DEBT CANCELLATION FOR THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND BETTER WORK CONDITIONS FOR EVERYONE!

The Jubilee of Workers offers us an opportunity to unite labour movements and debt, climate, and social justice movements, highlighting how debt fuels workers' exploitation, austerity, and inequality everywhere in the world. Workers play an essential role in the fight to change the system, as the same powers who are exploiting Global South countries are exploiting the working class in the Global North with their hunger for profit.

Around the world, the working class is left vulnerable in the face of the climate crisis. The existing legislation that protects workers facing extreme weather conditions is superficial and protects the interests of the companies, or doesn’t exist at all. Example: In France, if there’s a heat wave and workers feel sick because of the heat, they can stop working, but they are not allowed to leave the workplace. Construction workers, already in a precarious situation due to low income or being immigrants, suffer the most.

What happened in Valencia last autumn, when 224 people died in the floods, was the fault of the authorities. There were testimonies of people who wanted to leave work to go home to their loved ones, but they were not allowed. We need to unite so we can fight together for debt cancellation for the countries in the Global South and better work conditions for everyone!

Furthermore, a percentage of the taxes (the more powerful a country, the higher the percentage) goes to the IMF through the Quota system. It is then “invested” as loans given to other countries that lead to extractivism, deforestation, and exploitation. Global North drains from the South commodities worth $2.2 trillion per year in Northern prices. For perspective, that amount of money would be enough to end extreme poverty globally, 15 times over. As long as debt exists, exploitation, extractivism, and capitalism will not stop.

According to a policy briefing produced by Development Finance International, in 2024, debt service is absorbing an average of 43% of budget revenue: 46 countries are paying more than half of their revenue on debt service, and 68 countries over one-third. Debt service is absorbing 42% of spending in all countries and 55% in Africa. It exceeds 15% of government spending in 112 countries and 20% in 74. It equals the combined total spending on education, health, social protection, and climate across all countries and exceeds it by two-thirds in Africa. It is 2.7 times education spending, 4.2 times health spending, 11 times social protection spending, and 54 times climate spending. In 2025, debt service will rise further, with countries paying an average of 47% of their budgets.

The Global South’s reliance on resource extraction and cheap labour, exacerbated by debt-driven austerity, has enabled transnational corporations to fragment production chains. High indebtedness in the Global South devalues currencies, which attracts transnationals looking for cheap labour. This offshoring, combined with automation and financialization, has eroded industrial employment in the Global North, shifting economies toward specialised and speculative sectors and exacerbating inequality and precarious work.

Ultimately, cancelling the debt is mutually beneficial for workers in the South and the North. With debt cancelled, the economies of the South will be able to thrive, offering new and better jobs to their population. In the North, the reshoring of production will also create jobs. Reinforced economies in the South will also create a market for the products of Northern economies, and vice versa. The only ones who lose from debt cancellation are the creditors, the financiers who seek a passive income from exploiting workers. The best example in history is the cancellation of Germany’s debt in 1953, which allowed for the Marshall Plan to boost the Western economy.  

Meanwhile, workers in the Global South are highly impacted by cuts to social spending imposed by the repayment of illegitimate debts, surviving between neglected and fragmented health, education, retirement, and care systems. All of this unfolds amidst the climate and civilizational crisis we can no longer afford!

What can you do?

a) Join the 1st of May protests organised by labour unions with “DEBT CANCELLATION FOR THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND BETTER WORK CONDITIONS FOR EVERYONE” banners, talk to workers, and hold speeches that make the link between debt, extractivism, and austerity measures, if possible. Distribute the flyer with a focus on collecting signatures and endorsements.

b) Print this flyer that links debt, extractivism, and the climate crisis and distribute it in your community.

c) Endorse the manifesto as a support collective /organisation

Proposal for labour unions:

a) 25 minutes strike on the 2nd of May, if possible

b) go to work wearing an orange or blue (D4C colours) banderole, 

c) Sign the manifesto and read it out loud during the manifestations on the 1st of May, record it, and send it to info@debtforclimate.org so we can have a joint post-manifestations video.

Read and sign /endorse the manifesto

Download flyer