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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Trade unionists from across the Americas gather in Colombia: from Canada to Argentina and every country between – 300 members of the global union federation Public Services International will gather in Cartagena, Colombia on 7-12 September for PSI's 10th Inter-American Regional Conference. At the top of the agenda will be discussion of how to protect trade union rights, and defend the quality public services that citizens rely on from being privatised or cut in the wake of the global economic crisis.
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The Conference agenda, the Regional Secretary's report and the Plan of action for 2011-2015 are now available for download. You will also find the Young Workers' and Climate Change workshops programmes.
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The claim that childless women at age thirty make nearly as much as men does not prove that women have gained equality. Neither does the gender pay gap. Although it is the standard measure, that statistic grossly overestimates women's economic equality. Why? Because it compares men who work full time with women who work full time. This is an accurate picture of men, but it is an extremely partial description of women. Fully one-quarter of employed women work part time.
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Women are still earning less than men, although the exact pay gap depends on age. What is surprising was the discovery of a handful of occupations, out of hundreds, where women actually made more than men.
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PSI Chilean affiliate Agrupación Nacional Empleados Fiscales (tax workers’ union) has announced a 24-hour national strike for August 26 to protest the sacking of more than 2,500 public employees.
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PSI affiliate the Guyana Public Service Union is warning its members to shun what the government is calling its 2010 integrity testing exercise. In other words, using of lie detectors on staff.
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PSI has 650 affiliated unions in 148 countries and territories, representing a total of 20 million women and men working in the public services around the world.
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PSI asks affiliates to send a letter of support for our members in the public water utility known as Acuavalle S.A. in Colombia, which is facing the threat of privatisation. Acuavalle serves the Valle de Cauca area, one of the most important departments in the country with major cities and the country’s largest seaport. The union, SINTRACUAVALLE, indicates that the public utility serves close to 600,000 people and is effective and efficient.
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Public Services International (PSI) requests affiliates to take immediate action on the UN General Assembly resolution titled The Human Right to Water and Sanitation. By declaring water and sanitation a human right, this historic resolution is a critical step to addressing the misery and deaths that result from not having clean water and sanitation. The right to water and sanitation is supported by many PSI unions and allies.
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PSI General Secretary Peter Waldorff visited Colombia 20-24 July 2010, as part of a mission arranged by “Justice for Colombia”, an organisation set up by several British trade unions, NGOs and members of the European Parliament.
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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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