International Labour Conference Provisional Record 8 99th Session, Geneva, 2010

Third sitting Thursday, 10 June 2010, 10.10 a.m. Presidents: Mr de Robien and Mr Nakajima

support of more than 160 countries, the UN Eco- PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON nomic and Social Council adopted the resolution, OF THE GOVERNING BODY “Recovering from the crisis: A Global Jobs Pact”. If employment and social protection were to be the Original French: The PRESIDENT (Mr DE ROBIEN) drivers and ultimate purposes of the recovery, the We will begin our work with the presentation of Pact had to be streamlined into the multilateral sys- the report of the Chairperson of the Governing tem. What was born as a portfolio of concrete Body to the Conference for the year 2009–10. The measures had to become an international reference. report is published in Provisional Record No. 1. It had to be an inspiration to a more sustainable I now give the floor to Ms Farani Azevêdo, economy and a more democratic and legitimate in- Chairperson of the Governing Body. After her pres- ternational order. As was stated last November by entation, I will give the floor to the spokespersons Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil in the Working of the groups and open the general discussion. Party on the Social Dimension of Globalization, a Ms AZEVÊDO (Chairperson of the Governing Body of the new and more inclusive global governance is re- International Labour Office) quired to protect the most vulnerable members of I would like first to recall that tomorrow is the society. We heard similar messages from Mr Comp- opening of the first ever soccer World Cup in an ton Bourne, President of the Caribbean Develop- African country. I want to express how proud we ment Bank, and from Ms Helen Clark, Administra- are to have an important event in South Africa. It is tor of the United Nations Development Programme a sign of recognition that Africa has the ability to (UNDP), in the same Working Party in March. organize world-class international major events. It These developments, as well as the adoption by the is also an expression of a more inclusive and de- UNDP Executive Board of a decision on the Global mocratic world, in which we can all take part. This Jobs Pact, have helped promote employment as a is why the World Cup is so special, and this is also key parameter for a coherent response by the multi- a reason for us to be happy for South Africa, be- lateral system. cause the World Cup means the principles and val- Despite the efforts on the multilateral front, the ues that guide us in the ILO. So this is the time of implementation of the Pact at the country level re- South Africa. mained a priority. In November last year and in I am very honoured to present to you highlights of March this year, the Governing Body and many of my report as the Chairperson of the ILO Governing its Committees examined topics related to the crisis, Body for the period 2009–10. The report itself has including the development of partnerships with na- been made available to you as a Conference docu- tional and local governments and the inclusion of ment. the Pact in the activities of the Decent Work Coun- The 99th Session of the International Labour Con- try Programmes. The Governing Body was able to ference marks the first anniversary of the Global take a series of decisions to guide the Office on Jobs Pact, as well as the second anniversary of the these issues. These decisions will definitely con- ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Global- tribute to a jobs-based recovery that benefits the ization. These two instruments, and the Decent poor – precisely those who have borne the brunt of Work Agenda they have embraced, provide a pow- the recession. erful framework of policy resources to help us over- The International Institute for Labour Studies, come the effects of the economic and social crisis. with the support of Brazil and France, in the person They are profoundly human texts. They place peo- of our President of the Conference, Gilles de Ro- ple at the centre of the economic rebound and em- bien, held a seminar on national efforts to overcome ployment at the heart of recovery policies. the crisis. This event provided a rich exchange of The Governing Body, over the year in which I concrete experiences, policies and practices that have had the honour to direct its work, has devoted have enabled the Pact to become a reality on the much thought, dedicated vigorous efforts and ground. shown unwavering commitment to guiding the Of- Our discussions at the November and March ses- fice to promote and implement the Social Justice sions of the Governing Body mapped out a clear Declaration and the Global Jobs Pact. line of action for the work of the Office. In the In June 2009, the Pact was introduced in the course of last year, the Global Jobs Pact has been agenda of all UN programmes and funds, as well as tested by a deceptive economic recovery with lim- in the international financial institutions. With the ited impact on employment. It has also been tested

8/1 by new sovereign debt crises, which cannot over- its values and principles, and to those of you who shadow our priorities. These tests reinforce the cur- had the patience to listen to me this morning. rent importance of the Pact, and they confirm the Original French: solidity of its provisions. The Global Jobs Pact is as The PRESIDENT crucial today as it was a year ago. I think I am speaking on behalf of all members of Gender equality also deserved the attention of the the Governing Body at any rate, that it was a great Governing Body. We examined with great care the pleasure and great honour to work under your kind follow-up of the resolution concerning gender authority – and I say that advisedly because you do equality at the heart of decent work. We analysed have authority but it is always exercised with a and discussed the Action Plan for Gender Equality smile, along with your concern for efficiency. It is 2010–15, which is already under implementation. we who commend you and thank you for this year We have instructed the Office to introduce gender- spent under your guidance. sensitive language into the ILO Constitution. REPORTS OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE GOVERNING International labour standards constitute a corner- BODY AND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL: stone of our Organization. The Governing Body has DISCUSSION worked to strengthen this pillar, including through the analysis of several specific cases that deserved Mr FUNES DE RIOJA (Employer, Argentina; speaking on its attention. For instance, we examined reports behalf of the Employers’ group) concerning the observance by the Government of Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 As the Executive Vice-President of the Interna- (No. 29), at both the November and the March tional Organisation of Employers, Employer Vice- meetings of the Governing Body. After listening to Chairperson of the Governing Body and Chairper- the members of the Governing Body and to the ILO son of the Employers‟ group of the International officer and personnel on the ground, my fellow Of- Labour Conference, it is my pleasure to respond to ficers and I drafted objective conclusions which the Report of the Director-General to the 99th Ses- reflected the discussions held in the plenary, and sion of the Conference. which will hopefully contribute to promoting, in a As we move from crisis to recovery, the role of results-oriented, transparent and constructive man- the private sector as the generator of employment ner, the values of ILO regarding the eradication of needs to be reinforced in the work of the ILO. forced labour. Without a private sector equipped with the right regulatory environment and confidence to invest, It is essential that we have an ILO that is better productive employment will lag behind economic equipped and more able to respond to the problems recovery. of the twenty-first century. The Governing Body has recognized the need to adapt itself to a changing Meeting the job challenge and returning to growth world. Over the last year, the Governing Body has is the number one priority today and it is a shared been able to advance in the improvement of its own challenge. It requires stable macroeconomic frame- mechanisms. It has also laid the groundwork for works; quality pro-competitive regulatory frame- deliberating on the functioning of the Conference. A works, including balanced labour laws; and an en- Working Party was established precisely to make trepreneurial climate that supports doing business. the functioning and the structures more efficient, Pro-employment policy frameworks need to in- more effective and closer to current social realities. clude the fundamentals of access to credit, the rule The work of this Working Party is currently in pro- of law and respect for property rights. gress, but it has already been fruitful. It has stimu- It needs to be supported by education and voca- lated governments to enhance their coordination and tional training programmes aligned to the full em- therefore strengthen tripartism. It has also contrib- ployment needs of business, particularly the small uted to the establishment of a more efficient and and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. transparent agenda-setting mechanism, which en- Entrepreneurship needs to be encouraged. ables our programme of work to benefit more di- SMEs are often seen as the pool from which fur- rectly from the contribution of our tripartite con- ther jobs will emerge, but for this to prove true, stituency. more entrepreneurs need to feel confident to invest My country was one of the founding members of and to innovate with new business ideas to create the International Labour Organization in 1919. It enterprises where productive employment and de- has supported the ILO throughout its long history. cent work can be generated. President Lula, in his speech at the Global Jobs The ILO has some of these tools. Summit last year, reiterated, as I do now, this sup- We have the Global Jobs Pact, adopted last year, port for the ILO. This crisis is by no means over as well as the discussions on sustainable enterprises. yet; these are difficult times for the working people These tools, together with a closer dialogue with of the world. As President Lula said here at the ILO, employers as to what their real needs are, can help “At a time when so many paradigms are disintegrat- create the environment within which business can ing, the ILO represents a „reserve‟, in political, ethi- succeed. cal and moral terms”. Within the Office, this requires focus and coher- From 2009 to 2010, the Governing Body has ence. worked to keep the ILO that way. It has been an Support for employers in ILO programmes, deliv- honour for me to preside over its deliberations, but ered with and through the Bureau for Employers‟ above all a great responsibility. I am grateful to the Activities of the ILO (ACT/EMP), is integral to the Director-General for his support. I am grateful to delivery of technical cooperation and to the devel- my fellow Officers, Sir Roy Trotman and Mr Daniel opment and promotion of the right policy choices to Funes de Rioja, for their collaboration, experience help businesses employ. and wisdom. I am grateful to this Organization, to All of this is captured in the Employers‟ group vi- its members, to its staff. I am particularly grateful to sion of the ILO, a document adopted by the Em-

8/2 ployers‟ group and already circulated within the the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Office. Globalization and the Global Jobs Pact representing I also call the attention of the Office to our state- our new challenge, as said by the distinguished ments to the G20 Labour Ministers‟ meeting in Chairperson of the Governing Body, looking to the Washington, DC last May. Contained in those con- future. tributions are the real needs of business that the ILO At the 2009 Conference, it showed that it could needs to embrace. adapt, in real time, its response to the crisis that Only by doing so will the calls for job-rich growth emerged and which we are still facing. We are seek- be realized now and going forward. ing to adapt the Governing Body to the new needs In the future, such employment creation is needed of governance and policies. The Office has been in the face of emerging challenges such as demo- given an explicit mandate to improve services for graphic and climate change. constituents and we have noted the active role we We would like to see an ILO policy with direct have with respect to public and private partnerships. recognition of the needs of the business community We note the role of social dialogue. We are fer- able to look to this house for the guidance and sup- vent admirers and practitioners of it. We respect port they need for meeting the employment chal- Governments and Workers and, together with them, lenge. we want to build the future. That is our aspiration, Advocacy is an important role of this Organiza- but also our responsibility. tion but its advocacy needs to be able to reflect not Original French: The PRESIDENT only the needs of workers, but also the needs of business. Thank you very much, Mr Funes de Rioja. As outlined in the 2008 Declaration on Social Jus- With regard to your comment on social dialogue tice for a Fair Globalization, this effort must be and the quality of it: I have been sensitive to this supported internally by an Office with the knowl- since the very beginning of this Conference. We edge necessary to meet those needs and technical have tried to work together to ensure that the Stand- cooperation activities that support these goals. ing Orders of the International Labour Conference As I said at the outset, we have our own vision. are strictly observed in all committees, and very We have made this vision known and we will con- quickly everything returned to how you wished, in tinue to work to its realization in the work of this other words, to high-quality social dialogue. So I house. would like to thank one and all for all their efforts However, I wish to reiterate the Employers‟ in the various committees to ensure that we have group‟s concerns, expressed by our spokesperson in high-quality social dialogue. his opening comments in the Committee on the Ap- Mr TROTMAN (Worker, Barbados, speaking on behalf of the plication of Standards, in particular where he stated Workers’ group) that tripartite governance needs to be restored to the I have been looking forward to the June 2010 ses- application of standards. I wish to confirm here that sion of the International Labour Conference since as our group will continue to work to address those early as July last year. My colleagues in the Work- concerns within the Governing Body, starting in ers‟ group and I all thought that it was going to pro- November. vide us with a series of good examples of how, to- Secondly, a word on the Report of the Director- gether, we could make the world a better place. The General, The situation of workers of the occupied financial world had gambled itself into financial Arab territories. The Report continues to paint a crisis and had managed to drag down the economic stark picture. However, we reiterate our view that foundations of most of the world, as well as the the ILO has an important role to play in supporting homes, the jobs and the hopes of people across all a focus on enterprise creation that is anchored on points on the map. But we had a plan. The ILO, like the Global Jobs Pact. an armoured knight, charged to the rescue and it Coupled with this is more support to skills train- delivered our Global Jobs Pact, which captured the ing for those currently unable to secure employ- almighty G20 as well as all those international and ment. multilateral bodies that had hitherto preached that That could be a really positive contribution to the the market was God, and that the only true gospels peace process, with economic development and so- were those of full deregulation, job lay-offs at will, cial justice. wage and salary cuts, and economic growth for its (The speaker continues in Spanish.) own sake and not for the constituents. We were all prayerful that the Global Jobs Pact would capture This is a tripartite Organization. In some of the the imagination of everyone. Indeed, we have not committees during this Conference there has been given up hope and we continue to thank those em- and there is active participation of non- ployers, employers‟ organizations, and especially governmental organizations. The voices of society those governments, which continue their efforts to have to be heard, but the voices of society cannot apply the Pact. replace the tripartite institutional role that we have However, we are disappointed that, whatever the and that is recognized in the history of this Organi- reasons, far too many countries have not attempted zation as giving it its fundamental legality and le- to apply the Global Jobs Pact, and some others ap- gitimacy. It is up to the tripartite constituents to cap- pear to have rejected the need to adopt new ap- ture these voices and to reflect them, but not to re- proaches once there were signs that the banks were place them. That is our role. back in business. What saddens us most at the start So we have to render unto Caesar his due. I am of the season is the sense that the commitment to invoking the assistance of this Conference so that interdependency has again been forsaken, and has that can be the case. This is both an old and new been replaced by the old dogma of the survival of Organization, old because of its many years of exis- the fittest. Our group may yet become a single voice tence and new because of its renewed mandate, with in a wilderness of indifference. Even so, we must

8/3 insist that many economies which are in crisis today Activities (ACT/EMP) and the many constituents in are there, in crisis, because of exploitation, unfair the field in this noble endeavour. Perhaps another trade, political marginalization and other forms of champion of the fundamental principles and rights discrimination or neglect. at work, or another group of champions, will come A second blow for the Workers‟ group, and the forward and offer a similar road map to address the second blow against the goodwill we were antici- issue of freedom of association and the right to bar- pating, was struck on Monday, 31 May, when many gain collectively. Perhaps those champions are in of us were making our way to this Conference in this room. Perhaps they will also underline the real- Geneva. Last June – as well as in the June before ity that those parties which agree with the right to that – we had conducted very positive discussions associate must also seek the right to bargain collec- calling for the peaceful coexistence of the citizens tively, for not to do so would be to play with the of Israel, as well as for an independent State of Pal- workers rather than to respect their fundamental and estine, whatever citizens might choose to call it. We basic rights. Mr President, things could change were asked for technical and other assistance for radically if the larger countries, especially the large Palestine, for the workers there to move and work, influential countries, could set the example by and for students to move in furtherance of their championing the Freedom of Association and Pro- education. We were hoping, Mr President, to speak tection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 about efforts to improve and strengthen relations (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective and to achieve social and economic progress. Re- Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); and by pub- grettably, we have now been forced, as the Work- licly setting the dates for their ratification during ers‟ group, to condemn the killing by the Israeli De- this Conference. fence Forces (IDF) of some nine civilians aboard a The Workers‟ group continues to express confi- ship carrying relief supplies to the people of the dence in our Committee of Experts and in the work Gaza Strip. Our group does not need to enter into they do to ensure that our standards, once set, are the details of this horrendous action. However, it subjected to the level of rigorous review that should feels that simple human compassion and a respect – and indeed does – command the highest level of for justice and human rights will require that we all respect worldwide, except from those who, from support the call for a full independent enquiry into time to time, feel that they may be too big or too the facts surrounding the attacks and the murder, powerful to fall under the regulations of our sys- and the bringing to justice of those persons found tems. We still believe that the original needs and responsible. Nothing short of full condemnation by overarching objectives which brought the ILO into this Conference will suffice. It must also be af- existence remain essentially the same. Setting and firmed that the marginalization and impoverishment maintaining rules for justice, equality and fairness, of some of the people in Palestine will not lead to as well as for the pursuit of democracy, are still the peace, security or development in the region and prerequisites for peace and for social development. that both the Palestinians and the Israelis must be Those rules must be respected by all and no indi- assisted in the greater effort to renounce violence viduals or group must be beyond the even- and to find a negotiated peace. The blockade must handedness of those rules. end and more technical and financial support must Finally, I wish to say that during the year we had be given to the Palestinian people. a splendid example of what the work of the experts, Our group, Mr President, does not wish to give an and the work we do in furthering the supervisory impression of doom and gloom. We do wish to take channels of the house, can achieve. After many note, where they occur, of any examples of positive years of running battles, as it were, with the Gov- and exemplary action which we feel would lead to ernment of Zimbabwe and the International Labour the global reciprocal initiatives that we are search- Office, we were able to have a Commission of In- ing for. We were pleased, for example, by the joint quiry, a report to the Governing Body, and an even- efforts of Brazil and France in seeking to share the handed discussion where we all agreed that working experiences of their countries and their countries‟ together, with technical support provided, could response to the global financial crisis. Our group bring about the achievement of those objectives of believes that the International Labour Office must the International Labour Office which we all aim keep trying to bring a social response to the demand for. It is our wish that other governments follow that for recovery, but we feel that shared examples of example of the Government of Zimbabwe, and that what has been achieved by countries courageous together we might be able to build a stronger, better, enough to reject the market orthodoxy will do much more efficient International Labour Organization. more to help other economies struggling to find their own particular solutions, and that is why we Original French: The PRESIDENT are so grateful to Brazil and to France. I should like to make a statement on behalf of the It is also important that this moment of stress Officers of the Conference, to remind you of the should not be used as an excuse to look and to plan principles that will govern our discussion. parochially. In this spirit, the initiative of the Gov- These principles were established by the Working ernment of the Netherlands in taking on a special Party of the Governing Body of the International project which, if realized, could eliminate child la- Labour Office on the Programme and Structure of bour by 2016 is to be commended. Our group is the ILO and, following their approval by the Gov- happy to support any initiatives which will promote erning Body, they were communicated to the Con- the fundamental principles and rights at work. We ference in 1967. They are set out in paragraphs 54– are satisfied that support should be given to elimi- 58 of the Working Party and are repeated in the nating not merely the worst forms of child labour, Conference Guide, of which you should all have a but all child labour. We hope that the Government copy. of the Netherlands will avail itself of the opportu- The Officers of the Conference would like to nity to partner the Bureau for Workers‟ Activities draw the attention of delegates to the content of (ACTRAV), as well as the Bureau for Employers‟ paragraph 58, which states that, to uphold the values

8/4 of human freedom and dignity enshrined in the ILO cession and an increase in unemployment to un- Constitution, in periods of acute political tension the precedented levels which have not been seen for Conference must strive towards the fullest possible decades. This has led to an increase in workers‟ pro- continued cooperation in pursuit of the Organiza- test actions. The questions raised by the Director- tion‟s objectives. Every delegate has an obligation General reflect a concern at these very serious is- to keep these considerations in mind, and the Presi- sues relating to working conditions which concern dent of the Conference to ensure they are preserved. many marginalized workers. This also follows from I would like to remind you that discussions of the the ILO‟s vision and strategic objectives as ex- International Labour Conference should not en- pressed in the Social Justice Declaration. All these croach upon discussions that belong in the United questions demand careful examination at a high Nations Security Council and General Assembly, level in order to deal with the challenges of devel- upon which the Charter of the United Nations con- opment, employment and decent working condi- fers certain responsibilities for political decisions. tions. I ask all delegates to observe these principles. The Child labour is prohibited in Jordan, and cannot Officers of the Conference are determined to ensure be tolerated. His Majesty King Abdallah II has al- that they are observed. ready made his position clear on this subject. Con- I should like to add that I count upon all of you to sequently, the Government of my country is con- help our discussions proceed in the spirit of open- tinuing its efforts to eradicate child labour. We have ness and dignity that becomes the highest interna- begun to amend our Labour Code to provide for tional body in the realm of social and labour issues. stronger sanctions against child labour. We have Freedom of expression is the very life blood of also updated the list of jobs forbidden to children, the International Labour Organization. However, so created a national strategy to work to eradicate child that this right is exercised in a spirit of mutual re- labour and, in cooperation with international institu- spect, it is extremely important that all delegates use tions, we have created a centre for social support for parliamentary language, respect customary proce- working children and their families. We have also dure, refer only to the points under discussion and created a training programme for children who have avoid raising issues unrelated to the discussion. We dropped out of school. have to accept a certain discipline if we wish our Jordan has made much progress on legislative re- work to be successful. form in collaboration with partners in civil society Each delegate may exercise the right of reply if and the Human Rights Centre. We have prepared they believe that their government has been called new regulations and guidelines, and the draft in to question. In such cases, before the end of the amendments to the Labour Code help workers by sitting, the delegate concerned must inform the providing for sick leave, annual leave and end-of- President of the sitting that they wish to exercise service bonuses, in accordance with international this right. To do so, the delegate must come to the labour standards. We have also adopted regulations podium and submit their request to the Clerk of the on domestic workers and we have set conditions for Conference, who will give it to the President. The licensing agencies that recruit domestic workers President will indicate to the delegation concerned abroad. the moment at which the delegation may exercise its New regulations have been enacted on the tripar- right of reply. tite committee with representatives of the three so- The reply should only deal with the point under cial partners, with the aim of achieving balanced discussion. It should not be longer than two minutes labour relations. and should be worded in proper parliamentary lan- We have adopted a national strategy to combat guage. Finally, it is not customary in our Organiza- human trafficking, which was developed by a spe- tion to grant a right of reply concerning an earlier cialized committee operating under a law prohibit- reply. ing human trafficking. I would also like to remind you that the length of We have been working together with the ILO for statements is set by the Standing Orders of the Con- many years, and I should like to express our grati- ference at five minutes. We have a very full agenda tude to the ILO for its cooperation in the areas of and I am sure that all delegates and ministers par- forced labour, human-trafficking, social dialogue ticipating in the Conference will take this five min- and gender equality. We hope technical support ute time limit into account when they prepare and from the ILO will continue, especially in the area of make their statements. If the time limit is breached, labour inspection for domestic workers, child la- the President may be obliged to stop the speaker bour, agricultural workers, and so on. after a reminder before the end of their statement, Any observer of events in the West Bank and in but I hope that I will not be obliged to do this. Gaza will confirm the degradation of the economic, If there is no objection, may I take it that these humanitarian and social situation that has resulted provisions are approved by the Conference? I see no from collective sanctions, military incursions and objection. the Separation Barrier. The deterioration in the economy is reflected in unemployment and increas- (It is so decided.) ing poverty. It is the Palestinian workers who have Original Arabic: Mr AMOSH (Minister of Labour, Jordan) been the principal victims of this deterioration. We greatly value the important role played by the I should like to express our appreciation to Mr ILO and its Director-General, Mr Somavia, in sup- Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, be- porting the workers and the employers. cause he has prepared the work of this Conference extremely well. We appreciate his concern to ensure Original Spanish: Ms MERINO (Minister of Labour and Social the stability of the Organization at the service of the Welfare, Chile) member States and the social partners. Good morning, Mr President, members of the The global economy is suffering from the nega- Governing Body, Government members, Worker tive effects of the financial crisis and is facing re- and Employer colleagues. I am particularly pleased

