Unions lobby Angela Merkel over private equity

Just noticed this release on the TUC website:

TUC to see German Chancellor about private equity and green jobs

This bank holiday Monday the TUC is taking part in an international trade union delegation to Germany to remind Chancellor Angela Merkel of the need to discuss tackling the growing influence of private equity firms, creating new environmentally-friendly jobs and making globalisation fairer when world leaders meet at the G8 next month.

Today (Monday), the TUC's Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady will be part of the union mission to Berlin, and will see Angela Merkel alongside the heads of trade union organisations from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the US and Japan.

One of the key points that the unions want to raise with the German leader is the need for some kind of international regulation of the growing number of private equity firms currently taking over increasingly large companies across the globe. The unions are concerned that the involvement of private equity in a company can often jeopardise the job security of workers, force down wages, close pension schemes and generally lead to a deterioration in working conditions.

Another topic high up the union agenda in Germany will be the need for governments of the world to hasten the move away from economies dependent on fossil fuels and move towards new eco-friendly forms of power generation. The unions want the G8 leaders to give serious thought to the creation of new jobs in the sustainable energy sector, and to support workers whose jobs disappear as energy becomes greener.

TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady will tell Angela Merkel: 'World leaders must make sure that workers, not just the rich, benefit from globalisation. The world mustn't become a playground for private equity, so greater regulation of the industry is needed. Unions want to play their part in creating growth which doesn't damage the environment and that means governments need to create new green jobs for the workers displaced from smoke-stack industries.'

The G8 Heiligendamm Summit takes place on 6 to 8 June. Today's trade union delegation to see Angela Merkel in Berlin is led by John Sweeney, President of the American trade union centre, the AFL-CIO, and Michael Sommer, President of the German Trade Union Confederation.