*{People First in the Global Economy [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/People%20First%20in%20the%20Global%20Economy?open&topic_id=300250000&theme_id=300] 30.01.1999 Annual Meeting 1999} In 1960 income levels of the ten richest countries were 30 times more than in the ten poorest. In 1995, after the effects of globalization, the ratio was 80:1, according to a recent UN report cited by John Evans, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. "The threat of a social backlash is real," Evans warned. He is concerned that international leaders often do not take this threat seriously. Emilio Gabaglio, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in Brussels, described Europe's contradiction: "On the one hand we have the success of the euro. On the other we have 17 million unemployed and 60 million living below the poverty line in a relatively advanced part of the world." He warned that when member states lose competitiveness, they will seek solutions in "social dumping" and erosion of labour standards, since they will no longer be able to devalue their own currencies. "If Newt Gingrich did anything for us in 1994 he scared the hell out of us," said John J. Sweeney, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Despite their 20-year decline in membership, Sweeney is proud of the recent defeat of fast-track legislation and noted that union membership in public employment and services is on the rise. Marc Blondel, General Secretary of France's Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière (CGT-FO), acknowledged that labour issues have been discussed more in recent years at the Annual Meeting in Davos but feels that the moral issues have not been considered. He warned that practical solutions must be found to create minimal standards to avoid the threat of civil strife in some countries. How do we arrive at practical solutions? From the business point of view, one participant noted, it is not always in a company's power to get these countries on track, particularly in Asia. The panellists agreed that labour standards must be on the WTO agenda. Ursula Engelen-Kefer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) in Germany, addressed the delicate issue of promoting jobs in high-wage countries and at the same time maintaining solidarity with workers in low-wage countries. "Good for Sunday speeches, but difficult on Mondays," she admitted. She said her task is to tell her constituency that if they want development they will have to give some of the jobs to less developed countries. Philip J. Jennings, General Secretary of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET) in Geneva, predicted there will be global collective bargaining with multinationals. Evans pointed out that this does not mean there will no longer be competitive advantage: "If workers in Korea negotiate lower wages for themselves, there's nothing I can do about that." *{Contributors: Blondel Marc Engelen-Kefer Ursula Evans John Gabaglio Emilio Jennings Philip J. Jordan William B. Sweeney John J.}