8/5 that my first international mission abroad as a Min- The sixth objective is to foster social dialogue, ister of State is to participate in the present Interna- with a view to promoting constructive and partici- tional Labour Conference and, of course, I regret pative labour relations by means of tripartite, sec- the absence of the Director-General and wish him a toral boards involving unions, employers and gov- rapid recovery. I am particularly pleased, as I said, ernments, and strengthening the unions‟ negotiating to be here at the International Labour Conference capacity. because it offers the Government of President Se- Our Government has ambitious goals which re- bastián Piñera and Chilean society the opportunity quire a modern, efficient State, committed to the to renew the permanent commitment of our country present and future social needs of the country and to the ILO‟s principles and values, which constitute able to adapt to new requirements. The work of the basis for labour and social protection standards public servants is essential in carrying out this task. in an increasingly interdependent world. Therefore, in the field of labour relations, the Gov- We would like to stress the new impetus which ernment will be guided by criteria of excellence, the ILO is providing as the key actor and main in- respect and open dialogue with sectoral representa- terlocutor among the multilateral organizations. Its tives. technical input and the support it provides to the Chile also supports the enormous efforts, led by tripartite definition of social policy is widely recog- the ILO and its Director-General, Mr Juan Somavia, nized by the international community. The Decent to continue the fight to abolish child labour by Work Agenda and concrete proposals which aim to 2016. We believe that this commitment should be generate quality employment were reflected in the maintained, particularly in the context of the global recommendations of the Ministers of Labour and crisis, as the core values of the society we aspire to Employment at the G20 meeting in April. We value consolidate are at stake here. and appreciate the consensus that sustainable recov- Finally, the Government of Chile wishes to renew ery is impossible without a recovery in employ- its absolute commitment to tripartism, which consti- ment. This, of course, requires greater coordination tutes the basis for democratic dialogue, which is between macroeconomic policies and policies re- essential to building a society with better opportuni- lated to employment, vocational training and social ties and which looks to the future. protection. I wish to extend my warmest greetings to all the Our Government is well aware of the above and workers in my country, reassuring them that we will has launched a labour and social security pro- deliver President Sebastián Piñera‟s commitment to gramme focused on six objectives. The first in- provide more and better jobs. In order to do this, we volves providing support for the reconstruction plan will need the opportunity to create space for trust for our country, which was struck by an earthquake and dialogue, as we move towards our bicentenary. last February, through the introduction incentives to It is clear that there are, and will be, significant create 70,000 new jobs in the devastated areas and difficulties along the way, but it is vital that all so- other sector-specific benefits. In this context, I wish cial stakeholders, taking into account their legiti- to highlight and express our recognition of the mate differences, contribute to meeting the great ILO‟s important contribution to this plan, in the challenge of building a better and fairer world. form of a comprehensive field study carried out in The ILO provides, and will continue to provide, a the disaster-stricken areas. This information has space for cooperation, which Chile is always ready enabled us to work in a more focused manner, and to support. respond to the real needs on the ground. The second objective is to create 1 million good Ms SUNDNES (Worker, Norway) new jobs, within the next five years, by boosting I would like to offer my congratulations on the economic growth and better matching labour de- comprehensive Report presented to this year‟s Con- mand and supply. These new jobs are also intended ference. It gives a good overview both of the crisis to increase the participation of women and young and of programme implementation for the period. It people in the labour force. also gives us an overview of action undertaken by The third objective involves the enhancement of countries thanks to ILO cooperation. For example, vocational training coverage and quality, a key fac- 25 countries have adopted new or revised legisla- tor in the overall development of our labour force tion relating to the elimination and prevention of and our country. Our efforts focus on the implemen- child labour. This is based on input and advice from tation of a high-quality vocational training system the social partners, the ILO and other UN agencies. aimed at improving workers‟ employability, which I would like to follow up the importance of social benefits all workers, and the less qualified in par- dialogue in that respect. After years of decrease in ticular, whether they work in small or large enter- the number of child workers, we still estimate that prises. there are approximately 218 million child workers The fourth objective is to uphold and enforce in the world, despite the action taken to implement workers‟ rights, in order to enhance the efficiency new or revised legislative provisions. This shows of the inspection unit of our Labour Department, that it is not sufficient to ratify Conventions; they and promote good labour practices. must also be followed up in a tripartite manner with The fifth objective is to continue to improve our strong social dialogue. social security system, expanding its scope and Child labour increases poverty. Children who do benefits. Thanks to the development of a pension not get an adequate education and a society with a system based on an individual capitalization poorly educated population will never achieve eco- scheme, supplemented by a solidarity pillar, Chile nomic development and welfare. has been able to deal with the transition towards an Because children are paid less, they are often em- increasingly ageing population, thus guaranteeing ployed at the expense of adults. This, again, leads to the poorest 60 per cent of its citizens a basic non- higher unemployment among adults but also to the contributory pension, or financial support as a com- wage dumping and increased poverty among their plement to their pension. parents and other adults.

8/6 The best way of combating child labour is through ble and practically used by both employers and education. Education must be the responsibility of workers at the workplace. governments; it must be free of charge and available It is fundamental that today, as the question of for all children. It is also of the greatest importance domestic workers is being dealt with, the Confer- to ask ourselves how the future looks for young ence ensures that practical considerations should people once they have finished their education. The take precedence in this area, and flexibility should crisis shows that very often they fail to get a job and be ensured so that the instrument that emerges is do not benefit from their education. We therefore wide-ranging and can achieve maximum compli- have an obligation to work for economic develop- ance, rather than just being a paper tiger. ment which gives us the possibility to create new At the strategic level, I am pleased to report that it jobs instead of an economic development giving was concluded that there must be campaigns for profits to company and capital owners. social dialogue, for the adoption of the Global Jobs I will now turn to the situation with regard to Is- Pact at divisional level. rael and offer some comments on the blockade of In Lesotho there is a need to strengthen social dia- Gaza. logue institutions so that the issues of employment My Confederation, the LO, supports the Norwe- can be dealt with. A committee here will be dealing gian Government‟s initiative to request the UN Sec- with employment policies in relation to the Declara- retary-General to carry out an independent investi- tion on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization. This gation of the Israeli boarding of the Gaza convoy. is highly relevant to Lesotho‟s unemployment situa- At the heart of the conflict is Israel‟s occupation tion and the creation of a strategic employment pol- of the Palestinian territories which has caused soar- icy. ing unemployment and poverty among the Palestin- It is fundamental to know that our response to Le- ian people. sotho‟s experience of high job losses and unem- The trade union movement in those territories op- ployment has been to protect our Better Work Pro- erates under extremely difficult conditions. LO will gramme, which was conceived as a response to the continue to support and cooperate with the Palestin- problems arising from the end of the Multifibre ian trade unions. Agreement and is to be launched by the authorities We defend the rights of Israelis and Palestinians soon. It seeks to illustrate good management, sound alike to live in peace and security. The United Na- industrial waste management and worker relations, tions must take a leading role in peace and diplo- and seeks to maximize compliance. I must express macy in the region and must assume responsibility our gratitude to the US Department of Labor for for the reconstruction of Gaza and ensure delivery supporting this project, and thank the ILO also for of food and buildings, so that the workers of Pales- all its assistance. The project shows the political tine can obtain full and productive work. will of the Government and the social partners on If the UN track proves unsuccessful, the Norwe- this issue of compliance with international labour gian Government must take the lead in an interna- standards. tional campaign against the occupation. A call for Original Arabic: Ms ABDEL HADY (Minister of Manpower and an international boycott should be considered. Migration, Egypt) The Norwegian Labour Confederation adopted a Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to contribute statement on 1 June this year demanding that the 4 to the ILC discussion on employment. I would also June 1967 borders be respected, that the establish- like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to ment of Israeli settlements be stopped and the wall the Organization and to the Director-General for the torn down. Finally, we think that the United Nations Report on Recovery and growth with decent work, should appoint a commission to investigate possible which contains an analysis and survey on employ- violations of international law and Conventions. ment and the challenges related to jobs and job re- Mr MASEMENE (Minister of Labour and Employment, Lesotho) covery. First of all, we agree with the Report in that we I also take note of the visionary and pro-active have yet to recover from the 2008 crisis. We feel address by Mr Somavia. His Report sets the tone of that the crisis poses a serious challenge that affects the Conference. He has offered a number of solu- the whole of the international community, that is to tions to socio-economic problems arising from the say States, industrial institutions, workers, consum- global financial crisis. ers, young people and women. In this context, we In most of the world, adverse effects of the crisis would like to highlight something which is men- are still going on, and it will take time for countries tioned in the Report, namely the increase in the un- to recover from the particular ravages of the global employment rate in 2009, believed to be the worst financial crisis. Lesotho suffers the same crisis in at international level. The Report also refers to the that more jobs have been lost for women and men. importance of addressing the structural imbalances We hope that international support in this regard that led to the crisis. Indeed, this is a vital step if we will be timely. are to overcome the crisis and avoid a repeat of the My delegation is privileged to participate in this situation. There is now a need to review the reform setting of standards of the ILO, as we are called to- of financial institutions and the international finan- day to promote decent work and social justice. cial system. It has become clear that recovery HIV/AIDS continues to be a crucial concern for measures frequently focus on bailing out these insti- the southern African region, despite efforts to eradi- tutions, without paying adequate attention to prob- cate a scourge which decimates the workforce in the lems in the real economy, the manufacturing indus- region and in the world at large. try and the workers. The authorities in Lesotho, after amending the We feel also that a lack of international consensus relevant labour legislation in 2006, have now trans- would weaken any policies adopted at a national lated the amendments into our most widely spoken level, in view of the links between the reform proc- language (Sesotho) in order to make them accessi- ess and the movement of capital and foreign in-

8/7 vestment flow. In this regard, we welcome the ref- and modern know-how through the implementation erences in the Report to the policies intended to of an extensive agricultural extension programme to promote funding of manufacturing processes. sustain and enhance productivity. Thirdly, we view with a great deal of concern the The agricultural sector is being complemented by fiscal deficit resulting from bail-out and recovery the development of small and medium-sized enter- packages in many countries, which was mentioned prises as the most effective means of creating job in the Report. Indeed, the international financial and opportunities and achieving faster and sustainable economic crisis poses a very serious challenge in socio-economic development. The Government of the short and medium term. Ethiopia has been taking concrete steps to enhance One of the scenarios proposed recommends ad- the role of the private sector in job creation and de- dressing the problem of public debt whilst also tak- velopment of the country. ing a long-term view. Now, two years after the The Government of Ethiopia takes this opportu- global financial crisis, we need to deal with many nity to reiterate its determination to build on the problems with long-term repercussions for countries achievements in implementing international labour and societies. standards in the country. Some of the concrete We do commend the efforts of the Organization in measures that the Government has been taking in- providing assistance to countries. However, we rec- clude the following: a national occupational safety ommend a more regional focus when dealing with and health policy has been drafted and will be pre- the crisis. sented for adoption in order to strengthen the capac- The annex of the Director-General‟s Report refers ity of the current labour inspection system and the to the situation faced by workers in the occupied implementation of the labour law in general; a na- Arab territories, namely the blatant violation of ba- tional employment policy has been prepared and sic human values and international labour standards. submitted to the competent authority for approval. From this rostrum I would like to appeal to the This policy aims at combating poverty through job ILO and the international community to put an end creation, with a particular focus on vocational train- to this blockade of Gaza and to provide financial ing and greater coordination among the labour sec- and technical assistance, in order to support the Pal- tor and the sectors responsible for the country‟s estinian Authority in establishing an independent economic and social policies; as one of the social Palestinian State. protection mechanisms to improve the situation of the workers, a number of workplace HIV/AIDS Mr ABDELLA (Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Ethiopia) policies, codes of practice and programmes have It gives me great pleasure to address the 99th Ses- been developed and are being translated into action; sion of the International Labour Conference follow- Ethiopia has developed a national action plan for ing the successful holding of the fourth general the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in elections in Ethiopia. The elections were held in a the country, consistent with ILO Convention No. peaceful and democratic manner with a high voter 182. turnout. A landmark event in the democratization I would like to underline that all the abovemen- process in Ethiopia, these historic elections enjoyed tioned achievements and measures being taken in active participation by all sections of our society, Ethiopia are designed and implemented within the including our social partners. context of very extensive and intensive social dia- I would like to commend the Director-General for logue among tripartite social partners and other his comprehensive Report, Recovery and growth relevant stakeholders. with decent work, drawing attention to vital social I would also like to take this opportunity to ex- issues amidst the many global challenges facing the press my deep appreciation to the ILO for the tech- world community. nical assistance and support in our national initia- It is critical that all our countries reaffirm our tives in the achievement of the country‟s develop- commitment to the social issues and rights ad- ment strategy. dressed in the Report and adopt well-targeted pro- In closing, allow me to express our satisfaction ductive policy packages, as advocated in the Report. that the issues under consideration at this Confer- For Ethiopia, issues of social integration, increased ence, including standard setting on decent work for investment and job creation are some of the key domestic workers and HIV/AIDS in the world of elements designed to ensure that our economic de- work, as well as the discussion on the strategic ob- velopment is consistent with the social development jective of employment, are all timely and pertinent objectives of the country. to the objectives of our Organization. It is fitting The Government of Ethiopia has been diligently that well-deserved attention is being given to decent implementing policies and strategies aimed at end- work for domestic workers. We should now seize ing poverty through accelerated and sustained eco- this moment and agree on standards that could pro- nomic growth. These consistent and participatory vide guidance for proper regulation at national efforts have been yielding tangible results, among level. others, in expanding education, health and infra- structure services, export promotion and diversifica- Original Arabic: Mr HAMADEH (Employer, Lebanon) tion, institutions and capacity building, and in the On behalf of the employers of Lebanon and the decentralization of decision-making structures, with members of the Board of Governors of the Associa- a strategic focus on human development, rural de- tion of Lebanese Industrialists in particular, I would velopment, food security and capacity building. like to thank the ILO which, once again, gives us In the development plan of the country, the agri- the opportunity to participate in the discussion on cultural sector has been given central attention, as fundamental principles and rights at work and social 85 per cent of the country‟s population live in rural protection with a view to making justice, equality areas. This sector utilizes labour-intensive technol- and social and economic security a reality. ogy, and hence emphasis has been given to training We have examined the Report and welcome the the agricultural labour force with effective skills efforts made and the constant work to achieve the

8/8 objectives for a better future in the service of hu- intelligence in carrying out his mandate – all quali- manity. We would like to make some comments ties that enable the ILO to continue, despite the cri- with respect to these objectives. sis, to promote the ideals and values upon which it We support the idea that strong, sustainable and was founded. balanced growth accompanied by jobs creation is All the social issues on the agenda of this session, the only intelligent way forward. It is essential, particularly those relating to employment, within the prevailing financial constraints, to give HIV/AIDS, international labour standards and do- priority to governmental employment promotion mestic work, are of special interest to the Govern- and social protection programmes, rather than to ment of Senegal. Indeed, prompted by our concern programmes that are less productive and less con- to meet social challenges and the needs of our soci- ducive to job creation. We must demand productive ety, we are making a huge effort to tackle and re- and well-targeted measures to stimulate investment solve these issues. and growth while redressing public deficits and ex- In the same spirit, we are working to achieve the panding the margin for manoeuvre in budgets. In- objectives of the Global Jobs Pact, which our Con- creases in taxation create a heavy burden for people ference adopted in June 2009, as the most appropri- on low incomes, who should be exempted from any ate response to the crisis. Given the importance of additional burden. the issues involved, His Excellency Abdoulaye Investment in infrastructure such as water, drains Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal, played and sewers, housing, and in sectors such as roads an active role in the Work Symposium held in Oua- and ports, represents a basis for long-term develop- gadougou on 1 and 2 December 2009 on the im- ment and can contribute to greater productivity and plementation of the Global Jobs Pact. growth prospects. This growth should be accompa- Similarly, with respect to the implementation of nied by support for small and medium-sized enter- the Decent Work Agenda and international labour prises of high added value with strong potential for standards, I would like to commend the excellent job creation and improved productivity. initiative of the Government of the Netherlands in This is because in most economic systems, even hosting the The Hague Global Child Labour Con- those that are State run, the private sector plays a ference on 10–11 May 2010, in partnership with the key role in promoting growth and productivity and ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank. I reaffirm my remains the principal source of jobs, facilitating a country‟s full commitment to the main objective of constant renewal of economic activity. The State this meeting, namely to strengthen the global must provide the practical and legislative frame- movement for universal ratification by 2016 of the work for private sector investment companies. State ILO‟s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), aid must be not just direct material help but also and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, incentives and benefits. 1999 (No. 182). The Report envisages that governments must act In setting this goal, the international community collectively to reorganize the international financial confirmed yet again that it is aware that child labour system in order to safeguard savings and finance the constitutes an obstacle to full respect for human real economy. We endorse these views, and believe rights and to the attainment of the Millennium De- that governments that act in isolation in response to velopment Goals. It evidently also wished to reaf- a collapse in the foreign exchange markets and a firm that this is a scourge which contributes to the hike in interest rates aggravate the global recession. aggravation of the economic crisis and to greater As regards conditions to promote employment injustice. creation, the Report indicates that progressive I should like to take this opportunity to stress, on budget consolidation strategies emphasize objec- behalf of Senegal, the need to ensure that these ac- tives that will promote an environment favourable tions for the promotion of children‟s rights are part to innovation and investment, create a protection of a coherent global policy for poverty reduction, floor for the most vulnerable and improve support the acceleration of growth and the promotion of given to the micro economy. employment. Accordingly, we reaffirm our com- Medium-term budget strategies require job crea- mitment to the implementation by the ILO of the tion and consequently we must create jobs by de- Decent Work Country Programme as the most ap- veloping small and medium-sized enterprises. We propriate framework for cooperation with the ILO, have to take into account the fact that a recovery in in order to build a development policy based on so- families‟ consumption and increased company in- cial justice. vestment will tend to promote sustainable enter- In this context, we have taken important measures prises, create new jobs and bring about economic for the consolidation and creation of decent jobs, growth. including the adoption of a national employment In conclusion, in the light of the principle of jus- policy and a national strategy for social protection. tice and equality and the right of all to work and These instruments will be implemented through a live a decent life, we appeal to you, who represent process of productive social dialogue, which has the world‟s conscience, and say that what is hap- always been a hallmark of the relationship between pening in Palestine shames all of humanity. Allow the State and its social partners. me to say, from this rostrum, “no” to aggression, to occupation and aggression, but “yes” to a just and In concluding, I would like to reaffirm Senegal‟s comprehensive peace with a view to decent work. commitment to continue its full involvement, along- side all the Members of the ILO, in overcoming the Original French: Mr DIAW (Minister of State, Minister for the economic and social crisis, so that human dignity is Public Service, Labour, Employment and Occupational preserved and universal peace is attained. In doing Organizations, Senegal) so, naturally I am thinking especially of the Pales- Our congratulations also go to our excellent Di- tinian people and all the Palestinian workers who rector-General, Mr Juan Somavia, whom I would have been unfairly deprived of the full exercise of like to commend for his dedication, courage and their fundamental rights.

