the world's population is off the Internet and an even larger portion does not enjoy significant connectivity.

Linguistic diversity is not yet adequately represented in the digital environment.

The computational power needed to move its gears is unevenly distributed.

Its essential input takes up our data, our attention and our time, and it is fiercely sought after by a handful of companies.

No country is capable of resolving alone the dilemmas that affect the entire international society.

We need to look for the best experiences wherever they are so that we can put them into practice all over the world.

Brazil was inspired by the Spanish government, under the leadership of Pedro Sanchez, to regulate transportation apps and promote agreements on working schedules, wages and social security.

President Biden proved to be a significant ally in developing a new framework for the relationship between capital and labor.

This is the meaning of the Partnership for Workers' Rights that we launched at the UN last year, alongside the Director-General, our comrade Houngbo.

We want to pave the way for a new social contract which places human beings at the focus of policies.

In my third term, I have renewed my commitment to the world of labor.

I am certain that we will resume the policies of increasing the minimum wage, eradicating child labor, and combating contemporary forms of slavery.

We approved a law on equal pay for men and women and joined the ILO's call for more countries, unions, and companies to join the International Coalition for Equal Pay.

We are also formulating a National Care Plan that takes into account class, gender, race, age, disabilities, and regional inequalities, with a special focus on the world of domestic work.

We have a strong policy of creating jobs and reindustrializing our country with fiscal responsibility.

The automotive industry alone announced investments of 25 billion dollars. This had not happened in Brazil for over 40 years.

A country that creates investment opportunities is protecting its workers, generating jobs, and allowing wages to grow.

When the economy grows, unemployment decreases and income increases.

2.2 million formal jobs have been created since the beginning of my government.

In the first quarter of this year, unemployment rates were the lowest since 2014.

Ladies and gentlemen,

More than a century later, the ILO has contributed to countless achievements that have raised people's quality of life and strengthened peace, security, and prosperity.

The Global Coalition we launch today will be a central tool for building a transition with social justice, decent work, and equality.

This will be particularly important in the context of the transition to a multipolar order, which will require profound changes in institutions.

Therefore, Brazil will work for the ratification of the 1986 Amendment to the ILO Charter, which proposes to eliminate the permanent seats of the most industrialized countries on the Organization's Council.

It makes no sense to call on developing countries to contribute to resolving the crises the world faces today without them being adequately represented in the main global governance bodies.

Our decisions will only have legitimacy and effectiveness if they are made and implemented democratically.

This is the best path forward, ensuring sustainable development, the rights of the most vulnerable, and the protection of the planet.

Let us sow justice and reap the peace that the world so desperately needs.

Thank you very much.

*Compare with the oral version