THE national trade union federations of the Brics bloc issued a joint statement on Thursday calling for increased co-operation between the bodies to advance “social justice, peace and dignity.”

Union federations from the Brics bloc — six from Brazil, two from Russia, four from India, one from China and four from South Africa — met in the South African city of Durban on September 26 and 27.

The 12th Brics Trade Union Forum (BTUF) said that its main aims were to work together for fair and inclusive development for all the people of the world and the advancement of social justice, peace and dignity.  

The statement from the forum said that the union federations welcomed “the expansion of Brics and the increasing partnership with different regions of the world” and would “work to strengthen relations with sister unions in the countries enlisted to participate in Brics.”

Brics has agreed to six new members joining their ranks from next January – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.

BTUF said: “The current global economy model inherently and deliberately excludes many people and workers.” 

The statement said: “Our struggle should be guided by the premise that the current model of development has dismally failed many people and workers throughout the world.”

The BTUF said that the new Brics bank was important as a way of strengthening the financial safety net for the global South and “ending the stranglehold of the dollar dominance and the whole financial  empire on our countries.”

It said that this was “a struggle for a new and fundamentally progressive economic system.”

The union federations said that they would work together “towards the elimination of income inequalities between different regions of the world and peoples. This is with special focus on women, young people, people living with disabilities, workers in informal employment and platform workers.”

Unions from the Russian Federation are set to host the next BTUF in 2024.