8/9 (Mr Nakajima takes the chair.) the past in this sector and we should therefore adopt a Convention and a Recommendation for domestic Original Spanish: Mr MARTÍNEZ (Worker, Chile) workers employed in private homes. This is a nec- The crisis that has so seriously harmed the world essary and fair step towards eliminating discrimina- economy also offers certain opportunities. Opportu- tion which so seriously affects this sector of the nities to correct errors and to create a better future. working population. What is needed is a broad vision of how to build a Mr SUNMONU (Representative, Organization of African Trade world of development and well-being for all on the Union Unity) basis of an economy which is fairer and more sus- As a veteran of 32 years‟ regular attendance at the tainable, with more participative democracies. International Labour Conference, it is a matter of The tremendous social inequalities generated by pride and joy for me and for the Organization of policies of wealth accumulation by the big busi- African Trade Union Unity to hear the ILO‟s voice nesses and the financial sector have been aggra- being raised loud and clear within the United Na- vated by the crisis and have created a level of need tions system, the G8 and G20, advocating for a fair in the population which is not compatible with the globalization, decent work, and social and economic human condition and departs from the values of justice. This advocacy has given the ILO the moral decent work. authority that some other international institutions The poor quality of jobs, atypical types of con- do not have because of their advocacy of neo-liberal tracts and informal employment, have all contrib- financial and economic policies which are responsi- uted to increasing existing inequalities and wide- ble for the current global financial and economic spread use of outsourcing through subcontracting. crisis. This, in turn, has progressively increased social ine- Also worth mentioning are the various capacity- qualities. building programmes the ILO has been providing to The recipe of tackling the deterioration of econo- its tripartite constituencies to enable them to over- mies through more flexible and precarious employ- come the crisis. Our organization, and workers ment arrangements is not an acceptable option. In throughout Africa, have also been beneficiaries of some countries such as Chile, labour relations can- some of these capacity-building programmes not be any more flexible than they already are, and through financial and technical support of the Afri- yet growth is stagnating, while Chile heads the can Regional Office and the Bureau for Workers‟ world rankings of social inequality. Activities (ACTRAV). The latest of these capacity- The social drama of unemployment is used as a building workshops was held for more than 80 top pretext to cut wages and limit social coverage. African trade union leaders on Social Dialogue in ”Junk jobs” are becoming institutionalized, and all Africa – The Algerian Experience, in Algiers, Alge- this is taking place alongside vast profits of big ria, from 12 to 13 May 2010. These types of work- business, which is accumulating wealth whilst shop assist African trade unions and their leaders to spreading uncertainty and despair. take active part in processes of socio-economic de- Some governments make promises to eliminate velopment at the national, regional and continental unemployment during their election campaigns and levels in Africa. then, once elected, do the opposite. I would like to Our members are playing leading roles within the denounce here, from this international tripartite fo- African Union‟s Economic, Social and Cultural rum, the wave of dismissals of public servants car- Council and the other structures of the African Un- ried out by our new Government, whose words are ion Commission. Our objective during the current not matched by its actions. The CUT of Chile shares biennium is, in collaboration with the ILO, to the view that the policies of a modern State should strengthen the sub-regional trade union organiza- be regulated and efficient, but this does not mean tions of our continent in order for them to be em- that we should cut jobs. States are not doing their powered within their regional economic communi- job properly when their officials work in fear of ties to facilitate: the creation of tripartite structures losing their jobs and under threat of unemployment. within the regional economic communities and im- We have therefore submitted a formal complaint to plementation of decent work country and regional the Governing Body of the ILO so that it may duly programmes and other relevant programmes; active note the job insecurity in Chile‟s public service sec- participation in all the processes of regional eco- tor. nomic integration; and the defence of trade union There is an urgent need for integrated social poli- and other human rights. cies to ensure that those who are unemployed at Our organization will continue to ask for the sup- least have guarantees for the health and the educa- port of the ILO to build the capacity of our mem- tion of their children, as well as unemployment in- bers in employment creation; implementation of the surance to allow them to meet their basic needs. OATUU Gender Commission‟s programmes; elabo- Any economic recovery policy must be based on ration of macroeconomic policies; implementation productivity, fair wages and decent work as part of of the new HIV/AIDS instruments; strengthening of a balanced and sustainable economy; this is the ba- social dialogue; strengthening of capacity of work- sis of a solid and fair strategy. ers‟ representatives on social security boards, etc. We would like to mention here domestic workers On the present financial and economic crisis, I who have as yet not achieved any recognition. Do- would like to give some advice to all the govern- mestic workers in private homes find that their ments of the world. This is born out of the experi- hours are endless, that their days of rest are not re- ence of the African countries in the implementation spected and the treatment which they experience of the IMF–World Bank‟s neo-liberal structural ad- cannot be considered decent work. justment programmes from 1980 to the year 2000. To establish standards for domestic workers is an The main elements of these structural adjustment absolute imperative, an ethical imperative. We have programmes were: massive retrenchment of work- to try to remedy the damage which has been done in ers in the public sector; withdrawal of subsidies for

8/10 food, housing, health, education, transport and pub- making the Labour Code more flexible would have lic utilities; high interest rates, varying between 20 an impact on guarantees of labour rights in Chile. and 40 per cent; financial deregulation and trade Workers in the electricity and oil sectors have been liberalization. The result was devastating for Afri- dismissed, although those sectors had enjoyed sta- can countries and peoples, leading to the destruction bility for many years, and collective agreements of most of the industries established since inde- have not been respected. pendence, causing what development economists Outsourced workers are not guaranteed job stabil- call “de-industrialization of Africa”; massive debts ity, in line with Constituent Order No. 8. The major- and debt servicing; a massive increase in poverty; ity have been dismissed by public and private com- political and social instability (for example, the panies, creating even more unemployment in the withdrawal of the subsidy on rice by the democrati- country. I think that these observations, made on cally elected Government of Liberia led to the over- behalf of the workers of Ecuador, should be taken throw of the democratically elected Government of on board and given due consideration, in order to Liberia in a coup led by Master Sergeant Doe and achieve good labour–management relations in my almost 15 years of civil war); the weakening of the country. public services and a high increase in corruption; Original Spanish: (Worker, Colombia) and the destruction of education and health infra- Mr MORANTES structure in most African countries. I would like to refer to the Report of the Director- Now, therefore, governments which have now General and I emphasize the importance of this started to adopt IMF–World Bank-style neo-liberal work. With regard to the Declaration on Fundamen- structural adjustment programmes as a response to tal Principles and Rights at Work, stepping up the the present financial and economic crisis are warned fight against child labour and the campaign for de- not to repeat Africa‟s sad experience of 1980–2000. cent work are vital in these times of crisis. The Let me ask governments this simple question: work of the ILO in the strategy to apply the Global Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of your Jobs Pact, presented by the Chairperson of the Gov- peoples or on the side of the manipulators of the erning Body, is also very important. market? If you are not on the side of your peoples, In some countries, it is being stated that the eco- you will be sorry for it. A word is enough for the nomic crisis is already over and that companies are wise. starting to recover and make a profit. However, it is worrying that workers who were dismissed mid- Original Spanish: Mr YAGUAL YAGUAL (Worker, Ecuador) crisis have not been re-employed. This means that Following the introduction of a whole raft of leg- the effects of the crisis are still present and that it is islation which has affected the rights and achieve- the workers who have paid the cost of it, resulting ments of workers, the labour sector in Ecuador is in millions living in poverty. currently facing difficulties as a result of the ab- I feel that freedom of association is indispensable sence of real labour–management relations. for decent work. That is why it is extremely worry- Ecuadorian workers, under the provisions of the ing that, in Colombia, the right to freedom of asso- Constitution and the Labour Code, have been call- ciation is obstructed, with workers who join or ing for respect for their fundamental rights. The found a trade union being immediately dismissed. rights enshrined in article 11 (No. 3), article 33, ar- The murder of trade unionists continues; there have ticle 66 (Nos 16 and 17), and articles 325 and 326 been 29 victims this year. Colombia is the most which deal with workers rights and guarantees dangerous country in the world for exercising trade which must be respected by the Ecuadorian State, union activities. Sixty-four per cent of all killings of are not being upheld as a consequence of a whole trade unionists in the world in the last ten years oc- series of draft laws that ignore what has already curred in Colombia. The trade union movement is been achieved through collective bargaining. The also the victim of many other acts of violence, labour sector, through the unions, recognized by the forced disappearances, threats, attacks on trade un- Ecuadorian State, has been asking the Government ion headquarters, etc. to respect the provisions of the Labour Code related In Colombia, the trade union movement has suf- to collective bargaining, namely article 220, as well fered from state-organized violence, for example as article 248, which deal with revisions of collec- so-called “false positives” or extrajudicial execu- tive agreements, and freedom of association dealt tions of civilians by the forces of law and order. with in article 440, paragraph 2, which deals with This also applies to the Administrative Department labour disputes brought before the labour inspector- of Security: the justice system established that this ates pertaining to non-compliance and violations of department organized and carried out a number of collective agreements in the private and public sec- activities against the trade union movement. It sub- tors. mitted lists of trade union leaders to be assassinated, The Ecuadorean workers have asked the State to and such assassinations were carried out, and inter- respect ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98, which, of cepted communications to trade union leaders, court course, constitute the mechanism that workers de- judges and leaders of the opposition. mand to ensure true freedom of association and col- Companies and the State use many forms of la- lective bargaining, and which the State should re- bour mediation, notably through the proliferation of spect in compliance with article 424 of the Constitu- pseudo-cooperatives which have changed the face tion of the Republic of Equador, a provision which of the real spirit of the cooperative movement by protects the weaker party, namely the workers. Over abusing labour relations and labour and trade union the years, the Labour Code has been regulated la- rights. bour relations between workers and employers in The public health system has collapsed, leading both the private and public sector, in line with the the Government to declare a social emergency. The provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of origin of this crisis is the neo-liberal model, which Ecuador and the international agreements which made the right to health a private business, leaving have been duly recognized by the State. However, millions of citizens without options.

8/11 In 2006, we subscribed to a tripartite agreement made it possible for its Members to respect the on the right to freedom of association and democ- standards. racy. Its application has been quite difficult, as its The ILO has supported our struggle in the period main objective has not been fulfilled. Social dia- preceding the recognition of freedom of association logue has remained without results and impunity of that our workers were asking for. We now have a crimes against trade unionists continues to be at 97 trade union movement that garners international and per cent. regional respect, despite the small size of our coun- Despite this picture, Colombia was excluded from try and small number of our workers. This would the list of cases to be examined this year in the not have been possible without the logistical and Committee on the Application of Standards, be- technical support of the Organization, for which I cause of the inconsistent attitude of employers who, extend my thanks. by threatening this regulatory monitoring system of I do not believe that the struggle for social justice the ILO, violate human rights and destroy the trade has come to an end; it has just begun, at all levels. union movement. That is what we realized, as a trade union, from the The Government of Colombia has accepted a day of promulgation of the freedom of association high-level, tripartite ILO mission. We hope that this legislation in the Kingdom of Bahrain. We have will contribute to obtaining objective information come to realize that we moved from the stage of on the situation of human rights and trade union claiming our right to freedom of association to rights in Colombia and to the fulfilling of the ILO claiming our right to effectively exercise it. Our recommendations that have not yet been imple- battle is currently taking place on two levels: the mented. legislative level and the level of practical applica- We request that the appointed representative of tion. the ILO in Colombia has a profile and a mandate On the practical level, our workers are suffering that enables him or her to help and contribute to today from arbitrary dismissal, in both the public resolving the complex labour and trade union prob- and private sectors, because of their trade union ac- lems in the country. We also hope that technical tivities or their political opinions. This, notwith- cooperation will be strengthened. standing the fact that the Kingdom of Bahrain has The workers of Colombia wish the international ratified the ILO Discrimination (Employment and community at this Conference to hear the Colom- Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), which bian people‟s call for social justice. prohibits any discrimination on the basis of political Original Arabic: Mr SAYED SALMAN (Worker, Bahrain) opinion. Although the financial crisis affects com- panies, workers have borne the brunt of it. It is not I represent the General Federation of Bahrain fair that workers should face the consequences of a Trade Unions and I would like to talk about the is- crisis that was the result of bad management of fi- sues most of concern to our movement. nancial institutions. We are fast approaching the 100th Session of the The inclusion of discussions on employment on International Labour Conference, which will be the agenda of this Conference reflects the impor- held next year. All those who fight for trade union tance you attach to the issue of employment in the rights, social justice and human dignity will cherish context of the financial crisis. As a trade union, we that occasion, regardless of which group they are have always called for State intervention in the affiliated to. economy, to allow enterprises affected by the crisis The history of this Organization is filled with to remedy those effects by maintaining, or even in- events as a result of which international labour creasing, employment levels. However, we do not standards have been strengthened. Those standards believe that the Government‟s response addressed have arrived in regions where workers were not the ramifications of the crisis, which led to large only denied fundamental labour rights, but also numbers of workers in banks and large companies where they were deprived of a means to claim those losing their jobs. rights. However, now, thanks to the tireless work On the legislative front, allow me to quote the Di- and unique efforts of our Organization, those ways rector-General when he described the Committee on and means are not only available but have gained in the Application of Standards as the vital organ of strength to break the vicious circle of poverty, mar- this Conference, as it makes international labour ginalization and unemployment. As was said by the law. We have faced major challenges at the legisla- Director-General in his opening statement to the tive level in our country. Conference, the Organization has, year after year, (The Conference adjourned at 12.10 p.m.)

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Fourth Sitting Thursday, 10 June 2010, 2.30 p.m. Presidents: Ms Powell and Mr de Robien

REPORTS OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE GOVERNING The working class in our country is at the epicen- BODY AND OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL: tre of our economy, but it has always been despised DISCUSSION (CONT.) and abandoned. Working men and women living in shanties are even now left unprotected from the Original French: The PRESIDENT (Ms POWELL) scourges of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Children We shall now continue the general discussion on have not been spared either, and child labour is on the Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing the increase because many families do not have jobs Body and of the Director-General. and are unable to meet their children‟s needs. The Original French: Mr NAPOLEON (Worker, Haiti) trade unions want to address all these problems. We have to put a stop to them, otherwise we will be This International Labour Conference is some- mortgaging the future. Therefore, the Haitian work- thing that we in the Haitian trade union movement ers are calling on the ILO and international trade have been looking forward to for a long time, and union organizations to show their solidarity with we want to sound the alarm, not only to the ILO but our children so that we can eradicate child labour in also to foreign investors, calling on them to help us Haiti. create stable and decent jobs. That would enable Faced with this terrible plight, the Haitian trade Haitian workers, both men and women, to regain unions take the opportunity of this 99th Session of their dignity as human beings – which is essential the International Labour Conference to launch an for development; and believe me, the trade union appeal for solidarity to the leaders of the ILO so that movement is already one of the main players in the they can take an active role in assisting the workers reconstruction of our country. of Haiti. The earthquake of 12 January 2010 not only dev- We believe that the ILO, which has had to combat astated our country, but it also inexplicably de- poverty and unemployment in the course of its stroyed our economy and the environment within work, should work hand in hand with the trade un- our society, and the main victim of this terrible dis- ions in the reconstruction of our country so as to aster has been the Haitian working class. It is no include all the different social and occupational secret to anyone that they have been abandoned and groups in its vocational training, providing training left to their own devices. They are waiting for help to young workers to enable them to find jobs and from international partners, they are waiting for in- meet the needs of rebuilding the country. ternational aid with dignity, but this is something I believe that today the ILO should make its pres- that has to come through job creation. That is what ence felt alongside the workers and employers and we expect and what we are determined to achieve. the trade union movement, which has a key role to Apart from the material, social, economic, envi- play. We need this desperately, and we trust the ronmental and other damage wrought by the devas- leaders of this magnificent international institution tating earthquake of 12 January, in which over and especially its esteemed Director-General not to 300,000 human beings lost their lives, and which stint on their assistance to the Haitian trade unions, also led to economic collapse, no one was spared, in order once again to contribute to the social, eco- and all the key sectors of our economy have been nomic, sanitary and environmental reconstruction of hit. In any case, workers in our country are becom- Haiti. ing poorer and even more vulnerable. Today, the Something has to be done; the country is devas- problems faced by the Haitian workers are there for tated, wrecked, unrecognizable and disappointed. everyone to see: they are poorly housed in miser- There are no jobs, and people have to be helped, or able shanties, and no one knows when they will there will be no stopping the wave of Haitian men reach the end of their tribulations. The will is lack- and women who will migrate abroad in search of a ing to put an end to their Calvary. Yet they keep on job, with the resulting brain drain. walking under the thorns. Although there are some Faced with all these factors, we can say that the jobs still in some of the outsource factories, these absolute poverty caused by this loss of jobs and by are not guaranteed, working conditions are harsh, unemployment is putting us under pressure. Please and people are sacked daily. There has been a rash stand by us with your support so that we as a trade of unlawful dismissals, and the labour inspectorate union movement can make our contribution to re- of the Ministry says nothing about these abuses. building our beloved country.

8/13 Mr MUNYES (Minister for Labour, Kenya) of job creation should be central to recovery. We also support the proposed restructuring of the field This year‟s Report of the Director-General, Re- offices, especially the correspondent offices that covery and growth with decent work, provides an will address member country needs. It is our hope excellent analogy of the global financial economic that this will be rolled out with immediate effect. crisis and how together we can design a Global Jobs We urge the ILO to remain steadfast in its strat- Pact to address the jobs crisis. egy of supporting constituents to utilize the Global This Report is therefore an excellent basis upon Jobs Pact through technical support, knowledge which we can reflect, at times of crisis, on our sharing and international policy dialogue. counter strategy and on the march forward. We also request the International Labour Office to Kenya agrees that recovery is still in the balance, ensure that the measures taken towards recovery as evidenced by a sharp decline in production and a reflect the national needs of the constituents are large increase in unemployment. While there are long term and can provide policy options that stand signs of recovery, it is clear that it is weak, with the test of time. many developing countries worldwide still worry- Finally, allow me to commend the Director- ing about how to cope. General for his efforts in ensuring that the Pact is While job growth may have appeared, global un- globally embraced. employment is still blighting particularly the devel- oping countries. The labour market is characterized Original French: Mr NKILI (Minister of Labour and Social by changing patterns of work, including part-time Security, Cameroon) work, involuntary temporary work, informal em- I am very pleased to be able to participate in the ployment, pay cuts and benefits reductions, to men- general discussion of the Report of the Director- tion but a few. General, Accelerating action against child labour. We agree that recovery with progressive social This inhuman phenomenon is destroying the fu- stability can only be achieved through strong, sus- ture of nearly 215 million children throughout the tainable and balanced job growth. For Africa, we world and is holding up the efforts of member must ensure that quality work is at the heart of the States to combat vulnerabilities. Children are the recovery, guided by the Ouagadougou road map, adults of tomorrow and for them to be able to enter which has been the main one for recovery. the world of employment properly equipped to find One significant lesson from the crisis is that po- decent work, they must stay in school to obtain edu- litical, social and financial stability are interrelated, cation and professional training. as evidenced by the solutions to the crisis proposed As far as jobs are concerned, Cameroon has de- by global leaders in this august house last June, clared the period 2010–19 the decade of employ- leading to the Global Jobs Pact. ment. In fact, the fight against unemployment, un- We therefore advocate enhanced cooperation, col- deremployment and poverty has always been a real lective responsibility in pursuing policies that pro- concern of the Government. To face this scourge, mote productivity, dignity and rights at work, social the Government has undertaken to revise the strat- protection programmes that help support families egy document for the reduction of poverty from and social cohesion. 2003. The new strategy, entitled “Strategy docu- In Kenya, the impact of the crisis had been trans- ment for growth and employment” (DSCE), was mitted through declining export earnings, lower adopted in August 2009. This document is the first commodity prices, reduced remittances and declin- phase in the achievement of the vision for develop- ing development assistance and foreign investment, ment up to 2035. further compounded by the effects of the earlier Moreover, Cameroon reaffirms its commitment to food and fuel crises. Poverty reduction targets were adopt the guidelines of the Global Jobs Pact. This adversely affected, impacting most of all on the ru- commitment was expressed in September 2009 at ral population, youth, women and other vulnerable the seventh ordinary session of the African Union groups. Labour and Social Affairs Commission in Addis In an effort to secure recovery, we introduced in Ababa. It was once again expressed in December July 2009 an economic stimulus package for eco- 2009 at the first African Decent Work Symposium, nomic growth and employment which included, which took place in Ouagadougou. among others, an expansion of youth and women‟s With this in mind, our country will be organizing, development funds to promote self-employment and in July 2010, a forum on the implementation of the to build on the entrepreneurial culture; the estab- Global Jobs Pact. This meeting will bring together lishment of a consolidated social protection fund for the Government, employers, workers, decentralized cash transfers for orphans, vulnerable children and territorial authorities and civil society to find a con- persons with disabilities; additional investment in certed approach to a national jobs pact. labour-intensive infrastructure projects; and ongo- In 2004, a ministry was created for ensuring free ing impact studies. primary education and 16,000 teachers were re- We thank the ILO for having agreed recently to cruited to make up a shortfall of nearly 40,000. assist us in developing employment and social pro- Hundreds of schools and thousands of classrooms tection policies which are now in progress, and were constructed in the most distant corners of our which we believe will strengthen the above initia- country to bring schools closer to children and to tives. encourage them to stay in education. Kenya is concerned about the new twist to the fi- In 2008, a study was carried out on children in nancial crisis regarding national debt and budget Cameroon that revealed that child labour exists in deficits, raising doubts about the stability of the in- rural areas, particularly in agriculture, fisheries, for- ternational financial and monetary systems, which estry and hunting. Moreover, children living in poor might jeopardize prospects for growth, especially households are more likely to be working in this for the developing countries. We therefore support environment than others. These children are gener- the proposal by the Director-General that the issue ally unpaid help for their families.

8/14 The adoption by our national assembly of the law touch even the tip of the iceberg. Let the ILO chalk of December 2005 on the trafficking of children out an action plan and bind it upon national gov- intends to combat this vile phenomenon. ernments and other social partners. Governments Thanks to the help of the ILO with the WACAP should see the task as a part of their national devel- and LUTRENA projects, 5,000 child victims of opment agenda. trafficking were identified in three very agricultural Governments all over the world should realize regions. More than 2,000 of them who were still of that a society is measured by the way it treats its school age were reintegrated into the school system. vulnerable sections. The ILO should set up a tripar- As part of this, children were trained in car mechan- tite monitoring agency for this purpose. Let “trans- ics, plumbing, electricity, hairdressing and informa- form the world of work” be our new slogan, our tion technology. When they left the centres, the clarion call. Let a new renaissance take place. The children received start-up kits from the Government ILO has to intrude into the unfathomed areas of the which allowed them to have sources of income and working world so that people are not left alone to to become independent. seek their own means of obtaining economic justice. However, 3,000 children identified in these three The ILO should take up the challenge, fill the regions are still waiting and, if nothing is done, vacuum, organize the needy and persist in its en- there is the risk that they may go back into the cir- deavours until the goal of decent work for all is cuit of exploitation where their situation will be achieved. This is the historic role the ILO has to more difficult. Cameroon, therefore, is launching an perform over the coming ten years. urgent appeal to development partners to seek their The recommendation on employment this year multiform help to continue this work in the seven would be a move forward at a time of crisis. The other regions of the country. Let us work together to historic assignment of giving new life to HIV vic- protect our children in distress, as the Government tims would take a step ahead through the recom- of Cameroon is doing. mendation. Finally, we would like to point out that Cameroon The killing of trade union workers is a scandal. is strongly resolved to take up the challenge of sus- Sincere compliance with standards by governments tainable development for all. That is how we must would dignify the spirit of global unity in an era of view the Yaoundé international conference in May social dialogue. Let us make the world a better 2010, organized by the Head of State, His Excel- place to live in. lency Paul Biya. The declaration issued following I must congratulate the Director-General for in- this meeting is another step towards the search for troducing this year the cause of domestic workers as sustainable solutions for a fair and balanced global- one of the main themes for discussion. The long- ization. Cameroon is counting on the support of the cherished proposed Convention on decent work for international community. domestic workers should relieve the suffering of Mr SAJINARAYANAN (Worker, India) millions of domestic workers the world over. Women workers constitute the major part of this I am extremely happy to stand before the global group. The issues here range from combating ex- assembly of labour at a time when the ILO has treme forms of exploitation to decent wages and passed its 90th year. Let us appreciate the tireless service conditions. Their issues differ from country efforts of the ILO in bringing about radical changes to country and from developed to developing coun- in the world of work. It proved again that it is one tries or least developed countries. The tragic plight step ahead when the Global Jobs Pact was adopted of migrant domestic workers begins with migration, last year against the background of the global finan- when they are exploited by recruiting agents. A cial crisis. sizeable proportion of domestic workers must be It occurred to us that the ILO had always been in- seen as a most helpless and downtrodden group and strumental in establishing workers‟ rights and set- is one estranged facet of forced labour. The most ting standards in relation to the various proclaimed vulnerable domestic workers, who are subjected to rights. extreme forms of forced labour, include live-in I would therefore propose that the next ten years workers, child workers, tribals, migrants, and oth- should be taken as crucial in that the ILO must play ers. They require the urgent attention of all law- a historic role in reaching the grey areas of the makers and enforcement agencies. Civilized socie- world of work. Instead of reaching those we have ties should hang their heads in shame when we hear already reached, we must fulfil our mission of nightmarish stories of hapless, vulnerable domestic reaching those we have not yet reached. workers. Domestic workers, including Indian mi- There are large grey areas of labour left out in grant workers abroad, have seen some light at the many countries and deprived of bargaining power end of the dark tunnel after a long wait of 50 years. and hence, most exploited. This includes the unor- Let us strive to adopt a Convention that can redress ganized or informal sector, women workers, child the plight of this neglected group. workers, migrant labour, those in forced labour, bonded labourers, trafficked workers, low-paid Mr GAMINI KULAWANSA LOKUGE (Minister of Labour workers, casual labour, contract labour, tribal work- Relations and Productivity Promotion, Sri Lanka) ers, the poor and starving, and other vulnerable sec- We are meeting again one year after adopting the tions. For most of them socio-economic justice is a historic Global Jobs Pact, which provided a frame- distant dream. They can genuinely expect Himala- work and a resource for practical policies for the yan accomplishments ahead from the ILO. Newly multilateral system, governments, workers and em- emerging sectors like IT, special economic zones ployers to recover from the crisis. I believe it is (SEZs) and so on are also areas where social protec- timely to review the progress made in implementing tion and social dialogue are absent. the Global Jobs Pact. In this context, I commend the The ILO‟s tripartite constituents have to take up Report of the Director-General, Recovery and this task as a dedicated mission during the ten years growth with decent work, and highlight the areas to come, because without this we may not be able to focused on crisis response and the way forward to

8/15 stronger, more sustainable and equitable develop- ILO should enhance its capacity and become more ment. innovative in its approach. Compared to most countries, Sri Lanka has been Original French: Mr KONE (Minister of Labour and Social affected marginally by the crisis. The Report of the Security, Burkina Faso) Director-General classified Sri Lanka among the countries with slower but positive GDP growth and I would like to reiterate the support of the Presi- a slight but moderate increase in unemployment dent of Burkina Faso, Mr Blaise Campaore, for Mr rates during the financial crisis. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office, for his leadership of our organiza- Despite an almost 30-year civil war, the Asian tion and his commitment to facing, with the support tsunami in 2004 and the recent financial crisis, dur- of the tripartite constituents, the challenges of the ing the past four years, Sri Lanka has recorded av- economic crisis in order to ensure social justice erage economic growth of about 5 per cent per an- throughout the world. num. I would like to welcome the addition to the Our success is due to the people-focused policies agenda of important issues which relate to current adopted by the Government of His Excellency problems and require urgent solutions, namely the Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka. The establishment of a standard related to HIV/AIDS in Mahinda Chinthanaya, the Government‟s ten-year the world of work, decent work for domestic work- national development strategy, demonstrates its ers and the application of ILO Conventions and commitment to achieving the multiple goals of Recommendations. I think that these tripartite de- rapid economic growth; employment generation; bates will lead to consensual solutions in line with reduction of poverty accompanied by redistributing the principles of decent work. What is more, the justice; regionally balanced development; and envi- high-level discussions on the Global Jobs Pact, mi- ronmental sustainability. cro-economic policies and the role of productive The United Nations Development Programme work and social protection, will certainly contribute Human Development Report 2009 showed that Sri to efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Lanka has made considerable progress in alleviating Goals. poverty. Over the last five years, poverty has This debate reinforces our shared values and, par- dropped from 23 per cent to 15 per cent. The latest ticularly at an African level, promotes the strategies Millennium Development Goal data indicate that adopted within the framework of the First African the country is well on track to attain the goal of Decent Work Symposium, held in Ouagadougou. eradicating extreme poverty by the 2015 deadline. With the President‟s permission, I would like to With the positive sentiments of the global busi- thank the ILO, on behalf of the Government of ness community, coupled with the gradual returning Burkina Faso, for the confidence placed in my of northern and eastern provinces affected by 30 country with respect to organizing this Conference years of war to their economic activities and the and the broad support which contributed to the suc- economy entering a low-inflation and low-interest- cess of this historic meeting. rate regime through positive macroeconomic poli- The adoption of the Global Jobs Pact, at the insti- cies, Sri Lanka has begun to show high prospects gation of the ILO, is an important achievement and stimulus to economic activities. which follows unexplored paths in order to prevent We have learned that the impact of the global and mitigate the social impact of different crises. economic crisis, or any other disaster, is likely to be Burkina Faso welcomes the fact that this Pact has painful for the poor unless reforms are made to the been accepted by the international financial institu- social protection sector. tions and the UN system, as well as the fact that it Setting up unemployment benefit schemes, con- correlated with the relevant conclusions concerning solidating existing social security systems, increas- employment and poverty drawn at the summit of ing coverage to certain segments of workers and African Heads of State and Government in 2004 at enhancing the effectiveness of the existing safety Ouagadougou. net schemes are some of the important areas to be My country is fully aware that eradicating poverty addressed in our crisis response, as well as when requires the creation of decent jobs for all, and it is promoting decent work in the country. In this con- with a view to this objective that we have now rati- text, as a first measure, I hope to introduce a pen- fied the Conventions relating to employment policy, sion scheme to members of the employees‟ provi- health and safety at work, maternity protection, dent fund using a minimum share of their contribu- health and safety at work in agriculture and the tions in order to ensure the receipt of regular in- promotional frameworks for health and safety at come when the workers are out of employment. work, and the instrument for the amendment of the In spite of all our efforts and achievements in so- ILO Constitution. cial and economic development, Sri Lanka cannot In order to implement these different instruments, be complacent with what has been achieved in the Government of Burkina Faso has introduced a terms of sustainable development. However, in all process designed to integrate these standards into our achievements, the support and cooperation from national legislation, through the adoption of a na- our social partners should be commended. tional Labour Code or law, and the adoption, in the The role played by the social partners during the near future, of a national labour policy document, as financial crisis endorsed the view expressed by the well an action plan to implement the policy, in line ILO Director-General in his Report that social dia- with the national guidelines in the field of develop- logue is a key to ensuring sustainable recovery. ment policy. In conclusion, I wish to endorse fully the view Within this context, steps are being taken to im- that the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair prove the visibility of the labour market and of so- Globalization would be an effective tool to guide cial dialogue, and to ensure better social protection the policies and actions of the member States, as for all workers in Burkina Faso. These steps include well as the ILO. In this context, we think that the disseminating the text of the reforms pertaining to

8/16 the labour sector and the social sector, which might fast-tracking the implementation of the Jobs Pact improve the business climate and foster the creation hold the key to quick and sustainable recovery. of decent jobs for all. They also include a sectoral Kenya, just like many other member States, regis- strategy to combat HIV/AIDS, as well as the crea- tered modest economic growth of 2.6 per cent in tion of a universal, national health-care system, for 2009, up from 1.6 per cent in 2008. However, this which the feasibility study has almost been com- growth fell far short of the annual labour force sup- pleted. ply, which is estimated at 750,000 persons. Indeed, I would like to express my country‟s satisfaction the modern or formal sector, which is expected to with the exemplary nature of the cooperation with have decent jobs, registered 55,500 new jobs in the International Labour Office, and I would like to 2009, up from 34,000 in 2008, compared to the pro- state that we are fully prepared to pursue this rich posed total job creation of 10.4 million in 2009. and dynamic exchange of experiences, to the benefit Clearly, therefore, most of the jobs were not “de- of the social partners, in accordance with the ideals cent”, which does not portend well for the overall of our Organization. recovery of the economy. With this objective in mind, Burkina Faso intends The Kazi Kwa Vijana (jobs for youth) pro- to continue to be a catalyst in the process of mobi- gramme, which is one of the measures designed to lizing the constituents with regard to employment boost employment and protect income security, has and labour issues, through the guidelines of its De- yet to realize its objectives, owing to design and cent Work Country Programme, which aim to create implementation flaws. Non-involvement of social employment and a fair income for all. partners, as well as the Ministry responsible for la- Under the enlightened leadership of the President bour, is also partly to blame for this. This was a po- and with the benefit of the ILO‟s expertise, I am litical project without foresight which excluded the sure that the delegates here are determined to ensure tripartite partners. that the 99th Session fulfils all of its promises and Kenya recently enacted a new labour law regime that, through the discussions and the proposals which was achieved through tripartism and social made, consensual solutions will be achieved, in or- dialogue, but what is perturbing is that the gains der to deal with the threats faced by the business made in the area of worker‟s compensation were sector and the world of work as a whole. It is clear clawed back through a court order obtained by some that this is a global crisis, but thankfully there is lawyers in cahoots with some employers who had also a great deal of solidarity in the world. been fleecing workers of their compensation bene- fits obtained under the common law courts. We note Mr ATWOLI (Worker, Kenya) that our Employer partners have not been fully sup- I thank the Director-General for his Report, Re- portive of our initiatives to reinstate the legal provi- covery and growth with decent work, which pro- sions struck out, and we want to reiterate and appeal vides us with what one would call the initial review to them to cooperate. or assessment of what member States and constitu- We also take issue with some employers who, in- ents have achieved in implementing economic re- stead of embracing the Jobs Pact measures of retain- covery measures as outlined in the Global Jobs Pact ing employees in employment in the short term, agreed at the Summit last year. have resorted to arbitrary declaration of redundancy The Report‟s scorecard presents mixed results, under the guise of global economic and financial though generally promising across and within ILO crisis. member States if the momentum is not lost. How- Before I conclude, I want to record our apprecia- ever, though signs of economic recovery are evi- tion to the leadership of the country for facilitating dent, jobs growth, which was the centrepiece of the the inclusion of the workers‟ right to strike in the recovery measures on the whole, still remains elu- proposed National Constitution, which is about to sive recording a lower rate of economic growth. be subject of a referendum in August this year. This Threatened with sovereign debt crisis, member is a manifestation of the respect the country has for States risk being forced by market pressures to halt workers, in as far as their right to bargain equally stimulus packages which have been responsible for with their employer is concerned, and it is going to curbing financial meltdown, in order to forestall ensure that social dialogue and the voice of workers defaulting on debt obligations and ballooning are entrenched in our workplaces and practices, as budget deficits. As a workers‟ representative, we advocated by the ILO. concur with the Director-General‟s Report that such Original Spanish: Mr PUIG (Minister of Labour, Dominican measures would be premature and counterproduc- Republic) tive, as the private sector in many economies still This Conference is taking place during difficult lacks the ability to independently anchor recovery times. There is still uncertainty surrounding the measures, and the public or government role re- process of economic recovery following the global mains crucial. financial crisis and many millions of people have We cannot allow a fallback into recession – we as not been able to re-enter the job market. The crisis ILO constituents already have instruments to guide has led to important paradigm shifts: fixed notions us through the recovery process and back to a about development have to be abandoned. State ac- shared prosperity. The ILO Declaration on Social tion is fundamental in speeding up the process of Justice for a Fair Globalization provides a frame- economic recovery and in starting to define new work upon which to implement the Global Jobs economic and social development models that are Pact. focused on human beings. These are instruments which have gained world- The ILO has made important contributions to this wide acceptance, including endorsement by the G20 process, such as through the adoption of the Global Leaders‟ Summit in Pittsburgh and the follow-up Jobs Pact. This Pact, based on the Declaration on meeting of their labour and employment ministers Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, was wel- in Washington, DC. In our view, deepening and comed by the international community and has

8/17 played an essential role in the definition of compre- We want to take advantage of this possibility to hensive and coherent policies to confront the global bring to your attention the difficult situation in economic crisis. which the people of Haiti, brothers to the Domini- The Dominican Government would like to con- can people, are living in as a result of the terrible gratulate the ILO on the work it has done, while earthquake that struck on 12 January this year. Last calling on it to redouble its efforts so that the objec- week, with the participation of representatives of 54 tives established in the Global Jobs Pact can be countries and the main multilateral bodies, an ambi- achieved. The coordination of the ILO with multi- tious recovery plan was adopted for the Republic of lateral cooperation institutions and agencies is fun- Haiti. We make an urgent call to the ILO to become damental in searching for creative and innovative actively involved in this process in order to guaran- responses to redefining a new architecture for inter- tee that, on the basis of your institutional experi- national economic relations based on a more just ence, you can play an important role in setting up an and balanced vision of development. economically prosperous, socially fair and envi- As regards the Dominican Republic, we would ronmentally sustainable development model, under like to point out that the rate of growth, in terms of the guidance and leadership of the men and women the national economy, was affected by the global of Haiti. financial crisis. Nonetheless, because of a wide- Mr AUNG (Deputy Minister of Labour, Myanmar) ranging process involving social dialogue and the The Report of the Director-General, Recovery and adoption of appropriate social and economic meas- growth with decent work, with its analysis of the ures, the country achieved growth rates of 3 per cent financial crisis, the lessons and the policies to deal of GDP in 2009 and the forecast is that we will with its impact and recovery, will serve as a useful achieve a growth rate of 5.5 per cent in 2010. At the tool in our search for a better world of work. It also same time, the Dominican social security system reflects the fact that the ILO has an important role was strengthened, which meant that the number of to play in the recovery. beneficiaries and the amount of benefits were in- creased and the different types of welfare assistance As the policy lessons have underlined, we believe services focused on the poorest people were ex- public spending on infrastructure to be one of the tended. major driving forces for creating jobs in Myanmar. Many infrastructure projects to build highways, The Dominican Government adopted the Global bridges and dams and reservoirs for irrigation and Jobs Pact and the Employment Ministry took on power, for example, are being carried out these days decent work as a strategic objective in its strategic with the participation of the private sector. These plan for 2009–12, putting in place in a coherent and projects bring about the immediate creation of jobs an integral way the labour standards of more and for the local population, particularly the more vul- better work, strengthening of the social security sys- nerable groups. They will also bring about long- tem, equal opportunities and non-discrimination at term development for the country as a whole. work. All of this was on a basis of broad social dia- We have heard the Director-General‟s views on logue. In the same way, the Dominican Government enhancing ILO capacity to face the new challenges. has prepared a proposed national development strat- These views deserve very careful consideration by egy for the next 20 years, and decent work is one of all, and we need more time for a closer look at its strategic objectives. them. Our comment at this juncture would be that In accordance with the objectives I have just men- most of the views and measures contained therein tioned, there has been a strengthening of the tripar- can help enhance the capacity of the ILO to deal tite bodies involved in social dialogue, such as the with the new challenges of our time. However, we Consultative Labour Council and the National Em- should also bear in mind that the financial implica- ployment Committee. In the context of the latter tions are another important factor in our considera- committee, we have started discussing the formula- tion. tion of national, regional and sectoral policies and Mr President, I would also like to comment on the plans aimed at increasing the level of formal em- Report of the Director-General, Accelerating action ployment throughout the country. against child labour. This Report details the condi- Furthermore, we continue to strengthen the cul- tions of child labour around the world; the efforts of ture of upholding labour standards as part of a mod- ILO and international cooperation for the decline of ernization of the system of labour inspection and child labour; important achievements on the road to with a view to making it more professional. An in- 2016; ways and means of turning challenges into tegral system of labour registers has been set up and opportunities; and the measures for eradicating the a division of labour actions has been set up in order worst forms of child labour by 2016. I congratulate to simplify procedures and guarantee higher levels the Director-General for his far-reaching views on of efficiency and quality. In 2009, 31 new trade un- the eradication of child labour. ions were registered, 35 new collective agreements I would like to take this opportunity to highlight were signed and there were 59 conflict mediation our efforts to that end. The Union of Myanmar ac- activities. ceded to the United Nations Convention on the The Dominican Government is committed to Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991. In line with the guaranteeing equal opportunities and non- CRC, our Child Law was enacted in 1993 and rules discrimination at work. We support the adoption of relating to that law were promulgated in 2001. Fur- the instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work thermore, our National Committee on the Rights of that is being discussed at this Conference. the Child and its working committee have been Similarly, we support the adoption of a Conven- formed for the effective implementation of the pro- tion and a Recommendation on domestic work, visions of the law. which will make possible the regulation of working Mr President, Myanmar is advancing towards the conditions in this important economic and social elimination of forced labour practices with a firm sector. political will and the full cooperation of the ILO.

8/18 Additionally, awareness-raising workshops on the While we are at a stage of transition to recovery, Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), are be- it is incumbent upon the International Labour Con- ing held in various states and divisions of Myanmar. ference to have the resolve to use its moral persua- The Supplementary Understanding has been trans- sion and institutional goodwill to carry on its advo- lated into the different national languages and made cacy work for the Decent Work Agenda more so available to the public. At the same time, a simply now than before. worded brochure for the public has been approved Those in charge of policy formulation at the inter- and is being distributed. As such, it is hoped that national, regional and national levels should factor forced labour will come to an end in the very near job creation into their list of priorities as a basic future. concern. The universal principles of social justice Mr President, the rights of the workers will be ought to play a significant role in determining eco- crystallized after the elections to be held this year. nomic directions. Addressing what ails the global Laws required for the upcoming elections are al- economy without considering its social ramifica- ready in place, and political parties are registering tions is counterproductive. in line with those laws. After the elections, the new Employers‟ groups in the Philippines are in full Constitution will come into effect. In this Constitu- agreement with the Director-General in calling for a tion, approved by 92.48 per cent of eligible voters, sustainable and equitable recovery programme that the rights of the citizens – including those of work- seeks to benefit every stakeholder sector, particu- ers to express themselves, to assemble and to form larly the most vulnerable to any downward eco- associations and organizations – are enshrined in nomic shift. We believe that, for any recovery pro- the chapter on citizenship and the fundamental gramme to be meaningful for all, it must necessarily rights and duties of the citizens. include employment generation. As the Director- In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that General put it, “there is no sustainable recovery Myanmar remains committed to further cooperation without jobs recovery”. with the ILO to eliminate forced labour in the coun- Indeed, we cannot overemphasize the rationale of try. jobs creation as a centrepiece for any recovery pro- gramme. Jobs creation is economically logical, so- Mr VARELA (Employer, Philippines) cially necessary and politically wise. The worst recession since the Great Depression In the Philippines, we have just elected and pro- that visited the global community underscored how claimed a new leader. Transformational policies for interconnected economies and societies are. The the post-crisis period now have to be put in place to nations of the world, through various collaborative change our nation‟s growth trajectory and under- mechanisms, are hard-pressed to leave the eco- score that our country‟s competitiveness challenges nomic storm behind. in various strategic areas are to be confronted and Given the magnitude of the problem and the ur- made to pave the way so that private enterprises can gency to confront it, the collective response was a flourish. It is also an opportune time for us to push crisis mode. This situation, however, can only be for economic recovery measures and policies that temporary. There is indeed a need for a long-term not only improve our country‟s competitiveness recovery. standing but also mainstreams the principles of de- The question, therefore, is how to proceed from a cent work, including social dialogue and participa- crisis response mode to the much-awaited recovery tion of all stakeholders concerned. The political and programme. The transition process is admittedly social climate in the country plays a key factor in complex and arduous. There are formidable obsta- putting forth recovery and growth measures within cles. The sovereign debt happening mainly here in the sphere and context of decent and productive Europe and the deficit burden are the common pre- work, and this is the best time for us to take advan- dicament of many countries and complicate the task tage of the optimism expressed by the new leader- even more. The Director-General is correct in point- ship, coupled with improved business sentiment and ing out that risk is certainly there and we must be investors‟ confidence in the country. prepared and vigilant. Our work, however, is not yet done. We have only To think of the pathways to a recovery pro- begun laying the building blocks to regain the gramme in purely economic terms is to ignore the strength and robustness of our economy, thus posi- intricate interrelationships of the social and political tioning ourselves for further growth. We must con- dimensions to the dynamics of economics. No less tinue to do so by delivering what is best and what is than a holistic approach is necessary. appropriate, including adopting an international in- strument on decent work and what is necessary for We must therefore bear in mind that recovery at the mutual gain and benefit of employers and work- the onset must be focused not by restoring confi- ers. dence in the financial system alone, but, most im- portantly, by keeping business afloat and ensuring Mr FOLLO (Worker, Ethiopia) that employment and jobs, and decent and produc- First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to tive work are foremost on the agenda. the ILO, on behalf of the Confederation of Ethio- It is in this context that the Report of the Director- pian Trade Unions (CETU) and myself, for the op- General for the 99th Session of the Conference portunity to deliver a speech at this important con- serves as a timely and valuable framework for a ference. sustainable and balanced recovery programme. The CETU is one of the tripartite partners of the We can only speak of the process of transition to ILO in Ethiopia, as it is the only vanguard and sole recovery, inasmuch as the global economy is still national trade union that has been formed to protect far from reaching that goal. In many parts of the the well-being of Ethiopian workers and it strives to world, the financial crisis is not yet over. In fact, to ensure the ratification and implementation of ILO the legion of unemployed whose jobs were swept Conventions and other standards in Ethiopia. In this away by recessionary pressures, recovery is not felt. regard, Ethiopia has ratified 21 ILO Conventions.

8/19 The CETU held its 14th Congress on 9 March were lost and schools and hospitals were destroyed, 2010. As part of a commitment to transparency, as were many businesses and centres of production. workers elected their leaders during the Congress Although this dire disaster posed a tough challenge by democratic means. We are also engaged in our for the business sector, the employers‟ contribution country‟s democratic processes. This year, the to the recovery of the economy and the labour mar- CETU, in agreement with 12 professional and civil ket has increased. We have made a commitment to society organizations in Ethiopia, formed a coalition rebuild lost or impaired productive capacity as soon to observe the fourth general election 2010 in as possible. Ethiopia. The coalition deployed more than 40,000 We hope that we will soon be able to get back on observers throughout the country. The election was the path of sustainable economic growth. In order to free, fair, democratic and peaceful. I strongly be- do this, we need public policies which foster com- lieve that this kind of activity helps to keep the petition, innovation and are able to stimulate the workers and the general public interested in foster- economy, thereby fostering more and better entre- ing a culture of democracy in our country. preneurial activities, in order to decrease unem- Madam President, distinguished delegates, as you ployment and create new jobs. all know, the whole world is trying to recover from In this regard, Chilean employers certainly appre- the global financial and economic crisis. The crisis ciate and have lent their support to the action taken damaged the global financial system and companies by our current Government in the areas affected by who employ many workers. I admire the effort the earthquake. Special labour regimes have been made by leaders of developed countries, financial created, granting more flexible access to unem- administrations and other international organiza- ployment benefit and reconstruction permits have tions to mitigate the damage caused by the crisis. been created to allow workers and employers to However, I still want to urge the international agree on the terms and conditions related to the sus- community, financial institutions and international pension of the employment relationship. organizations to pay special attention to developing As far as job creation is concerned, we understand countries and workers in those countries. that it is vital to create an appropriate framework for The other issue which I want to raise is the prob- companies, so that they can take on more workers. lem of HIV/AIDS. Ethiopia is among the countries The employers, the Government and the workers affected by HIV/AIDS. Research shows that the have to be creative in terms of efforts to create new epidemic mostly affects persons between the ages types of jobs, taking into account new technology of 15 and 49. This indicates that the workforce in and the new ways in which companies are formed the country and our development agenda are under and operate, by fostering training and retraining threat. As a result, the CETU, as the representative schemes. of the workers, is engaged in prevention and the However, we also need additional measures to protection work related to HIV/AIDS in the work- improve the quality of education and to ensure rele- place, together with other stakeholders such as the vant, lifelong vocational training, as well as a better Government, the Employers‟ Federation, the ILO system for certifying vocational skills and more ef- and other governmental and non-governmental or- fective employment agency services, as tools for ganizations. The CETU, in collaboration with the improving the employability of individuals. Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Em- Finally, we believe that we, as actors in the field ployers‟ Federation has developed the national pol- of labour relations, should work to preserve the tri- icy on HIV/AIDS prevention and protection in the partite nature of the ILO, as Mr Daniel Funes de workplace. We are also working with our members Rioja stated yesterday. We have to build confi- on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support and treat- dence, in order to achieve a fruitful social dialogue ment programmes, with the support of various or- to create the right conditions for sustainable busi- ganizations. Therefore, the CETU places special ness, by means of agreements which allow us to emphasis on the proposed draft Recommendation overcome obstacles within the labour system which on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. We therefore undermine the employability of the most vulnerable support the adoption of the Recommendation. groups in society, in particular women and young Finally, I would like to stress that the ILO should people, and hamper the growth and development of take a leading role in organizing efforts to support small and medium-sized companies, which are es- workers in developing countries facing problems sential to improving employability and achieving related to the economic crisis. I want to thank the balanced and harmonious social and economic de- ILO Subregional Office and the ILO headquarters velopment in our country. for their overall support. I also call on the ILO to further strengthen its financial and technical sup- Original Spanish: Ms VICENS BELLO (Employer, Dominican port. Republic) The Dominican Republic welcomes the Report of Original Spanish: Mr HUMERES (Employer, Chile) the Director-General and emphasizes the need to Ladies and gentlemen, the international crisis, create a way forward that favours the generation of which spanned parts of 2008 and 2009, and the more and better jobs. That will require a new archi- boosting of employability have both been on the tecture of cooperation of the United Nations and the labour agenda since the ILO assembly last year. main multilateral agencies at the commercial, social Chile has taken the relevant steps to deal with and economic level and in terms of environmental these problems and it has done so successfully. sustainability. Nevertheless, in February of this year, our country Over the past two years, our economies have been experienced the fifth worst earthquake since records affected by the worst external shock in living mem- began. The loss of precious human life was a catas- ory, generating important changes in the legal regu- trophe that we will never forget. latory framework in order to tighten the regulations, The level of material damage was high and par- following the serious consequences of deregulation ticularly severe, as dwellings, highways and roads or weak regulation and oversight in many countries

8/20 and in the capital and labour markets, as well as in who have only been able to find one in the informal the organization and operation of those markets. economy to access to the formal economy. These changes are taking place in the middle of a In the environmental pillar there should be a bal- boom in the informal economy, increasing unem- ance between production and the environment. We ployment, a rise in interest rates and increasing need to adopt measures that create a new interna- prices of oil, oil products and food. That has all led tional growth and wealth-creation model and better to greater uncertainty and social exclusion because regulation as a market. We want to have a system of the failure of the regulatory bodies that allowed that avoids the crisis which the current system has speculation on a large scale, lack of regulation and led us to. The crisis has shown that it is important to an increase in unemployment. update a lot of labour legislation, including in the The negative expectations of potential changes in Dominican Republic. All of these actions are abso- some of the causes of the crisis have led us to con- lutely necessary in order to achieve the Millennium clude that the virtues of the system have come to an Development Goals and promote a more just and end and we now have to unite in our efforts to inclusive society, which is what we all want. achieve a new wealth-creation model that will be more inclusive, in which development will be more Monsignor TOMASI (Apostolic Nuncio, The Holy See) human and where there is a better distribution of The effects of the financial and economic crisis wealth within each society. All of this needs to be have globally damaged the welfare of families and accompanied by new standards that ensure the nec- individuals. Timid, uneven and uncertain signs of essary change in vision to give rise to a more effec- recovery notwithstanding, the impacts of the reces- tive world economic order. sion have stifled progress in poverty reduction and To do this, we need to generate an accumulation increased unemployment in developed countries, model that is based on four solid development pil- and every household has suffered setbacks in low- lars; technological, economic, social and institu- income countries. By 2015, another 20 million peo- tional, and environmental. ple in sub-Saharan Africa and 53 million globally The first will allow the promotion of research and will find themselves in extreme poverty. While education and the creation of new entrepreneurs and there is general agreement on the need for structural business opportunities and will apply the results of reforms, vested interests must not shift most of the research and technological development to the pro- burden to wage earners, rural people and already duction of goods and services. marginalized groups in society. Economic mecha- We think the economic pillar is necessary to gen- nisms bereft of ethical criteria will not lead to con- erate and better distribute wealth. This would be a structive solutions. revision of the institutional order established in The crisis can open up a new way of looking at 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the the role of markets and the role of the State. The United States, on the basis of agreements that estab- food crisis of 2008 showed that countries lacking lish an international economic order to adapt the basic food supplies could not simply rely on market global financial and trade architecture to the new forces to secure food for their people. Hence, a de- era. This will incorporate the need to combat social gree of self-sufficiency and better regulation of the imbalance in countries by using resources in a more commodities market became the logical conclusion. rational and balanced way. The 2009 financial crisis showed that financial Restructuring the rules, as well as international in- markets are not self-regulating. Greed prevented the stitutions such as the World Bank, the International suspension of a process whose systemic risks had Monetary Fund and others that they fund, will help been foreseen by many. Financial measures and the to generate investment, increase consumption, cre- assurances provided by States and central banks ate new jobs and reduce poverty. saved the banking system and avoided financial The third pillar should be achieved by improving meltdown, but they were unable to prevent the sub- education to increase access to the labour market sequent serious economic crisis that has resulted in and better opportunities, as well as productivity and a significant increase in unemployment and precari- competitiveness in companies that require more and ousness, affecting the most vulnerable people and better flexibility and modernization of labour regu- countries. lations so that they promote job creation and reten- Another result has been the enormous amount of tion instead of being straightjackets on the devel- public debt generated, especially by the most ad- opment of labour markets. Therefore, it is indispen- vanced economies. Public budgets and growth will sable that there are sustainable enterprises. be affected, taxes will rise, purchasing power will No country can grow or develop on the basis of fall and unemployment will grow. The risk is that it inflexible standards that are outside the context in will jeopardize the weak economic recovery. This is which they are applied and do not allow changes. problematic for the most advanced economies in We do not want this proposal to be seen as one that the prospect of fiscal consolidation will con- that ignores rights; we want to protect the right to strain economic growth. Recent experience has formal and sustainable employment on the basis of shown the adjustment coefficient to be the level of provisions that support and promote investment in unemployment, the purchasing power of people and and creation and preservation of formal jobs. Ignor- their ability to feed, educate and care for them- ing this has led to an increase in the informal econ- selves. Justice demands that people‟s suffering omy in countries such as the Dominican Republic. should be more than just a coefficient of the ad- History has shown us that not applying timely justment of the economic system. While the merits measures can be extremely harmful, so we urge that of the open market in terms of creating wealth we should not get bogged down with texts that do should be acknowledged, some additional and in- not reflect reality and that we move with the times. ternationally coordinated action appears necessary, What is happening should be not seen as a back- together with the development of some means of wards step but as a step forwards that could allow a common governance. We need to bear in mind that large number of people who do not have a job or work is about more than earning wages; it is a

8/21 means of self-fulfilment and achieving one‟s goals The discussions this week provide the foundation in life. for an instrument to truly make history. We appeal The Holy See fully supports the ILO‟s aim to give to all delegates to support this historic and noble priority to individuals and their work in the search effort. Let us resoundingly reject slavery in any for innovative and dynamic policies to remove the form. structural impediments to economic recovery. The I call on all governments to support the Decent focus on domestic workers and the vote in favour of Work Agenda and call on the Malaysian Govern- a new binding instrument for their protection con- ment to now proactively support this Convention, verge with the concern of the Church to give prece- indeed, to take a lead in promoting it in the Associa- dence to the most vulnerable members of society. tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Domestic workers are doubly at risk. First, they We must acknowledge the contribution of domestic come from the most disadvantaged segments of so- workers to families, other workers and our national ciety, with very limited resources for protection; economies. and second, their working environment leaves them Workers across the ASEAN region hope that our open to exploitation. The need for a new binding governments take their commitment seriously to standard – an international convention on domestic achieve decent work for all. We believe that the workers – appears undeniable. It will promote op- prosperity, development and the full realization of portune national legislation for their protection and dignity for working people depends on fulfilling support their rights to freedom of association, col- this commitment. lective bargaining and union representation. An We want to ensure that national labour legislation education campaign should be initiated to make across our region fully respects workers‟ rights. We both domestic workers and employers aware of expect that, where legislation does not meet these their respective rights and duties. This widening of standards for domestic workers, then, in the spirit of the horizon in the world of work offers both a chal- the ASEAN Charter, fundamental human rights, lenge and new possibilities. As Pope Benedict XVI including core labour standards, will be acknowl- states in his social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, edged and extended. labour unions, which have always been encouraged We welcome and stand by the clarion call, decent and supported by the Church, “looking to wider work for all. concerns than the specific category of labour for which they were formed ... are called to address Original Spanish: Mr ECHAVARRÍA (Employer, Colombia) some of the new questions arising in our society”. Concerning the Director-General‟s Report, I As part of this widening of horizons in the global would like to highlight the employment-oriented struggle for decent work, attention should focus on agenda, which sets ten strategic objectives, one of other categories of workers in need of protection: which is addressed to employers and refers to en- the masses of still unorganized workers, rural work- hancing an enabling environment for innovation and ers and unemployed youth. Rural workers, in par- investment in sustainable enterprises. Now, while ticular, are often left out. this is certainly important, it does not cover all of The economic crisis can become an opportunity. the actions that should be taken, which were formu- The complexity of the situation makes it difficult to lated at the recent meeting of labour ministers of the make the right choices. If, however, the recovery G20, and which were aimed at achieving recovery comprehensively embraces all workers, if it renews with job growth. the tripartite dialogue at the core of the ILO mission I would just like to mention certain decisions and gives priority to people and their talents, then a which are not covered by the Report and which we step forward will have been taken in the pursuit of Colombian employers consider to be important. justice by the international community. As regards the economy, for example, employers need governments to take measures to stabilize fun- Mr SYED MOHAMUD (Worker, Malaysia) damental economic indicators, restore confidence I am proud to represent the workers of Malaysia, and provide incentives to promote business and ul- through the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, at timately create jobs. Workers need more efficient the ILO during a year when the agenda includes a labour markets and lifelong learning to improve discussion on a binding Convention to finally and their occupational mobility and provide them with effectively end modern-day slavery of domestic greater flexibility at work, as well as balanced and workers. sustainable social protection systems. With the exception of a few, most countries do Now this does not mean that we have to cut back not include domestic workers under existing labour on regulation, but it does mean reforms to boost laws and thus allow employers to exploit domestic productivity and provide smaller enterprises with workers with impunity. These workers, predomi- tax incentives so that they can join the formal econ- nantly women, are compelled to work long hours, omy and stay in business. with low wages and poor working conditions. In addition, modern hiring practices that meet the We are disappointed and surprised that some need for a rapid response to the global financial cri- countries that derive enormous economic benefit sis enable high employment to be maintained and from their citizens‟ remittances, including Indone- should therefore be promoted by governments. sia, India and Bangladesh, were not supportive of We Employers support the development of a the proposal for a binding Convention this week. global strategy for formalizing enterprises, which Millions of their nationals toil under extreme condi- both responds to the financial crisis and meets the tions in countries around the world. We see the need for labour market adjustment in a long-term Convention as providing protection, respect and perspective. decent work for domestic workers. A government‟s Such a strategy includes universal access to edu- disregard for the welfare of its citizens is most cation, tailoring vocational training to the needs of shocking. the labour market, employability and flexibility

8/22 throughout working life, through a process of con- the situation of workers of the occupied Arab terri- tinuous improvement. tories; the methods used and the conclusions pre- The ILO should recognize these realities in its re- sented are quite remarkable. We appreciate the ef- ports, so that it can be seen as the UN agency which forts made to produce this Report; we would like to contributes to recovery of the economy and recov- assure you that we wish to strengthen our coopera- ery of jobs in particular. If it does not do so, other tion with you in order to improve the observance of institutions and agencies will take on this policy labour standards by Palestine. role. Therefore, rather than referring to the banking The actions by the Israelis and the policies of oc- system and reform of the financial system, it should cupation and settlement have led the Palestinian confine its opinions to social and labour policy, an economy to the verge of total collapse, causing in- area in which it is recognized and respected. creased unemployment and poverty, especially over Rather than referring to the ILO‟s capacity to take the past decade. In the light of these facts and the up these new challenges, I would like to talk about serious violations associated with settlement activ- the cooperation activities that have been undertaken ity, the Palestinian Authority is nevertheless en- by the ILO Office in Colombia, as mentioned in the deavouring to fulfil its obligations and meet its reports of the Director of the International Labour commitments to the international community and to Standards Department, who visited our country re- its people, who are seeking peace, and has adopted cently, and the Committee of Experts itself in its a range of measures as part of a national campaign annual report. These activities have been carried out against products made in the settlements. The cam- with the firm support of the Government and the paign is based on three essential pillars, namely: the social partners, as a result of the Tripartite Agree- peaceful resistance of the people to combat the ment on Freedom of Association and Democracy in Separation Barrier, Judaization, the destruction of Colombia. our homes and the withholding of identity cards; the We employers would like to express our apprecia- continuation of diplomatic and political initiatives at tion for the continuous support of the ILO, which international forums to achieve peace – and I appeal has enabled us to carry out guidance and training a here for condemnation of acts of piracy against programmes for employers on various labour issues, civilians of the liberty convoy and for an interna- through workshops and seminars in various cities tional commission of inquiry to be set up and for an throughout the country. end to the blockade of Gaza; and, thirdly, continu- We also welcome with interest the efforts of the ing efforts to strengthen our institutional capacity Social Dialogue Programme and the studies and and the boycott of all products from the settlements proposals aimed at improving the functioning of the in Palestinian markets. tripartite consultation committees, at both national The President has also taken a decision to boycott and regional levels. all products manufactured in the illegal settlements ILO assistance has been reflected in recent of the West Bank, and we have launched the Pro- changes in labour legislation approved by Congress gramme for National Dignity. and the Government, aimed at bringing it into con- The National Palestinian Authority, in spite of its formity with ILO Conventions. very limited resources, the tremendous burden that The same is true of the case-law in the high courts it has to bear, and the activities of Israeli extremists, and of judges. The training programmes and courses is not neglecting its duties and is trying to bridge the for judges and prosecutors have enabled officials of gap between the rich and the poor and create jobs the judiciary to be better informed of international for the unemployed, through legislative and other standards. action measures and ambitious programmes. Lastly, measures taken to protect human rights Our people, which has already suffered much, and investigate crimes against trade unionists and needs your support in order to be able to impose the the judges handling such crimes have produced very will of the international community on the Govern- positive results compared to the years preceding the ment of Israel. Our people is determined to continue signing of the abovementioned tripartite agreement. its struggle for a just and equitable peace until all its The ILO has detailed information on this, so I rights are guaranteed under international law, an need not go into further detail. independent State is established, refugees are able In a recent communication to the Director- to return, and all prisoners currently languishing General, the President of the National Business As- Israeli prisons are released. sociation of Colombia (ANDI) expressed consider- Mr OTAALA OTIAM (Government, Uganda) able satisfaction with the substantial progress that has been made over the past decade in terms of the Africa remains the region worst hit by unem- number of organized workers and the number of ployment, particularly among youth, and by trade unions registered in the country, most of them HIV/AIDS, child labour, high population growth in the private sector. We employers would like to and the overall public debt burden. I am therefore reiterate our firm determination to be part of this happy that this 99th Session of the International cooperation process and continuing ILO support in Labour Conference is addressing a number of these Colombia. problems. Considerable progress has been made in Colom- My delegation and I commend the Report of the bia in several areas, but it is the social and labour Director-General, Recovery and growth with decent sphere which is the area of competence of the ILO, work, for addressing the detrimental consequences and it has made a valuable contribution, which of the financial crisis on the world of work, for should be a source of pride for the Organization. highlighting some of the strategic challenges ahead, and for proposing lasting solutions for the recovery. Original Arabic: Mr MAJDALANI (Minister of Labour, On this note, therefore, we wish to convey our Palestinian Authority) deepest appreciation for the ILO‟s support for a We have taken note of the international mission rapid impact assessment of the global economic Report presented by the Director-General relating to crisis on Uganda. A report published in November

8/23 2009 provides key policy priorities for the Govern- gional level to share experience and common ap- ment to address with regard to the labour market proaches within our respective regions; and ac- crisis in the country. I am happy, again, to report knowledges the contributions made by the ILO and that the Government has started pursuing these rec- other development partners to the development ef- ommendations. forts in Uganda. Uganda has had some of the worst experience Original Arabic: Mr EL-AZALY (Worker, Egypt) with HIV/AIDS but, with a great deal of political will and commitment, as well as public education We have examined the Report of the Director- and the provision of relevant preventive informa- General, ILO Programme Implementation 2008–09. tion, the country has managed to bring down preva- We would like to thank the Organization for having lence from 18 per cent in the early 1990s to about organized, in 2008–2009, a number of seminars on 5 per cent as we talk today. Whereas the situation social dialogue in Egypt, which were attended by seems to be stagnating at this level, we are happy to trade union leaders on the Steering Committee of share with this august assembly our modest success the Egyptian Trade Union Confederation, the presi- story of how we have done it, and to encourage dents and members of various other trade union other countries with the words “yes, you can; you steering committees and the leaders of a number of too can do it”. trade union committees. We are challenged by the fact that every year we We agree entirely with the Director-General re- still have around 110,000 new cases of infection. garding the need to ensure free, compulsory and About 50 per cent of pregnant mothers still lack quality basic education for all and to create the nec- access to antiretroviral medicines to reduce the risk essary social protection floor to create jobs, in order of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which, in to help families overcome poverty and so that their the modern world, is becoming a thing of the past. children are not obliged to work, especially in the I am happy to report, however, that the Govern- agricultural sector, where the majority of children ment has once again stepped up the campaign to work without any remuneration, as they are em- change the attitudes of our people, while also mak- ployed in family enterprises. ing antiretroviral treatment available to people liv- With regard to the Director-General‟s Report on ing with HIV/AIDS through the support of the the follow-up to ILC resolutions of 1974 and 1980 United States President‟s Emergency Plan for AIDS condemning the Israeli authorities for acts of dis- Relief (PEPFAR), UNAIDS and others. crimination, racism and the violation of trade union We therefore regard the ILO‟s proposed standard rights and freedoms in Palestine, the occupied Syr- on HIV/AIDS and the world of work as yet another ian Golan and the Shebaa farms in Lebanon, we window of opportunity to tap into additional re- affirm that the actions of the Israelis have consti- sources from employers for the fight against tuted attempts at colonization, the racist Separation HIV/AIDS. Barrier, ethnic cleansing, assassinations and arrests, Allow me now to turn to youth unemployment. not to mention the horrific massacre in international Tackling youth unemployment is a national priority. waters involving the freedom convoy which aimed The effort to do so will continue to be affected by to break the blockade imposed on Gaza. the estimated 3.6 per cent annual growth in the size We call for an end to these practices and the of the labour force. Therefore, the challenge is that blockade imposed on Gaza in particular. We believe the Ugandan economy has to create about 390,000 that the attack launched by Israel on the convoy new jobs a year to absorb the new entrants. constitutes a violation of international law. Israel In an effort to address the problem, the Govern- considers itself to be above the law. It has really ment is finalizing a national employment policy to gone too far and its actions violate international create more and better jobs. As an effective strat- humanitarian law. egy, skills development is considered essential to I wish you every success in your work so that the pursuit of improved productivity, incomes and fundamental and human rights may prevail. access to employment opportunities. Other meas- ures that the Government has put in place to facili- Ms THAPPER (Worker, Sweden) tate this cover, among others, universal primary and Madam President, finding the right road to world secondary education, vocational training, and ap- economic recovery is an enormous challenge facing prenticeship to harness skills and the potential of us. youth in self-employment creation. In addition, the Since the worldwide economic meltdown more Government has noted that the availability of labour than two years ago, efforts to find fair solutions for market information on a regular and timely basis is all have been at the centre of the ILO‟s work. The one of the tools needed to minimize the mismatch Director-General‟s Report shows that you have between job supply and demand. We are optimistic come up with both a comprehensive analysis of that these strategic balance-creating measures will what went wrong and a set of suggestions on what open up opportunities for youth employment. has to be done in order to make sure that we get Meanwhile, in keeping with the goals of the De- started on a fair and workable way forward. I thank cent Work Agenda for Africa, the Government of you for the Report. Uganda has, through extensive consultations with Many parties have important roles to play to stakeholders, developed a national decent work achieve this much-needed solution. Governments, programme; and we are now looking at social pro- workers, the business sector and international insti- tection as another avenue in working with the tripar- tutions have to do their bit. We know there is no tite partners. sustainable recovery without job recovery. Two of To conclude, my delegation welcomes the efforts the keys to success are decent work for all and so- of the ILO to strengthen the capacity of the country cial stability. We must focus on building a social and its social partners to address the challenges of protection floor for the most vulnerable. The work globalization and decent work. It furthermore sup- to prepare the right transition to clean energy ports the principle of working together at the re- through green investments and jobs must be a prior-

8/24 ity on everybody‟s agenda. The basic elements the people in Gaza and the violent reaction of the which are necessary include effective social dia- Israeli Government are absolutely wrong and must logue and collective bargaining, based on mutual be condemned. respect between organized workers and employers, Mr MOHAMED (Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and in order to build trust and cooperation in the world Employment, Mauritius) of work, together with the strengthened application of international labour standards. I believe that we The Government of Mauritius, which took office also have to strengthen global dialogue to encour- in 2005, was again sworn in following general elec- age cooperation between countries to find balanced tions last month. These elections were hailed as be- international solutions to common challenges. ing fair and free by all the international observers: Alone, we are never strong. We depend on each this bespeaks a vibrant and mature democracy. other, at a local as well as at a global level. Under its new mandate, the principles of unity, The fight against unemployment is crucial and, in equity and modernity will underpin the pursuits of the Report, it is clear how many countries are run- our Government. ning the risk of maintaining a high unemployment Since I am now on the subject of equity, the Di- rate in the long term. That cannot be allowed to rector-General‟s Report, The situation of workers of happen. In Sweden, nearly 10 per cent of people are the occupied Arab territories shows us a picture that currently unemployed and, among the young, the is more than worrying. unemployment rate is alarming, at nearly 25 per The solidarity of Mauritius with the Palestinian cent. Alongside these negative figures, we have people is unequivocal and unbreakable. We are, more people than ever with no income security therefore, deeply concerned by the military raid on whatsoever, as a result of being kicked out of the the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy in interna- unemployment security system. We now see how tional waters, causing tragic loss of lives and casu- this bad policy has had very negative consequences alties. We strongly condemn this unilateral action and we are convinced that it is not the way forward. by Israel. We look forward to a unified and sover- Instead, we advocate active and effective measures eign Palestinian State taking its rightful place in the to create new jobs, with education and vocational concert of nations where the workers of a Palestin- training being two of the most important policies we ian State will also enjoy unity, equity and moder- want to see in place, together with more resources. nity. We also see more evidence of precarious labour The world of work has had to adjust itself to the market conditions affecting young people, women effects of the financial crises of 2008 and 2009, and and immigrants. We can never accept a society that we are now struck by another crisis in the euro is torn apart or where the same standards do not zone. Mauritius and other export-orientated small apply to all workers. Such a system will never pro- economies are once again innocent victims of a cri- mote decent work or a society with a strong welfare sis not caused by us. We therefore call for immedi- system. ate action to bring changes to the international fi- Social protection systems constitute the first line nancial architecture. of defence when workers are affected by job losses. In this respect, a question must be asked: why is Substantial unemployment benefits, health insur- Africa still only a special guest of the G20 rotating ance, old-age pensions and child benefits all protect chair system? This can only question the representa- workers when they face difficulties. Active labour tiveness and legitimacy of the process. In light of market policies offer a way to create new jobs and the recognition that the crisis has had a dispropor- allow workers to contribute to the economic growth tionate impact on Africa and compounds further its of society once again. In the Director-General‟s Re- development challenges, we call for formal inclu- port, social dialogue is presented as the key to man- sion of Africa at all future G20 Summits. aging the crisis and promoting recovery, and I abso- Mauritius has engaged in a process of wide- lutely agree. In times of financial hardship, social ranging reforms over the past years to strengthen and tripartite dialogue are essential, not least in or- economic resilience. Such resilience provided us der to avoid the risk of workers‟ rights not being with fiscal space to adopt a package of budgetary respected. measures to assist, among others, enterprises in dif- The only and lasting solution to the conflict be- ficulty and to preserve employment. At the same tween Israel and Palestine is the creation of an in- time, necessary changes were made to our labour dependent, democratic and viable Palestinian State, legislation to enhance social protection systems so living in peace and security with Israel. The situa- that they could cushion the loss of income as a re- tion for the people in the occupied Arab territories sult of job loss. continues to be very serious. Figures show a very As the new Minister of Labour, I shall build on small economic improvement in the West Bank, these policy measures with greater focus on saving whilst the situation in Gaza continues to be depress- jobs and protecting workers. ing, as the unemployment rate stands at over 40 per Mauritius welcomes the ILO deliberations on de- cent, the education system is in ruins and the pa- cent work for domestic workers. The Government rameters for economic growth are not in place. The of Mauritius has, since 1983, given legal status to legitimate right of the Palestinian people to state- domestic work by regulating wages and conditions hood and to economic and social development is a of employment. Additionally, our legislation pro- responsibility that belongs to all of us. The Pales- vides for freedom of association, social security, tinians can no longer be denied decent work in con- daily and weekly rest, maternity leave and provi- ditions of freedom, equity, security and human dig- sions against unfair dismissal and workplace vio- nity. lence. The Swedish workers will continue to show sup- Mauritius will also support the ILO Recommen- port and solidarity to the Palestinian workers in dation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. The their very precarious situation. Recent events in- Government of Mauritius has enacted various volving the efforts to provide humanitarian aid to measures, such as the HIV/AIDS Preventive Meas-

8/25 ures Act, and we have also adopted a national mul- The efforts made by our Organization to ensure tisectoral strategic framework for HIV/AIDS 2007– the application of international standards and fun- 11. We are therefore convinced that the ILO Rec- damental rights at work prompt me to ask all the ommendation will guide us in this respect. participants, the ILO and all the international or- With the support of the ILO, we also hope soon to ganizations to make every effort to achieve the finalize a national employment policy (this is a pri- same objectives in Palestine, the Syrian Golan and ority of mine), which will also reflect outcomes of all the occupied Arab territories. debates under the ILO Declaration on Social Justice We call on the international community to lift the for a Fair Globalization. blockade on Gaza in order to guarantee human With respect to child labour, Mauritius has rati- rights in this region; we must do everything possible fied the two ILO core Conventions on child labour. to ensure the creation of a Palestinian State and We have enacted the Child Protection Act, the Om- guarantee all of its rights at the international level. budsperson for Children Act and the Employment AIDS is an increasingly serious problem interna- Rights Act, which prohibits the employment of per- tionally, which requires the industrialized and oil- sons below the age of 16 and is in line with the producing countries to allocate part of their reve- Education Act, which provides for compulsory edu- nues to promote scientific research in order to over- cation up to the age of 16. come this disease, which has claimed so many vic- Instead of being a pretext for inertia, the eco- tims in Africa and elsewhere in the world. nomic downturn challenges us all to re-engineer our We call for an end to the manufacture of weapons, policy and seek innovative approaches that work for in particular weapons of mass destruction and for our people and for sustainable economic recovery in the allocation of these resources instead to research keeping with the principles of broad-based social to combat our real enemy, which is AIDS. dialogue and the Decent Work Country Pro- Original Russian: Mr ALIMUKHAMEDOV (Government, grammes. Let us rise to the challenge, bearing in Uzbekistan) mind the wise words of our Director-General, who In the Director-General‟s Report, Recovery and said that we cannot afford the risk of economic re- growth with decent work, the focus is on job crea- covery without a decent work recovery. We shall, tion: sustainable and balanced growth with strong indeed, compare notes next year. job creation is the only sensible way ahead, a global Original Arabic: Mr DAHLAN (Employer, Saudi Arabia) economic priority, the starting point in securing re- covery and ensuring that it is job-rich. The Report of the Director-General covers a The action taken by the Government of Uzbeki- number of important subjects that deserve our atten- stan in this area is entirely consistent with the strat- tion and careful study, in particular the parts relat- egy and principles of the ILO. Above all, it ensures ing to the social partners and training the labour sustainable economic growth. In Uzbekistan we force in order to achieve strategic objectives such as have succeeded in overcoming the effects of the the right to work and equality of access to employ- global crisis and increasing our GDP growth by 1.5 ment between men and women. The aim is to en- per cent as a result of measures taken by the Asian sure decent work and a decent income for all, to Development Bank and the World Bank, and our create jobs and end poverty, and to ensure social GDP is now expected to register 8 to 9 per cent protection for all. growth - one of the highest indicators in our region. The strategic objective on tripartite social dia- Even before the Global Jobs Pact developed in logue is the most important, in my view, since it 2009 by the member States of the ILO in order to enables all the social partners to participate in the overcome the crisis, the Government of Uzbekistan, decision-making process. already in 2008, adopted a package of crisis recov- The Government of Saudi Arabia has been able to ery measures, including specific job recovery and achieve these objectives as the result of an eco- job growth measures. nomic and financial programme which has enabled We have strengthened our financial and banking us to overcome the repercussions of the global fi- sector, and have allocated a considerable amount of nancial and economic crisis. Our Government has resources to promoting small and micro enterprises, adopted stringent measures to overcome the reper- as well as major investment projects. That is why cussions of the crisis, which has affected many en- Uzbekistan has achieved dynamic growth in job terprises. creation, with growth in 2009 reaching 1.4 times I commend the activities of my Government in re- that registered in 2008. In 2010, in accordance with invigorating the market. It has allocated US$500 the measures adopted by the Government and Par- billion for development projects in order to enable liament, 950,000 new jobs will be created. job-creation schemes to be implemented over the The main job creation measures for 2010 are next five years to overcome the crisis. aimed at the following: The private sector in Saudi Arabia has paid a – first, supporting domestic enterprises producing great deal of attention to improving conditions of for the export market, modernization of key in- work and workers‟ rights, and the rights of domestic dustries and investment, which is planned to cre- workers in particular, especially as the Gulf States ate over 56,000 jobs; employ over 12 million foreign workers, who send – second, development of small and micro enter- some $50 million home in remittances, thus con- prises, as well as farming, which is expected to tributing to financing education programmes and lead to the creation of 600,000 new jobs, or 63 per improving living conditions in their own countries. cent of the total; We hope that, during the discussion of the Com- – third, incentives for home work, mainly in coop- mittee on Domestic Workers, restrictions preventing eration with production enterprises. The develop- the continued employment of such workers in the ment of home work, including traditional handi- Gulf States will not be imposed, as this would force crafts and family businesses, is expected to result us to find different solutions to these problems. in the creation of 208,000 new jobs;

