Financial & Insurance Workers' Group

"A FINANCIAL CRISIS BEARS STRIKING SIMILARITIES TO MEDICAL ILLNESS. IN BOTH CASES, FINDING A CURE REQUIRES IDENTIFYING AND TREATING THE CAUSES OF THE DISEASE. "(World Bank Report 2009). The measures taken so far by the governments failed to tackle the causes.

The global financial crisis has hit those hard who had no role in its making. The working class across the world had to pay and continues to pay heavy price. Nearly 50 million jobs have been lost and the ILO reports that it may take another 3 - 4 years for employment to reach the pre-crisis levels. The workers in the developed nations are the worst affected.

Commenting upon the unemployment situation, the ILO said "...longer the labour market recession, greater the difficulties for jobseekers to obtain new employment. In 35 countries for which data exist, nearly 40 percent of jobseekers have been without work for more than one year and therefore run significant risks of demoralisation, loss of self-esteem and mental problems. Importantly, young people are disproportionately hit by unemployment and, when they find a job, it often tends to be precarious and does not match their skills. Because the labour market has been depressed for so long, many unemployed people are getting discouraged and leave the labour market altogether. By the end of 2009, more than 4 million job seekers had stopped looking for work in the countries for which information is available."

The global financial crisis, therefore, has shattered the lives of large sections of working class.

(Excerpts from "Understanding Financial Crisis" by Com.Amanullah Khan, President, All India Insurance Employees' Association)