A new World Bank report published today has acknowledged the valuable role trade unions play in society.

International trade union organisations are calling on the UN to put decent work at the heart of its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

European Union states must include strong clauses to defend workers' rights in the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) regulation providing trade benefits for developing countries, representatives of the international trade union movement declared in Brussels.

As G8 Labour Ministers prepare to meet in London, the international trade union movement ICFTU today warned workers rights must be part of any global economic development.