8/26 – fourth, expansion of productive, social and market people, attaches special importance to workers and infrastructure and reviving profitable enterprises, to improving their working conditions. It includes which should lead to the creation of 83,000 jobs. the following measures: increasing the salaries of Thus, the inclusion of Uzbekistan in the Report of public servants and introducing transport and hous- the Director-General among the countries that have ing allowances; and implementing a land purchase achieved a positive GDP growth rate and low un- scheme for workers, as well as loans on easy terms employment amounts to recognition of the fact that to enable them to build housing. the measures taken by the Government to maintain Our country is determined to continue its efforts and increase employment are consistent with the to provide decent conditions to workers despite the ILO‟s strategic objectives. economic challenges and global financial crises. Uzbekistan has also adopted a new law in order to I would like to conclude by thanking the ILO for ratify the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. its constant technical assistance to our country. 138), and the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 Original Spanish: Mr DEL RÍO DOÑÉ (Worker, Dominican (No. 122), and is implementing a national plan of Republic) action in this field. We need to differentiate between child labour, I would like to welcome, with enthusiasm and which is forbidden until the age of 16, and the worst hope, the important Report presented by the Direc- forms of child labour, which is why we severely tor-General, Juan Somavia, which highlights fun- punish any person caught promoting the worst damental aspects of the development of the ILO in forms of child labour. the world as part of an ongoing quest for peace We would like to thank the ILO in general for the through social justice. assistance that it has provided. Our country, ensconced in the Caribbean, is one of many developing countries to have suffered vari- Original Arabic: Ms HAMADY (Minister of the Civil Service and ous problems which have affected the whole world Administrative Reform, Mauritania) as a result of the major global economic crisis. We I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr are undertaking major efforts, involving the whole Juan Somavia and to congratulate him on the excel- of Dominican society and based on dialogue and lent quality of his Report, as well as the Appendix consultation, in order to move closer together and dealing with the difficult working conditions ex- find solutions to the many problems which affect us perienced by the Palestinian workers under occupa- as a society. tion. I would like to say from this rostrum, on behalf It is a source of satisfaction to the Dominican of the Government of my country, that we condemn workers that there has been a drop in cases of the acts perpetrated by the Zionist State against the HIV/AIDS in our country, according to the most peace flotilla. We would also like to express our recent ENDESA survey. This achievement is the unconditional solidarity with our brothers and sis- result of major efforts undertaken by the Presiden- ters in Palestine, and particularly in Gaza. tial Council on AIDS (COPRESIDA) and the Min- We agree with the Director-General that it is nec- istry of Labour, together with the main trade union essary to continue our efforts to achieve a fair glob- organizations (the Workers‟ Trade Union Autono- alization, taking into consideration the need to alle- mous Federation (CASC), the National Council for viate poverty and create decent living conditions for Trade Union Unity (CNUS) and the National Con- workers, particularly in the light of the current cri- federation of Dominican Workers (CNDT)) as well sis. as other organizations involved in promoting I welcome the Global Report, which looks at one HIV/AIDS prevention policies in the workplace. of the main themes of the ILO Declaration on Fun- We have also made significant progress in our damental Principles and Rights at Work, namely fight to eradicate child labour, particularly the worst combating child labour. forms of child labour in various sectors of the econ- Our country has ratified the fundamental ILO omy. Conventions, as manifested in the adoption of the The trade unions continue to fight to achieve a necessary legislation, such as the Labour Code and more open society and the application of the Free- its implementing regulations. dom of Association and Protection of the Right to This year we will be reviewing the collective Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right agreement and continue the revision of the provi- to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, sions of the Labour Code. 1949 (No. 98), as there are still attempts in some In addition, this year our Ministry has focused on sectors to impede freedom of association. capacity building in the labour inspectorate. Ac- We acknowledge that we have managed to set up cordingly, we have recruited 40 new inspectors and important trade union organizations in companies will start construction of premises for the labour which had violated the right to freedom of associa- inspectorate in the main towns to enable it to carry tion and we have managed to conclude important out its functions of supervising compliance with agreements with employers‟ organizations, such as labour legislation and guaranteeing social peace. the agreement signed with BEPENSA in Mexico, or The Government of Mauritania has integrated so- the creation of a trade union at Coca-Cola, affiliated cial dialogue in all its development strategies. In to the CASC, these being examples of trade union this context, our Ministry is currently considering activity in companies which had previously created establishing a national council on collective bar- obstacles to freedom of association. gaining among the social partners to strengthen so- We also acknowledge the positive work under- cial dialogue in our country. taken by the Ministry of Labour, in implementing As regards working conditions, the public authori- the labour law despite the fact that there have been ties are continuing their efforts to implement the cases of labour inspectors not respecting this legis- electoral programme of the President of the Repub- lation. lic, Mr Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. This pro- We urgently need to revise and update the Labour gramme, which won the trust of the Mauritanian Code. The ILO itself has made the relevant recom-

8/27 mendations, which we hope will be implemented programmes that address HIV/AIDS in the work- without harming the workers, given that historic place. With the ILO‟s assistance, countries like advances have been made on the basis of the new Ghana are in the process of drafting HIV/AIDS leg- Labour Code. islation and workplace policies. We are grateful to We continue to promote Act No. 87-01 establish- the ILO and would like to urge it to increase its ing the Dominican social service system, and sig- technical support in these areas in view of the nega- nificant progress has been achieved. tive effects of the pandemic in the workplace. The CASC has managed to achieve a situation Another area of the Report I would like to high- whereby thousands of workers in the informal light concerns advances in gender equality. Consid- economy and their families are now receiving bene- ering that women are generally the breadwinners for fits on the basis of a social security system through households in many developing countries, we are the creation of the Mutual Services Association, happy to note the ILO‟s strategies to create greater AMUSSOL–CASC, which is a historic step for the opportunities for both men and women to secure workers in this sector. We have also set up a life decent employment and incomes, and to ensure sta- insurance scheme for this sector, and the poorest ble working conditions and social security cover- workers now have somewhere to turn in the event age. The Government of Ghana recognizes that of the death of a worker or a family member. gender equality is essential to growth and poverty The workers, particularly those belonging to the reduction, and to achieving the Millennium Devel- CASC and its affiliated organizations, are making opment Goals. In that regard, we believe the inclu- steady progress in their fight to achieve significant sion of gender issues in the ILO‟s system-wide ac- changes for the whole of society, and particularly tion plan for the period 2010–15 to promote em- for unionized urban and agricultural workers, and to ployment and decent work would reinforce the facilitate the organization of the people, aware and ILO‟s four strategic objectives, and would also con- responsible in their fight for a just society, where tribute to supporting the Government of Ghana‟s the core Conventions of the ILO and national legis- efforts to mainstream gender issues and perspec- lation are truly applied, providing full employment, tives into national policies and all development pro- decent work and ensuring that we can all exercise grammes through capacity-building and advocacy. our rights as human beings and children of God. To achieve this, the gender dimensions of devel- We shall continue to show solidarity to the opment have been incorporated into all develop- neighbouring country of Haiti. The CASC and its ment programmes in Ghana. In that connection, affiliated organizations will maintain their commit- with the collaboration with the United Nations De- ment to the Confederation of the Haitian Workers velopment Programme (UNDP) and other United (CTH) and the workers in Haiti. Nations agencies, gender-responsive budgeting is We would like to extend our greetings to the In- being implemented in Ghana. The Government ternational Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and makes sure that gender needs are met through ade- the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas quate resource allocation for the attainment of ef- (TUCA–CSA) and their affiliates, with whom we fective and holistic development. Although many organized a major international summit in the Do- challenges remain, we are confident that the ILO minican Republic on the reconstruction of Haiti, will continue to provide member States with sup- which was a great success. port and advice to strengthen legal and institutional We would also like to greet the Government of frameworks and policies. our country and its President, Dr Leonel Fernández The Report of the Director-General provides de- Reina, and thank him for the solidarity that our tails of cooperation between the ILO and other country demonstrated through its involvement in United Nations organizations, and shows its in- reconstruction efforts throughout the world. creased engagement in the United Nations reform Finally, I would like to call for the release of all process. We welcome the integration of the decent trade union prisoners around the world, particularly work concept into joint United Nations programmes those still imprisoned in the Republic of Cuba and in Africa. We believe that this is necessary to avoid who are fighting for their human rights. We await duplication of resources, to enhance coherence and their liberation so that they can exercise their right coordination, and to enable the continent to benefit to freedom of association in particular. from increased synergies for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Mr MENSAH (Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, We note with gratitude the mobilization of addi- Ghana) tional resources for decent work initiatives in Af- The Report of the Director-General, Recovery and rica. This has made it possible for Ghana to benefit growth with decent work, provides a good overview from the Decent Work Agenda. The initiatives in of the work of the International Labour Office over Ghana include the provision of training workshops the past year, and an account of its performance in for small and medium-sized enterprises. seeking to achieve the targets set. The Report cov- We note with gratitude the efforts and commit- ers the activities undertaken in the areas of, among ment of the ILO to assist member States. We gather others, the promotion and realization of standards; that the Global Jobs Pact is widely supported yet fundamental principles and rights at work; the crea- share the Director-General‟s concerns that the cur- tion of opportunities for women and men to secure rent financial crisis could threaten global recovery. decent employment and incomes; enhancing the We therefore support his call for strong collective coverage and effectiveness of social protection; and action by governments to re-regulate the global fi- strengthening tripartite social dialogue. We note nancial system in order to pave the way for the sta- that in all these areas the cooperation of the ILO‟s ble management of public finances that is necessary tripartite constituents has been crucial. for recovery and growth. We note the work the International Labour Office Finally, the question of workers in the occupied has been doing to provide the tripartite constituents Arab territories continues to be a matter of concern with technical assistance to develop policies and for the international community.

8/28 I would like to conclude my statement by urging the last session of the Conference, the Committee all member States to renew their commitment to the on the Application of Standards presented very in- ILO and its unique tripartite structure. teresting conclusions on the Democratic Republic of Original French: Mr MOBUTU NZANGA (Deputy Prime the Congo. It called on the member States of the Minister, Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Welfare, ILO to help my country put an end to the recruit- Democratic Republic of the Congo) ment of children as soldiers. I would like to transmit to you the message from I would like to reiterate the request of the ILO to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is its member States to provide assistance to the Gov- celebrating its 50th anniversary at the end of this ernment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo month. Within the framework of the priorities of the in order to promote vocational training and the re- Republic, it has undertaken great efforts to improve form of social protection. the socio-economic situation and is resolutely With regard to combating HIV/AIDS in the world committed to strengthening flexibility in the world of work, it should be recalled that the Democratic of work, in particular, through measures taken to Republic of the Congo has established a national improve the business climate to encourage invest- policy to combat HIV/AIDS that is based on a mul- ment. This has already led to greater confidence and tisectoral approach. The Strategic Plan 2010–14 has encouraged growth, which will lead to an increase included the world of work as one of the priority in employment and better redistribution of income. sectors for the national response to contributing to The Government of the Democratic Republic of national growth and reducing poverty. the Congo is overseeing very carefully the effective A number of actions have been undertaken by ac- application of the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental tors in the world of work who have become aware Principles and Rights at Work. of the threat and the damaging consequences of The Government is aiming at substantially reduc- HIV/AIDS on the productivity of enterprises. This ing the rate of unemployment. This is why it has includes, in particular, the creation in 2001 of an encouraged the restructuring of various actors in- inter-enterprise committee on combating AIDS, the volved in public employment sector and in the pri- integration in 2005 of combating HIV/AIDS into vate employment services, in order to establish an the inter-professional national collective labour information system on the labour market. convention, and the organization in October 2009, The year 2010 is the year of social protection in together with the ILO and other partners, of the first the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Matters of national forum on mobilization in the world of work employment and social protection are of such vital against AIDS. importance that the ministry dealing with employ- In order to support this action, on 14 July 2009, a ment has been promoted to the highest possible law was adopted on the protection of the rights of level in Government and is headed by a Deputy persons living with HIV, which makes particular Prime Minister. reference to people at work. In order to do this, the Government has made This national law has enabled us to target key sec- every effort, through various ongoing reforms, to tors in a national response to HIV/AIDS, during the realize its vision of facilitating access to decent establishment of a national strategic plan to combat work by improving the living and labour conditions HIV/AIDS. of people in the working and rural sectors. In September 2009, the Democratic Republic of We consider the ILO Declaration on Social Jus- the Congo chaired a meeting in Malawi aimed at tice for a Fair Globalization as a tool for sustainable setting up an HIV/AIDS forum in the private sector social progress. The examination of its follow-up for member countries of the Southern African De- system during the session will enable our Organiza- velopment Community. tion to have a better understanding of the situation This is why the Democratic Republic of the and the needs of member States. This will allow the Congo welcomes the opportunity of adopting an Organization to respond more effectively, using all international standard on HIV/AIDS in the world of the resources at its disposal, in particular, standard- work during this Conference, and we call for greater setting action, technical cooperation and research. mobilization of resources and closer cooperation The Democratic Republic of the Congo considers with the ILO and other development partners. that the Global Jobs Pact of 2009 is also a very im- I would like to recall that the Government of my portant tool for the recovery of economic activity country is firmly convinced of the power of social and the creation of new employment opportunities. dialogue in seeking solutions to the many questions Within this framework, our country has benefited that are included on the agenda of this session. from the support of the ILO, receiving three multi- The Government of the Democratic Republic of disciplinary missions relating to the process of na- the Congo would like to thank the ILO, develop- tional employment policy formulation and voca- ment partners and friendly countries for the joint tional training, the reform and extension of social efforts that have been made in order to grant assis- protection, and the strengthening of social dialogue tance to my country in the various fields, including and the international labour standards. that of employment. The final adoption of a Convention together with a Recommendation on decent work for domestic Mr TARTAGLIA (Worker, Italy) workers will enable my country to strengthen legis- This Conference is taking place while we are still lative and regulatory measures. in the middle of one of the deepest and worst eco- The Report of the Director-General, Accelerating nomic crises ever. As shown in many ILO reports, action against child labour, amply demonstrates the global imbalances are a major factor behind these interest that our Organization has on this issue. For crises. The unfair distribution of wealth has dis- my country, the final abolition of the worst forms of torted the global economy. The financial crisis, the child labour is of great concern to the Government. result of a long process of the financialization of the Measures have been taken to achieve this. During economy, has further aggravated existing economic

8/29 and social problems in both the developed and the and the other international institutions to effectively developing world. implement the Declaration on Social Justice for a Developing countries have a huge shortage of de- Fair Globalization and the Global Jobs Pact. In a cent jobs, since these are not being generated by new, multi-polar world, the State needs to recover economic growth. This decent work crisis is ac- its rightful position and assume its proper role. It companied by high living costs and the impact of must ensure the establishment of a socially and en- the world food crisis, leading to situations of en- vironmentally responsible new economic system. demic poverty. Public intervention has to be the most important Industrialized countries are not immune, either. In guarantor of social cohesion. Europe, over the last 20 years, wage moderation – It is crucial to set fair rules for world trade, to despite the rise in both inflation and productivity – support national development plans and prevent and fiscal policies based on labour taxation have inequalities from deepening. The priority must be to reduced workers‟ purchasing power. Almost all establish decent jobs and achieve real salaries in countries are facing increasingly insecure employ- line with productivity gains, respecting the right of ment conditions, the casualization of employment workers to form free trade unions and negotiate col- relationships and the deregulation of the labour lectively on the redistribution of profits. markets. Speculation on the financial markets has Regulation of financial markets is urgently re- provided much better opportunities for short-term quired, establishing an international financial trans- profit, instead of providing loans to companies will- actions tax, as called for by the trade union move- ing to innovate, conquer new markets or create de- ment and an increasing number of governments. cent jobs. Huge imbalances have developed be- The new economic system needs to generate green tween the financial sector and the real economy, growth. As well as the ensuring of our planet‟s sur- between rich and poor countries, between overpaid vival, environmental protection provides huge op- managers and underpaid workers. Inequalities be- portunities for job creation. Public investment in tween men and women have remained substantial. infrastructure, public transport and renewable ener- The crisis also has an environmental dimension. gies is needed. Our planet‟s resources will not cope with the con- sumption model of the industrialized countries. Mi- We hope that the coherence of all its constituents grant workers, especially women, are the first vic- can make the ILO a key player in the strategy to tims of the crisis, suffering new and increasing dis- overcome this global crisis, affirming peace, equal- crimination. Illegal status is often forced upon them ity, workers‟ rights and decent work, and moving by repressive – if not xenophobic – laws, and they towards a fair globalization. remain far from achieving equal treatment, even in Original French: Ms DIALLO (Minister of State for the Civil the few cases in which the laws do not discriminate Service, Administrative Reform, Labour and Employment, against them. Guinea) The crisis is proof of the unsustainable nature of At this difficult but exciting time, my country the neo-liberal policies adopted in the last three truly appreciates the unconditional support provided decades, which have promoted the deregulation and to Guinea by the Director-General of the ILO and liberalization of markets and the privatization of the multidisciplinary team. The people of Guinea public services. and all those involved in the transition recognize his Many governments have taken extraordinary constant commitment to their just cause, and convey measures to address the crisis, focusing overall on their greetings and heartfelt thanks. helping to stabilize the financial markets. However, even if some steps forward have been taken, we are Guinea would also like to warmly thank all of the very far from taking the necessary common deci- ILO‟s tripartite constituents for their unfaltering sions on the regulation of the financial sector and support after the painful events that we have experi- from achieving the essential goal of putting an end enced in recent years. Your determination at this to speculation and focusing on the real economy. difficult time for our people has been an uplifting The speculative attack against Greece and, more presence which has enabled us to overcome the ob- generally, against the euro, shows that the financial stacles ahead, and to resolutely embark on a process institutions bailed out by taxpayers are once again of much-desired change. on the road to exploiting the real economy and ac- Today, we are moving irreversibly towards elec- cumulating huge earnings on the backs of the ma- tions, which we intend to be free, democratic, jority of people. The European Union itself, instead credible and transparent, to be held on 27 June of acting as a positive example of development, 2010. with a focus on rights and welfare, is failing to pro- Permit me at this moment, which is intensely vide a sufficient impetus for the best part of its so- emotional and painful for me, to honour the memo- cial and labour policies. It is not enough to inject ries of the illustrious freedom fighters who have, money into the economy. We need to change its through their lifelong sacrifice, enabled us to take principles to make sure that the economy generates the path of change in Guinea. For the first time in social justice, development for all, equity, stability this forum, we mourn our absent comrades Dr Ibra- and long-term prosperity. The ILO recommendation hima Fofana, Hadja Magbé Bangoura, and the on the need to extend unemployment benefits and young journalists Aboubacar Camara and Lamba additional training opportunities to all –particularly Mansare. They will remain forever in our hearts and to vulnerable workers – and to put in place emer- memories. They will always remain symbols of the gency employment schemes, has not been imple- fight for social justice and democracy in Guinea and mented by the majority of governments. in Africa. All of Guinea thanks you for all your ex- The Decent Work Agenda has to be placed at the pressions of sympathy and compassion, and it takes core of the new system of global economic govern- this opportunity to honour the memories of all of ance, which still needs to be built. The ILO has a our fallen comrades, on our continent and else- vital role to play here, calling upon governments where.

8/30 My country welcomes the efforts of the Director- the 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a General of the ILO and his staff in the field to help Fair Globalization. This affords an opportunity not Guinea to adopt the Decent Work Country Pro- only to exchange relevant experiences, but also to gramme. The implementation of the Programme review, refine and intensify international and na- will be a determining factor for consolidating social tional strategies to achieve employment-rich peace, which has been sorely tested in recent years growth. in Guinea. On his inauguration for a second term of office on You may know that as early as the thirteenth cen- 21 March this year, our President instructed the new tury, through the Charter of Kurukan Fuga, Africans Cabinet to “hit the ground running” in order to in- sought to regulate society using 44 articles of law to tensify government efforts to alleviate poverty and set out a new legislative and institutional basis for a unemployment. A multisectoral task force of minis- society undermined by wars and dissent, in order to ters, led by the Prime Minister, is now hard at work restore justice and peace. to achieve maximum job creation in the short term The fight against HIV/AIDS at the workplace is a and to ensure that coordinated national economic fundamental issue, and my country commends the and social development priorities centre on em- commitment of our Organization to develop a stan- ployment creation. My Ministry has finalized two dard which takes account of all the concerns in- key bills that will support national employment volved in the fight against AIDS. The issue of cor- creation efforts. porate social responsibility is an avenue that we are The first one is the Employment Services Bill, exploring with many enterprises which feel increas- which will provide for the establishment of a na- ingly involved in the AIDS at the workplace pro- tional employment service and integrated employ- ject. ment information, which will match employers and The issue of decent work for domestic workers, jobseekers and also monitor labour market skills who often work in the informal sector, is extremely needs. relevant for our countries. The second one is the Employment Creation As regards the general discussion on the strategic Commission Bill, which will establish a tripartite objective of employment, my delegation welcomes commission to coordinate and optimize Namibia‟s the excellent initiative by the Director-General of employment creation strategies. the ILO to hold a high-level panel on this important It is common knowledge that southern Africa re- issue, and unreservedly supports his Report. mains the region most affected by HIV/AIDS and, As regards the informal economy and the promo- at present, Namibia has an overall HIV/AIDS tion of employment, particularly of young people prevalence rate of 17.9 per cent. We observe that, and women, this has largely been taken account of despite massive efforts to combat HIV and AIDS, in the policy pursued by the transition Government. many countries, including our own, do not ade- The Minister responsible for youth employment, the quately prioritize strategies for prevention, treat- informal sector and microfinance was present at the ment and support of men and women workers at opening of this 99th Session and thanks you for the their places of formal or informal employment. I support she received. would, therefore, like to assure the Conference that In conclusion, my Government would like to reaf- the Government of Namibia will support the adop- firm Guinea‟s willingness to continue to implement tion of an autonomous recommendation on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and HIV/AIDS and the world of work, when it comes Rights at Work, our country having ratified nearly before the plenary at the end of next week. all the instruments mentioned in the Declaration. Domestic workers constitute approximately 10 Pressing challenges ahead include the urgent need per cent of our national workforce and are among for a policy for social protection for civil servants Namibia‟s lowest paid and most vulnerable and and state employees, the fight against child labour, marginalized workers. This session‟s first discus- and fast-track vocational training for urban and ru- sion on decent work for domestic workers comes at ral youth, young volunteers in the border areas and a time when the Namibian Government has decided street children. These are our priorities in the defini- to establish a wages commission to investigate tion of a comprehensive social protection policy terms and conditions of employment of domestic which covers the whole population. workers and to make recommendations to the rele- I would like to stress the importance and positive vant minister regarding the possible setting of impact for Guinea of the ILO‟s contribution through minimum wages and conditions of employment for its programme for the promotion of social dialogue domestic workers. Namibia has learned much dur- in Africa, especially in the world of work, particu- ing this Conference from the experience of other larly in the mining areas of Guinea. member States. We look forward to the adoption of My country would like to pay a well deserved a ground-breaking Convention and Recommenda- tribute to our Organization, and to the Director- tion on decent work for domestic workers at the General of the ILO. conclusion of the two-year process. The Global Report under the follow-up to the ILO Mr NGATJIZEKO (Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights Namibia) at Work, Accelerating action against child labour, This 99th Session of the Conference is particu- sends an urgent message to all member States. larly significant to Namibia because the topics un- I therefore would like to express our Govern- der discussion address the issues that we have iden- ment‟s sincere appreciation for the support Namibia tified as burning priorities for action in our country. has received under the International Programme on Namibia, like many other countries in Africa, is the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), and I plagued by an intolerably high rate of unemploy- would like to reaffirm the commitment of the Re- ment, particularly among our youth. We are there- public of Namibia to meeting the target of eliminat- fore encouraged that the ILO has chosen the topic ing child labour, particularly its worst forms, by of employment for the first discussion to follow up 2016.

