Development
Promoting labour rights and decent work is key to achieving Agenda 2030 and the sustainable development goals.
TUAC actively engages with the OECD’s Development Assistant Committee, which gathers some of the world’s biggest donors, to promote the role of trade unions as development partners, and to advocate for key policy priorities such as universal social protection, just transition, gender equality and respect for workers’ fundamental rights. Raising wages by organising workers and through collective bargaining is essential to foster social cohesion and to reduce poverty and inequality.
TUAC’s work in this area is led by Martin Denis. For more information, please contact denis@tuac.org.
Trade Unions Call for Worker-Focused Economic Reform at OECD Ministerial Council Meeting
Trade unions engaged directly with OECD governments at the 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in Paris this week, advocating for worker-centered approaches to trade, technology, and climate policies amid persistent inequality concerns. TUAC delivered a comprehensive alternative vision in its ...
Trade unions call for ambitious action at OECD DAC High Level Meeting
TUAC representatives urged OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members to prioritise decent work; support trade unions, social dialogue, and collective bargaining; and address the widening SDG financing gap during the DAC High Level Meeting held in Paris on 20 March. ...
Workers’ Rights Key to Development, Say Trade Unions at OECD Forum with DAC
Trade unions and OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) delegates gathered today for the 9th Trade Union-DAC Forum, co-hosted by the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The forum took place in a context where, according to OECD data, ...
Addressing inequality must be at heart of new OECD Development Strategy, says TUAC
TUAC has set out its priorities for the new OECD Development Strategy, as inequality between countries rises for the first time in a generation. The Strategy comes a decade after its predecessor and amid mounting challenges to development finance. The new OECD Global Outlook on Financing for ...
TUAC puts case for workers’ rights and bargaining power in development co-operation
The case for development cooperation to promote unionisation and collective bargaining is presented in a chapter of the OECD’s annual Development Cooperation Report 2024 launched at the UN High Level Political Forum. Written by Veronica Nilsson and Martin Denis of TUAC, the chapter argues for an ...
Trade unions demand a stronger role for workers in development cooperation policies at the OECD-DAC High Level Meeting
Trade unions participated in the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) High Level Meeting (HLM) on 15 November, and voiced their demands on the priorities of development cooperation donors for the next two years. They highlighted the importance of partnering with trade unions through social ...
Trade unions call on OECD Development Committee to back action on social protection and just transition
Social protection and creating decent jobs through climate action were the focus of the TUAC and ITUC led annual Forum of trade unions with the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). At the halfway point of Agenda 2030, Trade unions from all continents asked the DAC chair Carsten Staur and ...
7th Trade Union-DAC Forum: Unions and development cooperation donors emphasise the importance of increased support for social protection
Discussions took place with development cooperation donors from the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) at the ITUC’s annual Trade Union – DAC Forum on 3 May, with the participation of TUAC. Social protection is one of the key demands of working people for a new social ...
Covid-19 pushes SDGs further off track: Trade Unions Urge the OECD & DAC to Take Action (ENG & FR)
(Français ci-dessous) On 30 November 2020, the 6th Trade Union – Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Forum was held virtually focussing on the role of Official Development Assistance in ensuring an SDG driven recovery and resilience. Marked by the current Covid-19 crisis, trade unions used ...
Covid-19 pushes SDGs further off track: Trade Unions Urge the OECD & DAC to Take Action (ENG & FR)
(Français ci-dessous) On 30 November 2020, the 6th Trade Union – Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Forum was held virtually focussing on the role of Official Development Assistance in ensuring an SDG driven recovery and resilience. Marked by the current Covid-19 crisis, trade unions used ...
