GCSPF e-Newsletter #101 - April 2024 - IMF & WBG Spring Meetings

This year’s IMF-WBG Spring Meetings are taking place from April 15-20 and the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) is taking place from April 17-19 in Washington DC. You will find here the information for the Global Campaign for the Right to Social Security, members and colleagues related events.

The Social Policy Initiative cordially invites you to our webinar on the 16th of April 12pm. The webinar will discuss insights from SPI’s latest policy brief: The Economics of Implementing a Universal Basic Income in South Africa.
Nomahlubi Jakuja, Head of Research will present the insights. Mr Wildeman from UNICEF and Mr Dominic from the AIDC will give inputs to the brief. We invite you to be part of the conversation and make invaluable contributions to the work SPI and colleagues are doing in the promulgation of a UBI in South Africa. Read more

The Global Campaign for the Right to Social Security invites you to join our session at the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF), titled "Examining the Progress of the World Bank's Commitment to Universal Social Protection." You can also attend online. Read more

The World Bank Group promotes a model of social protection via poverty-targeted programmes that are error-strewn and can cause social unease, and set back progress towards universal social protection. But a global coalition, led by borrowing governments themselves, is fighting back.
This briefing is based on Matthew Greenslade’s book, Beyond the World Bank: The Fight for Universal Social Protection in the Global South, which explores the Bank’s approach to social protection. Read more

The ITUC calls for a major democratic reform of the international financial architecture as a key demand in its For Democracy campaign, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank hold their spring meetings.
Across the world this month, trade unions focus on the fight For Democracy in societies, which means much more than free-and-fair elections. Central to the For Democracy campaign is the New Social Contract which will guarantee workers climate-friendly, decent jobs, rights for all, minimum living wages, universal social protection, equality and inclusion. In support of the drive to rebuild democracy for the benefit of all, working people are signing this global petition demanding that International Financial Institutions (IFIs) change course and support governments to deliver a New Social Contract to workers. Read more

As the World Bank and IMF approach the Spring Meetings, it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that – despite endless talk of reforming the international financial architecture since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic – the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) and their wealthy country shareholders have largely failed to rise to the challenge, much to the chagrin of Global South countries and civil society. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference in July, the BWIs’ governance structures – which were forged in the aftermath of WWII – remain largely unreformed. Read more