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Activists in over 30 countries pile pressure on Governments to back a Robin Hood Tax, as leaders discuss FTT at European Summit
Ottawa (17 May 2012) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is actively supporting activists from over 30 countries who are uniting this week to pressure their governments to back a Robin Hood Tax.
NUPGE plans to wrap up the week of action with an event in Ottawa on May 25. The National Union is a major supporter of the campaign in Canada (www.robinhoodtax.ca).
Elsewhere there is going to be a huge rally of nurses dressed in Robin Hood hats are marching on the streets of Chicago while Robin Hoods are gathering on Mount Fuji in Japan, outside Big Ben in Britain, in Italy, India, Brazil, Zambia, Malawi, Belgium and more.
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The co-ordinated action is timed to coincide with G8 leaders meeting in Camp David (May 18-19) and a meeting of European leaders (May 23) where the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) is on the agenda.
These activists represent a movement of millions spread across five continents. The goal is to have Europe and the rest of the world agree to a Financial Transaction Tax, with the proceeds used to help the poorest and address global priorities such as food security, pandemic control, universal literacy and climate change adaptation.
A Robin Hood Tax would ensure the financial sector, which according to the IMF is “under taxed”, pays its fair share to support the most vulnerable who continue to lose out because of a financial crisis they did nothing to cause.
James Clancy, NUPGE's National President, explained in a letter to Prime Minister Harper that the union "firmly believes it is time that those most responsible for this crisis, and those that benefited from government bailouts, take greater responsibility for putting things right – both in Canada and around the world."
"As the global economy appears to be slowly recovering from what was the greatest crisis since the Great Depression, it is imperative that all elected leaders examine ways to both steer this recovery and take steps to prevent a re-occurrence."
"In this context we strongly think that a financial transactions tax is an economic policy initiative that merits Canada’s support."
Global Week of Action
Hundreds of civil society organisations from across Europe have written to the nine European countries that already back an FTT, calling on them to ensure proceeds are used to tackle poverty and climate change.
United Nations human rights experts have also thrown their weight behind the Robin Hood Tax and have urged the European Union to take the lead in promoting the tax to protect basic human rights.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE