200 million workers call for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines

The Council of Global Unions (CGU), representing more than 200 million workers, opposes the gross disparity between developing and developed countries in terms of equitable access and distribution of COVID-19 health products and technologies, including vaccines, diagnostics, devices, personal protective equipment, and drugs. 

The different global unions, including the Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI), back trade union and civil society campaigns around the world for a temporary waiver of WTO intellectual property rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, as proposed by India and South Africa and the co-sponsors, and to the extent necessary to address the needs of the pandemic globally.

The global unions also call on governments and vaccine manufacturers to expedite and urgently expand the availability of COVID-19 health products and technologies to lower income countries and to pursue initiatives, including the sharing of technology – particularly mRNA vaccine technology – to develop manufacturing capacity in many countries. 

Read the full statement here.