The Put People First March gives all of us the chance to protest to the world leaders gathered at the London G20 Summit about the mess the planet is now in.

The system we have endured is now proven to be both economically and environmentally unsustainable. There can be no question of world leaders relying on the outdated and proven inefficiencies of a market economy to deliver for all people a world fit to live in. The disasters befalling the lives of real people are all too real; these manifest themselves directly in job losses and wage cuts that worsen living standards for millions across the planet.

Even worse the continued man made environmental damage, fueled by the demands for capitalist growth will lead to scarcity of food, energy and water resources making this world a more volatile and much less attractive place to live. This damage is already costing hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide and it’s time we acted to stop it.

Governments now need to admit their mistakes, stop relying on the failed monetarist system they’ve propped up for years and stop pandering to the greedy elite who run the world economy. The time for a new approach is here and now, and that means putting people first to create real sustainable jobs.

The CWU will be present on the march on 28 March, and as a supporter of Put People First we believe that changing the world for the betterment of the majority and not to increase the wealth of a minority is the unity of purpose that brings us all together. We will be using the opportunity to protest against this Government’s tired and lazy privatisation approach to developing the public service that is Royal Mail and the threat of a pay freeze that our members face in BT. These problems that our members face mirror those being faced by millions of people across the world. It simply can not be right that that in times of economic market failure handing over public resources to profiteers and attacking living standards of workers and the worlds poor is seen as a sane response.

Long term investment in jobs that reflect the changing nature of the planets environment will increase living standards by providing work designed to deliver a better future for all.

It’s time to put a stop to this persistent failure to provide for all people and the march should be a launch for a coming together of all who share this aim.

- Tony Kearns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union.

March 12th, 2009 Put People First