Joint Statement of Hong Kong Action Week Against IMF-WB
World Bank promotes export of people; rams Neoliberal programs and pushes developing countries to more debt and poverty.
The Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets, a World Bank (WB) report released last June of this year, asserted that "Migration is ... the most effective way to reduce poverty and share prosperity". World Bank believes the poor only has their labor to sell, and by selling their labor to the global labor market, this will reduce poverty and increase prosperity.
The WB again peddled this framework during the International Monetary Fund (IMF)- WB Group (WBG) meeting being held from October 8-14, 2018 at Bali, Indonesia. Among the major issues discussed were global finance and poverty alleviation, including international economic development.
The current migration regime under the Neoliberal paradigm will not reduce poverty nor share prosperity. Since the 1980's, promoters of Neoliberalism, with IMF-WBG being the main advocates, have pushed for temporary migrant labor policies to be instituted in many countries. But after more than 4 decades, global inequality has become so obscene. According to Oxfam, the richest 1 percent pocketed 82 percent of the wealth in 2017, while the poorest half of the globe, 3.7 billion people saw their wealth not even moving an inch. A telling evidence against the pronouncement of shared prosperity and poverty reduction under migration.
In reality, temporary migrant labor policies promotes greater inequality. Big business in the receiving countries benefit from cheap labor provided by skilled and unskilled migrant workers. Instead of hiring local workers, companies opt to hire migrant workers who receive less than their local counterpart. In countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan, migrant workers are paid lower compared to local workers. On the other hand, wages of local workers are kept in check by pressure from the lower value of wages of migrant workers. This in turn allows big companies to pay less and earn more profits, fattening the 1 percent.
Aside from migration policies, the IMF-WBG have imposed structural adjustment programs which have left developing countries in ruin and debt. Many countries rely on borrowing to run their economies but IMF-WBG have preyed upon the inherent economic weakness of developing countries to force-feed Neoliberal prescriptions. The IMF-WBG have force developing countries to liberalise trade and investments and have allowed dumping of goods to the detriment of local farmers and producers. The same institutions required developing countries to privatised their state assets, resulting in the erosion of public services. Rules protecting labor have been or are currently being deregulated in favour of capital. Only by creating sustainable, well-rounded national economies can poverty be reduced and the people get their fair share of prosperity. By creating decent jobs at home, migrant workers will no longer risk life and limb to place a meal at the family table.
We say No more IMF-WBG prescriptions of death and destruction. We say No to austerity and selling of public assets to private hands. We say No to labor export policies!
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反對國際貨幣基金組織(國金)–世界銀行(世銀)的香港行動周聯合聲明
世界銀行促進勞動力商品化出口，蠻暴地推動新自由主義計劃並迫使發展中國家深陷於債務和貧困之中。
「移動爭取繁榮：全球移民和勞動力市場」，在世界銀行今年6月發布的報告中，指稱「移民是......減少貧困和分享繁榮的最有效方式」。世界銀行認為，窮人只有勞動力出售，而且通過向全球勞動力市場出售勞動力，這將減少貧困，促進繁榮。
世界銀行將在2018年10月8日至14日在印度尼西亞巴厘島舉行的國金-世銀會議期間再次推進這框架。會議討論的主要問題包括全球金融和扶貧，包括國際經濟發展。
新自由主義範式下的當前移民制度不會減少貧困，也不會分享繁榮。自20世紀80年代以來，以國金-世銀為主要倡導者的新自由主義推動者推動了許多國家製定臨時移民勞工政策。但經過四十多年，全球不平等已經變得如此猥褻。樂施會表示，最富有的1％的人在2017年賺取了82％的財富，而全球最貧窮的一半人，37億人則看到他們的財富絲毫沒有增長。這是一個明顯的證據，足以反駁那些宣稱可帶來共享繁榮和減貧的移民政策。
實際上，臨時移民勞工政策會導致更大的不平等。接收國的大企業受益於熟練和非熟練移民工提供的廉價勞動力。公司選擇聘用的收入低於當地工人的移民工人，而不是僱用當地工人。在香港，馬來西亞和台灣等地，與當地工人相比，移民工的工資較低。另一方面，由於移民工工資較低的壓力，當地工人的工資亦受到製約。這反過來又允許大公司支付更少的錢並賺取更多的利潤，更加養肥了這1％。
除了移民政策外，國金-世銀還實施了結構調整方案，使發展中國家陷入了破敗和債務之中。許多國家依靠不斷借貸來維持其經濟，但國金-世銀則抓住發展中國家持續的經濟弱點來強制餵食新自由主義處方。國金-世銀迫使發展中國家實現貿易和投資自由化，更允許貨物傾銷，而損害了當地農民和生產者。它們同時又要求發展中國家將其國有資產私有化，導致公共服務受到侵蝕。保護勞工的規則已經或正在被解除，為資本提供優待。
只有創造可持續及全面以國民為本的經濟，才能減少貧困，讓人民得以共享應有的繁榮。通過在本國創造體面就業的機會，移民工將不再需為供養家庭而冒生命危險。
我們說，不要再有國金-世銀那些帶來死亡和破壞的處方。我們說，不要再有緊縮政策和公共資產私有化。我們說，不要再有勞工輸出政策！
