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New York, April 21 (ICFTU OnLine): Trade unions began their interventions at the Commission for Sustainable Development’s dialogue sessions, which opened on Monday April 19, in New York, with the presentation of a new report, "The Web of Tourism". The theme of this year’s dialogue sessions is Sustainable Tourism. The book describes how workers are both providers and consumers of the "web" which tourism creates, and forms the basis of the trade union interventions at the CSD.

The union delegation at the CSD this year, which is being co-ordinated by the ICFTU and TUAC, is the largest, and most broadly based so far. The delegation has 22 members, with a strong gender balance, with 12 women.

The delegation, following the same arguments as the publication, argue that sustainable tourism will only succeed if it involves workers who feel that they have a stake in it, and that means they must be democratically involved at work. As well as causing obvious environmental damage, incorrectly managed tourism degrades those working in it, as the incidence of sex tourism so clearly illustrates.

The unions say that tourist workers have great potential for shaping the understanding and perception of the tourists they serve, and provides good examples of the way in which workers, through their unions, have become involved in sustainable tourism.

Multinational hotel chain, ACCOR, signed an agreement with the hotel workers union (IUF) in which it agrees to respect basic workers rights. A major move in a sector notorious for its antipathy towards unions.

Tanzania: In a country which has set aside 25% of its land for wildlife and botanical sanctuaries, local unions promote training so that members can provide quality tourist services, while at the same time campaigning for better wages and working conditions.

Finland – Lapland tourism – the Federation of Municipal Officers helped to develop the Santa theme pack, the Snow Castle (winter sports park) and a Wizard Association.

The unions also argue that workers are involved in the tourist trade as consumers, so with a growing tourist industry, and with unionised workers earning enough to take time off, unions could change the behaviour of their members as consumers as well.

Trade unions believe that where people at work feel they don’t count, and their rights are not respected they won’t be responsible tourists, and they will follow the negative consumption patterns which are ingrained in the tourist industry itself. The tourism industry promotes and caters to a ‘consumerist approach’ to the world, where foods, artefacts and resources are imported and imposed on the host community, without regard for the local environment.

Education is one of the keys to changing tourist behaviour. Workers have shown that when they are empowered with knowledge and institutional support, they can change, and become a ‘market force’ for change.

Tourism is the example par excellence of a globalised trade, and the Web of Tourism argues that globalisation must become more responsive to environmental and labour concerns. Otherwise sustainable tourism will pay the consequences.