In the aftermath of the deadly and devastating Covid-19 pandemic, capitalism and cyclical crisis reared its ugly head by taking advantage of an already crumbling economy that was plunged into disarray from the pandemic. Instead of humanitarianism prevailing during that period, the world rather saw a cyclic bust in profits of those taking advantage of the pandemic such as multinational financial institutions stemming from the Global North and pharmaceutical companies.
The 10th Education International (EI) World Congress, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 29 July to 2 August 2024, recognises that:
The crisis of global capitalism resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the reassessment of Neo-liberalism.
This Congress calls on member organisations to:
Call on their governments to cease from allowing health care to be a commodity and as a matter of urgency implement publicly funded health care that is free and accessible to all its citizens;
Demand that governments strictly regulate pharmaceutical companies to stop profit making during times of crisis;
Fostering and maintaining the unity of the working class and their representative trade unions.
Mandates the Executive Board to:
Work together with the other Global Union Federations to advocate for universal health coverage systems as well as for universal social protection systems that support children’s health and their education;
Shift the focus from the pandemic to the broader education and health system and how they work together by focusing on existing conditions of education systems and how best to improve them;
Organise and work against capitalist exploitation of healthcare by targeting the policies of the World Bank, WTO and the IMF and class collaboration with those against privatization and outsourcing in particular healthcare and education for the sake of our children, and the future.