PSI in the Inter-America region
 In North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, 140 labor organizations in 35 countries are affiliated to PSI, with a total membership of about 3,300,000 service workers. Today, these affiliates face three serious challenges as they
struggle to meet the needs of their members and communities. More
PSI affiliates directory
PSI programme of events
Analysis
The following section contains links to articles and opinion pieces of strategic interest to trade unionists operating in the Inter-American region. Below this you will find a collection of PSI and other publications related to the region.
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The Interamericas: Linking racism and migration
“A growing number of people are victims of discrimination related to their race, skin colour or nationality in their workplaces or communities.” This is the opening statement of the resolution adopted by the second Meeting against Racism, held in Miami, USA, in December 2006. Dozens of PSI affiliates in the American hemisphere took part in this event.
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Neo-liberal cooks in Quebec, Canada
A little more than a year ago, the Quebec government in Canada set out to destroy public sector negotiations by adopting a special law, Bill 142, which decreed the working conditions of public employees. In doing so, it effectively stabbed in the back five hundred thousand of its own employees who, for close to two years, had negotiated in good faith!
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Peruvian water - explosive stuff
For the past fifteen years, the issue of water services and access to water has been increasingly conflictive in Peru. Now the controversy has exploded.
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IMF: the wrong business model - or the wrong business?
Outstanding loans to the IMF have fallen from $90 billion to $66 billion in 18 months and are forecast to fall to $35 billion by the end of 2006. The reduction has been sharply increased by Argentina and Brazil, who have both decided to repay their loans early. This poses a problem for the Fund which relies on interest from its lending to fund its operational costs. Jubilee Research, UK, has published a paper that argues that it is not just a question of whether the IMF is using the wrong business model, but whether the Fund is the wrong institution trying to do the wrong job in the wrong way.
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Paying your dues
 It is simple enough in theory. Trade unions collect fees in order to do whatever their membership collectively decides should be done. In practice, however, the first part of the equation is becoming increasingly difficult. In many countries unions are under attack, and employers are creating obstacles at the point where fees are collected. To what extent does this represent an “Achilles heel” for the trade union movement? This article looks at three countries’ experiences, and the lessons the movement is learning.
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What makes a good job?
Job satisfaction was once a hot topic in academia. From the 1960s through till the late 1980s, management theorists looked at the question from every angle they could think of, trying to find ways to create a contented labour force: “one less concerned with money rewards and less inclined to unionise”. Researchers expected to find a strong correlation between job satisfaction and productivity. But when these results proved elusive, research funding dried up. Unions have never let the question drop.
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Measuring resistance to privatisation
 The process of privatisation in water and energy has proved hugely unpopular and encountered strong political opposition around the world. A new report from PSIRU examines the role of popular opposition in delaying, cancelling, or reversing the privatisation of water and energy.
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Trade union reform
 In this article (and linked resources) PSI looks at unions’ attempts to reform themselves and to adapt to an environment where change is the only constant.
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Publications
PSI has produced a large range of publications relating to public
sector unionism in the Inter-Americas. Below is a selection. We are
still adding to this list, so watch this space.
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Administration documents
This is a collection of the central documents which define PSI work and priorities.
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Colombia: 2005 report on human rights violations
A new report (in English and Spanish), produced by the Escuela Nacional Sindical (national trade union school) in Colombia, provides detailed information on human rights’ violations against Colombian trade unionists in 2005. It highlights acts of violence against teachers, agricultural workers, health workers and trade union leaders.
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Democracy or Dominance: the FTAA vs Public Services
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Divide and Conquer!
This study shows how the FTAA and GATS treaties dramatically reduce the sovereignty of governments and their ability to regulate in the public interest. It dissects the mechanisms through which these two treaties can appropriate the authority of local, state and national governments, overriding a government’s ability to favour domestic enterprises for investment, safeguard environmentally sensitive areas, or condition procurement contracts on buying locally. The trade rules could also affect the licensing of toxic waste sites, establishment of water quality standards, and accreditation of schools, hospitals and universities.
