The forms in which globalisation may evolve are not predetermined by any paradigm beyond all discussion. As a consequence of the high development rates of a large part of the world’s population, which is positive per se, resources are constantly being siphoned off from those industrialised countries, progressively suppressing their standards of affluence and of safeguards. This trend is not without risks. The widely perceived deterioration in living conditions risks spilling over into a frantic reaction that would be hard to control once set in motion. In such an international context of economic crisis and general lack of confidence, trade unions have a decisive role to play, first in mapping today’s complex socio-economic dynamics, then in defining practicable solutions.
Keywords: Globalisation - Social equity - Neo-liberalism - Institutional governance