PARIS, France -- Unions from more than a hundred countries will stage Tuesday the world's first "decent work" day with a series of protests and special events in response to the global financial crisis.

Organized by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), more than 170 conferences and protests are being held during the day that begins in Fiji and ends in Alaska.

"On this day we are raising our voice together to deliver a single, strong and united message," said Guy Ryder, general secretary of ITUC.

"We know that in each of our countries, working families are bearing the brunt of the financial, food and energy crisis, the deepest crisis that this globalized economy has ever known."

The day aims to promote decent work conditions, while drawing attention to international labor laws, such as the ban on forced labor and child labor and the respect for union freedoms, and the fight against poverty.

Europe and America will stage a number of gatherings and protests, with Paris acting as the unofficial capital for the day's events, according to the head of the biggest French union CGT, Bernard Thibault.

Paris is hosting a gathering at 15OO GMT with the general secretaries of the ITUC and the European Trade Union Confederation, Guy Ryder and John Monks, and other union groups from Europe.

Six French unions are urging workers to stage protests calling for better working conditions and salaries.

In Britain, unions will hold seminars and workshops for "vulnerable workers", such as migrant domestic workers and temporary agency workers, said the head of Trade Union Congress' international department, Owen Tudor.

Other countries will use the day for symbolic gestures. In Mauritius a monument will be unveiled to commemorate those who died in work-related accidents or illnesses.

A Dutch trade union is set to present Sri Lanka's ambassador to The Hague with a petition -- in the form of 16,000 plastic signed gloves -- calling for a labor law for the island's workers.

African countries -- including Senegal, Cameroon and Chad -- will host conferences while others -- Liberia, Madagascar and Burkino Faso -- will stage a series of walks.