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Inter-American Development Bank in Argentina: Lack of Labour Rights and Deeper in Debt
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Introduction to PSI
This Powerpoint presentation is intended as a basic introduction to Public Services International. It explains who we are, what we campaign for, and how we work.
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Keeping Services Public: SINTRAEMCALI’s campaign in Colombia
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Labour Rights Violations and Water Privatisation in Colombia
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Paid Maternity Leave and Its Impact on Breastfeeding in The United States
A special paper appearing in the latest issue of "Breastfeeding Medecine" which publishes original scientific papers, reviews, and case studies on a wide spectrum of topics in lactation medicine.
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Privatisation of Infrastructure and Social Services in Colombia
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In reaction to the international financial crisis, initatives are multiplying around the world to make a financial transactions tax a reality.
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The Canadian Labour Congress has just issued a new report on women. During the period of 2004-2009, Canada’s achievements towards women’s equality in all twelve areas of critical concern outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action have slowed or been turned back. Canada no longer compares favourably against other nations in assessments of gender equality and the gender gap. Canada has been strongly criticised by several UN human rights bodies on the issues of women’s poverty and the endemic violence against Aboriginal women and girls.
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PSI will present the first annual Public Service Trade Union award at the Quality Public Services Conference in Geneva this October. Nominations must be sent to PSI before the end of April 2010.
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The B.C. CEDAW Group, a coalition of women's and human rights organizations in British Columbia, Canada, has just released a report on the state of human rights among the province's most vulnerable women. The report finds the B.C. government has failed to take any steps to deal effectively with issues of violence against Aboriginal women and girls, and with women's poverty and inadequate social assistance rates.
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RadioLabour is a new source of international labour news on the Internet. Weekly audiocasts will focus on union and workers' activities and issues from around the world with special emphasis on emerging market and developing countries.
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Establishing and delivering quality public services in Haiti must be made a top priority in the rebuilding of this country, says Public Services International. PSI is a global union federation representing over 20 million working people, including members in Haiti and the region.
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UNIFEM is working to raise 2 million USD to provide urgently needed services for the protection of women and their families. In particular, UNIFEM seeks to rebuild women’s shelters and expand the provision of emergency services for women.
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The Quebec Public Sector Union (SFPQ), a PSI affiliate in Quebec, Canada, has created a series of animated cartoons based on the negotiations between the union and the government and the importance of quality public services.
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Negotiating Committees for 4,100 hospital workers and more than 3,000 school board workers outside of Halifax have announced a strike deadline of Monday, January 18, 2010.
This is the first time in CUPE Nova Scotia’s history that both of these sectors have decided to co-ordinate a possible strike in this manner. Both committee chairs reiterated that the CUPE bargaining teams are more than ready to get back to the bargaining table to resolve the outstanding items which include the key issue of wage parity for hospital workers and a wage offer for school board workers that is equal to what teachers and other workers in the sector have already received.
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A new report shows that comprehensive immigration reform would help American workers and the U.S. economy. Reform that offers a path to citizenship for currently unauthorized workers and enforces workers’ rights would raise the “wage floor” for the entire U.S. economy and increase the total gross domestic product (GDP) by at least $1.5 trillion over the next decade, the report says.
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Inter-American sub-regional offices
To implement its activities in the region, PSI operates through a sub-regional structure:
Andean
Aruba, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
email ispandina@epm.net.co
Brazil
email ispbrasil@uol.com.br
Canada
email psiamericas@verizon.net
Caribbean
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, (Commonwealth of the) Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, (Commonwealth of ) Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, (Co-operative Republic of ) Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Maarten, NA, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, (Republic of ) Trinidad and Tobago
email psicaribbean@sunbeach.net
Central America and Mexico
Cuba, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama
emailoscar.rodriguez@psi-ca.org
Web http://www.psi-ca.org
ph + 506 260-4472
fax + 506 261-0786
Southern Cone
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
email ispconosur@ispconosur.cl
United States
1100 H St NW
Suite 650
Washington DC 20004
email psiamericas@verizon.net
ph +1 202 824 0880
fax +1 202 824 0881
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