GENEVA (ILO News) ─United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said decent work was essential to helping people weather the global financial crisis, which had also become “a jobs crisis”.
In an address to the ILO’s Governing Body meeting here, the Secretary-General said the ILO “with its diverse membership and global reach, is promoting the decent work that is essential if people are to weather the bad times we now face. I will be counting on the ILO to expand its contribution to this great effort”.
“The ILO’s Decent work Agenda really touches the core of people’s lives and aspirations”, he said. “In your day-to-day work, you bring together employers, workers and government ministries to hammer out consensus and solve problems. We are going to need this kind of partnership, and this kind of practical approach, to get through this difficult time.”
“I am convinced that the ILO has a major role to play”, he said.
The Secretary-General was speaking at the ILO in the wake of last weekend’s G-20 summit meeting in Washington, and said “we were there to address the financial crisis, but as you well know, this is also a jobs crisis”. The Secretary-General also noted that he had urged that those not represented at the summit be “part of efforts to shape international economic governance and decision-making”, he added, “we need a multilateralism that is fair, flexible and responsive”.
“Last but certainly not least, my talks with leaders in Washington focused on jobs”, he said. “I emphasized that the way forward should include a focus on labour-intensive projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help communities adapt to global warming. The transition to a low-carbon economy can create millions of jobs.”
In welcoming comments, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, “at a time when the world is facing an epic economic crisis, we are committed through our Decent Work Agenda to help build an architecture of global fairness that will counter the growth of inequality worldwide”.
Noting that the ILO governance structure is “mixed and inclusive”, Mr. Ban Ki-moon added “in response to the crises we are facing, I have been calling for a stronger, more inclusive multilateralism. So I am very encouraged to know that we are on the same wavelength”.
“Here at the ILO Governing Body, employers, workers and governments are represented. This is where we can come together as equal partners to forge solutions”, he said.
“It is already clear that we need all players to join forces as effectively as possible”, the UN Secretary-General said. “We have to coordinate our efforts in finance, trade and employment. From policy to our work on the ground, the United Nations needs to make good on its promise to ‘Deliver as One’”.
The Secretary-General added, “We need to do more than just fix the current financial disorder. We have to improve governance so that globalization produces fairer results and promotes social justice, and we have to make sure that it is environmentally, economically, socially and politically sustainable.”
The U.N. leader also said the recently-adopted ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization “reflects wide consensus”, adding “we must always bear in mind the needs of the peoples of the world in whose name the United Nations charter was adopted. By securing their livelihoods now, we can pave the way for true social justice in the future.”
The Governing Body is the executive body of the International Labour Office (the Office is the secretariat of the Organization). It meets three times a year, in March, June and November, and takes decisions on ILO policy, the agenda of the International Labour Conference, and the draft Programme and Budget of the Organization for submission to the Conference.
It is composed of 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19 Workers). Ten of the titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States). The other Government members, and the worker and employer members, are elected by the Conference every three years.