8/31 Before I close, I want to address an issue of ILO will, without doubt, be a big step forward in the governance that impacts on the effectiveness of the promotion of decent work for those workers. ILO in meeting its constituents‟ needs and high- The openness of social partners in Mozambique to lights an inequity in the ILO and among member dialogue within the framework of the Consultative States. I refer to the imbalance in the composition of Committee on Labour, as well as the creation of the Governing Body. provincial tripartite forums and independent struc- The United Nations has recognized the need for tures for arbitration and reconciliation in labour dis- reform to effect a more equitable geographical rep- putes, have helped bring stability to labour rela- resentation within its governing structures, and I tions. believe that the ILO should be at the forefront, to We still have significant challenges to face in or- remain a representative, transparent and accountable der to make decent work a reality and to overcome United Nations agency, especially within the spirit the difficulties stemming from a competition and of social justice and equity, which the ILO itself so profits-based market economy that rarely devotes strongly promotes. In my opinion, and that of other enough attention to social and human aspects. African member States, the 1986 Instrument of We are well aware, as a trade union movement, of amendment to the ILO Constitution is the appropri- our weaknesses in terms of both knowledge and ate vehicle to achieve reform. The envisaged reform intervention. In that regard, the trade union move- would not only benefit Africa, but would also as- ment in Mozambique is striving to build its sure parity in ILO governance between and among strength, to be more present and active in the strug- all regions. It would also eliminate non-elective gle to defend workers. seats that ensure that developed countries have a It is important here to underline the usefulness of superior voice in Government Body decision- the ILO‟s technical assistance for training trade un- making and in constitutional amendments. ionists to participate effectively in collective bar- During the 2009 session of the International La- gaining, and in the launching of employment initia- bour Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement, at a tives to make equal rights at work a reality for special meeting, reaffirmed its support for the ratifi- women and men, as well as to ensure the develop- cation of the 1986 Instrument of amendment. In ment of social dialogue. October 2009, the African Union meeting of Minis- The Mozambique trade union movement urges the ters of Labour reaffirmed the need to promote the ILO to work with us and to help us, within the adoption of the 1986 instrument. The Governing framework of its action in our country, to devise Body has now decided to relaunch the campaign for and implement concrete programmes for the promo- ratification. tion of decent work. I therefore appeal to member States that have not We also stress the relevance of the fight against yet ratified the 1986 instrument of amendment, in- HIV/AIDS both in the workplace and in the wider cluding those countries occupying the non-elective community. HIV/AIDS is literally a plague on the seats in the Governing Body, to ratify the instru- whole world, particularly the developing countries ment in order to democratize the Governing Body including Mozambique. AIDS is a genuine threat and to align ILO governance with the values that that has already had a negative impact on weaker the Organization so actively promotes in its external economies and has exacerbated poverty. The ILO‟s programmatic work. approach to the pandemic shows clearly that all so- Original Portuguese: Mr MAZOIO (Worker, Mozambique) cial partners throughout the world must now, more than ever, take serious steps to tackle this problem. The Report of the Director-General, Recovery and We, the trade unionists of Mozambique, are aware growth with decent work, clearly outlines the activi- of this responsibility. We are unflinching in our ef- ties carried out within the overall context of the forts to introduce education programmes to try to ILO‟s objectives. It also gives a clear view of the limit the number of new infections and to combat challenges that the world must address in order to discrimination against, and the stigmatization of, promote fairer labour relations based on balanced, people living with HIV/AIDS. We are also aware of free, democratic and equitable social dialogue. the fact that only the coordinated action of all social The Report analyses clearly the pillars of decent partners at every level, both nationally and interna- work based on the development of secure and last- tionally, can bring us success in the face of what is ing employment where the fundamental rights of now known as the disease of the century. workers are respected, and where fair wage policies, We congratulate the Director-General on his Re- better working conditions, social protection and the port and hope that it is approved and turned into a freedom to exercise trade union rights are the norm. tool for setting the course and carrying out the The Mozambique trade union movement has as- work. We wish the ILO every success in its action sumed the responsibility of laying the foundations to promote fairer labour relations. for decent work by strengthening its structures in the workplace and creating new structures in newly Original Farsi: Mr YARAHMADIAN (Worker, Islamic Republic of established enterprises, while striving to secure Iran) space for collective bargaining with a view to estab- The Conference provides an occasion for coopera- lishing mechanisms for regulating collective labour tion and brainstorming among global workers, em- relations. ployers and governments, with a view to respecting The approach we have adopted with regard to de- and protecting common ideals, as well as tripartism cent work for domestic workers reflects the Organi- and social justice. zation‟s commitment to developing fairer labour Despite efforts by the ILO and the workers around relations for all workers. In our country, the trade the world to achieve responsible and fair globaliza- union movement is strongly committed to the un- tion through which employment and social respon- ionization of domestic workers in order to promote sibilities could be promoted, we are witnessing re- and defend their legitimate interests. The planned current global economic and financial crises as a adoption of international standards for this sector major impediment in that direction, which, in turn,

8/32 makes it extremely difficult for the workers to carry the question as to how they would like to draw up out their proper social responsibilities. The inertness their respective justice-loving policies and plans of the international financial institutions with re- against “Zionist apartheid” and the plight of a na- spect to carrying out the necessary reforms in their tion‟s annihilation. basic strategies has led to untenable situations, par- I hope we can stand tall in response to this historic ticularly in developing countries. question of the Palestinian children. I salute the thin Oligopolistic tendencies in access to know-how hands of the Palestinian children; long live honesty, and technology, inequalities in market shares and peace, security and justice. the inability of developing countries to repay their Original French: Mr AGUIAR KINT (Minister of Labour and debts have given rise to a cycle of informal markets Public Services, Benin) and lawlessness in international financial relations. Thus, it would be illogical to expect the workers‟ I will be focusing in my statement on the matter communities around the world to maintain their dy- that is of so much concern to us, and has been for namism and livelihoods under such volatile condi- the last few decades: HIV/AIDS. tions in which their respective social partners evade The incidence of HIV/AIDS in Benin has in- their responsibilities. creased from 0.36 per cent about 20 years ago, to a Child labour looms as an outgrowth of poverty level of about 2 per cent since 2007. This means and unsound national and international economic that although we have a low level of HIV in the planning. The plight of nearly 800 million workers country, it is still nevertheless a real public health living in poverty in the twenty-first century raises problem and therefore something that is holding up serious questions. To this we can add 250 million development. In fact, 84 per cent of those who are children working under the most deplorable circum- HIV positive or have AIDS fall within the age range stances. of 15–49 years, that is to say, the working popula- Child labour is a stigma on the face of human tion. civilization. The community of workers of the Is- Given the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS since lamic Republic of Iran supports the ILO‟s goals, the epidemic was first declared, Benin has taken the recommendations and strategies and therefore calls bull by the horns, by setting up HIV monitoring upon governments to live up to their respective ob- centres and adopting a national strategic framework ligations, particularly in supporting fundamental to combat HIV/AIDS. labour rights while engaging in partnership with The negative impact of this epidemic on the world workers‟ representatives. On the other hand, we of work and on socio-economic development have believe that strengthening workers‟ associations in prompted the authorities and the social partners to the informal economy could limit exploitation and make major efforts to limit the damage to sustain- new forms of slavery. able development and the adverse effects with re- In spite of the recommendations of the 2006 ses- gard to the attainment of Millennium Development sion of the Conference regarding promotion of vo- Goals. cational training as a measure to prevent child la- A number of measures were undertaken even be- bour, unfortunately the track records of govern- fore the adoption of the ILO code of practice on ments in this respect seem extremely poor. In order HIV/AIDS and the world of work in 2001. I would to level the playing field for mobilization and par- like to mention some of those measures. ticipation of workers‟ communities to combat child Given the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS infection, a labour, I propose the involvement of tripartite national programme was set up to combat AIDS, mechanisms in drawing up vocational training pro- and the safety and health authorities organized a grammes and in reorienting the ILO‟s technical co- survey on the incidence of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis operation towards more concrete objectives. B in a number of economic sectors. Although cer- The workers can be assured of the outcomes of tain procedures were not properly respected, in par- the relevant efforts only when they themselves be- ticular in relation to the issue of prior consent, and come directly involved in the formulation of global the results of the survey could therefore not be pub- strategies alongside their social partners. Moreover, lished, the trends revealed by the survey led to decision-making approaches and reforms in global awareness-raising activities with regard to a number structures should be based on the realization of uni- of enterprises. versal justice rather than on the vested interests of a In addition, focal points for combating HIV/AIDS few capitalistic circles under the pretext of global- were set up in all the relevant ministries and other ization. institutions, the principal partner in terms of funding The elimination of discrimination, the realization being the Multisectoral Programme for Combating of peace and improvements in socio-economic indi- AIDS. Following the suspension of the Programme, cators based on social justice, as well as employ- activities aimed at workers in ministries and certain ment-based growth, are constituent parts of the public enterprises experienced some difficulty. ILO‟s work. Thousands of Muslim and Christian The second main focus of the national strategic Palestinian workers live under the deplorable condi- plan was intended to make good the inadequacies of tions caused by the racist policies of the Zionist re- the first, and made the campaign against sexually gime and struggle to defend their most basic human transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS in the rights. workplace one of its seven principal objectives (Ob- Today, the anxious eyes of the Palestinian chil- jective No. 3: STDs and HIV/AIDS in the work- dren and their empty hands are pointed towards you place). This led to a 25 per cent reduction in the and all the justice-loving movements of the workers impact of STDs and HIV/AIDS in the workplace. around the world, as well as the ILO. In addition, the ILO AIDS project over the period None of the internationally adopted norms, stan- 2003–07, with funding from the US Department of dards and obligations are heeded or respected by the Labor, achieved some significant results. For exam- Zionist regime within the occupied territories. The ple, we trained labour inspectors and a number of ILO and the workers‟ movements of the world face Benin employers. A tripartite national declaration to

8/33 counter HIV/AIDS in the workplace was signed, ment in the recent period. The trading sector also and support measures provided for a number of plays an essential role in the Myanmar economy companies to help them with their response to since the adoption of a market-oriented system. Af- HIV/AIDS. ter the imposition of economic sanctions, all the The third element was the adoption by the Na- various trade-related sectors have been affected and tional Assembly and the enactment in April 2006 of have declined in general, and the garment, wood- a law concerning HIV/AIDS prevention, care and based, fishery, tourism and hotel industries and for- monitoring in the Republic of Benin. eign direct investment (FDI) inflow have suffered in The Ministry of Labour and the civil service have particular. A number of export-oriented industries made major efforts to reduce the incidence of were closed and thousands of employees became HIV/AIDS in the workplace. jobless owing to the imposition of sanctions. More Given the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS, vari- importantly, employment-oriented FDI of manufac- ous other steps are also planned for tackling turing sectors is extremely scarce owing to sanc- HIV/AIDS in the workplace. These include addi- tions. Consequently, this has a huge negative impact tional training programmes, both for workers and on the labour force currently working as well as on for staff of institutions. the potential labour force. This seriously harms in- A crucial means of reducing HIV/AIDS in the nocent ordinary people at the grass-roots level. workplace is to disseminate the framework docu- For the benefit of our people who have faced con- ment for combating STDs and HIV/AIDS and to siderable difficulties, I would like to conclude with continue with efforts to train labour inspectors. We a request, through you, to lift the prevailing sanc- must keep up our resolute campaign to combat the tions imposed upon Myanmar. We also assure you epidemic. Benin is in favour of defining interna- that UMFCCI will cooperate with the ILO and other tional standards in the form of a Convention in the relevant international organizations in combating context of the discussion that has been in progress forced labour and trafficking issues in Myanmar. since last year. We hope that this leads to concrete results. (Mr de Robien takes the Chair.) Mr AUNG (Employer, Myanmar) Ms IBRAHIM (Government, Maldives) First of all, allow me to briefly introduce our or- ganization, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Before I focus my attention on the two major is- Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). It sues that have been included in the agenda of this is the leading national apex non-governmental or- session, namely, decent work for domestic workers ganization. Under the umbrella of UMFCCI there and HIV/AIDS and the world of work, let me pre- are 58 affiliated associations. Its membership num- sent an overview of the employment situation in the bers about 19,700, including individuals, local and Maldives. foreign companies and cooperatives. The Government of the Maldives has on several The UMFCCI is playing a vital role as a bridge occasions re-emphasized its strong commitment to between the State and the private sector. Thus, promoting and supporting the ILO‟s vision of pro- UMFCCI takes the main responsibility for develop- moting the Decent Work Agenda, both in law and in ing the private sector, on the one hand, and, on the practice. It was a priority of the present Govern- other, for organizing the business sector to partici- ment, led by His Excellency President Mohamed pate in national economic development according to Nasheed, a champion of democracy and human the State‟s policy. In addition, UMFCCI is always rights, to become a full member of the ILO and this endeavouring to safeguard the business interests of vision was realized less than a year after he as- the private sector and helps find ways and means to sumed office. develop this sector and lead it into the era of global- The Maldives has not yet ratified any of the ILO ization. Conventions; the steps taken to incorporate the UMFCCI always takes a keen interest in workers‟ eight core Conventions into domestic law are ongo- affairs. We are aware of a number of complaints on ing. A tripartite workshop was held in Malé, the forced labour issues in Myanmar. Consequently, capital, on the implementation of the eight core one of the ILO reports highlights the principle of Conventions. At the end of the workshop, the inter- business leaders combating forced labour and traf- national labour standards expert observed that there ficking. In fact, forced labour does not exist in our are no legal obstacles to the Maldives ratifying the private sector‟s business societies and the employee core Conventions. During the seminar, the Honour- is working under the agreed employment contract in able Minister Hassan Latheef reiterated the Gov- various fields of business. ernment‟s commitment to ratifying the Conventions With their strong religious and cultural back- as soon as possible. ground, most employers treat their workers with The employment population in the Maldives is es- compassion and hospitality. Rather than just treat- timated to be around 120,000 locals. Unemploy- ing them as paid servants, they extend help in vari- ment and underemployment are prominent among ous ways to support their families‟ social, health young people and women. When gender differen- and educational needs. It must be said that the em- tials are considered, the female unemployment rate ployer–employee relationship is generally harmoni- is considerably higher, at 24 per cent, than male ous. unemployment, which stands at 8 per cent. This UMFCCI, as a leading organization of the private lower level of female participation in the workforce sector, assumes responsibility for combating forced is partly due to the lack of suitable employment op- labour. We are actively cooperating with the Minis- portunities, coupled with taboos related to working try of Labour to solve every aspect of forced labour. away from home. Each year, a large number of Under the market-oriented economic system, the high-school leavers remain unemployed and under- private sector contributes more than 90 per cent of employed. This is either by choice, due to prefer- GDP, as well as the largest proportion of employ- ence for white-collar work, or for various other rea-

8/34 sons, such as mismatch of skills and experience to as a sign of our commitment to our global friends the type of work available. and economic partners who were hard hit by the The Maldives economy is heavily dependent on crisis. its foreign labour force. More than one third of its Indeed, we did that comprehensively in Port Vila, entire labour force are migrant workers. Currently, Vanuatu, in February 2010, where our political the Maldives has a migrant workforce of about voice reflected our collective will through the Port 100,000, while its population is slightly above Vila Statement, wherein we considered the global 320,000. There are a large number of domestic mi- financial crisis as a threat to our small and vulner- grant workers in the Maldives. They come mainly able economies. from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and other We did not intend to do that outside the scope of neighbouring countries. the Decent Work Agenda, hence we agreed on the The Constitution of the Maldives grants the right Pacific Action Plan on Decent Work, a way of to work, to organize trade unions and to strike, and strengthening our country-specific Decent Work prohibits forced labour and discrimination. The Country Programme, thus reaffirming the Director- Employment Act mandates employment agree- General‟s calls to address the crisis through decent, ments, prescribes a 48-hour working week and pro- productive and smart work. vides for annual and other leave comparable to in- Our Decent Work Country Programme empha- ternational standards. sizes the importance of correlated and effective la- Maldivian employment law covers all workers bour laws that provide protective opportunities for employed in the country. The law provides for and both the employers and the workers to flourish guarantees the statutory minimum rights of all through decent work and growth. That was why we workers, including migrant workers. However, an- indicated to the ILO that we want to improve our ecdotal evidence suggests that, when it comes to labour laws, give prominence to employment, skills domestic workers, the level of compliance with the training and human resource development and also law and regulations is low. To remedy this situation, allow tripartism to flourish, as these are our best the Labour Relations Authority, mandated with the means to address the global crisis, should it filter responsibility of maintaining and regulating labour into our economy. standards, has been strengthened and reinforced. In order to show its commitment to the ILO‟s ef- Further plans are under way to develop pro- forts, my Government, through the National Eco- grammes that focus on employers and domestic nomic Council, adopted the Decent Work Policy workers and that aim to create awareness about two weeks ago, as a policy to usher in the tripartite- minimum statutory rights. endorsed Decent Work Country Programme, and to The number of recorded cases of HIV is very low allow it to find its place on the country‟s long-term in the Maldives. Employment law is silent on the development agenda. rights of workers who are HIV positive. Again, we have opted to be proactive, by enabling Before conclusion, on behalf of our delegation, all the multinational players in the economic devel- our prayers and unfettered solidarity and thoughts opment processes of our country, especially in the are for the brothers and sisters in Palestine and other infrastructure, exploration and exportation of na- oppressed communities in the world. I hope that this tional commodities, to take notice of the effects of session of the ILC and the deliberations in it will the global crisis and comply with national policy highlight the potential for action in the important strategies to improve and increase national em- areas we have chosen for debate and bring fresh ployment. insights into the complex issues and problems for The financial benefits of the economic boom ex- the ultimate betterment of all mankind. perienced since 2002 are being gradually translated Mr MAIPAKAI (Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations, into an improved social and physical infrastructure, Papua New Guinea) with the prospect of facilitating more employment I am honoured by this opportunity to present my opportunities in the national economy. Papua New country‟s response to the Report of the Director- Guinea views this as a positive development amidst General on recovery efforts relating to the global the global financial crisis, as foreign investment jobs crisis and the Global Report, Accelerating ac- continues to filter into our economy. tion against child labour. Although it has an economy that is now robust My Government and the citizens of Papua New and globally recognized, Papua New Guinea is also Guinea have once again expressed their support for going through a lot of changes. These changes, al- these reports, a message I am happy to convey to though they reflect progressive development, do the ILO at this Conference. pose potential challenges to the basic and funda- Once again, the Director-General and the Govern- mental rights of citizens. It is therefore incumbent ing Body of the ILO have proved their efficiency on us, as the current Government, to strike a bal- and competence in presenting Reports that are a real ance between economic prosperity and human dig- inspiration and reflect the reality in the world of nity. work with regard to efforts to achieve decent work In supporting the Director-General‟s eloquent throughout the world, which no doubt challenge our emphasis on accelerated action against child labour capacities to take positive action. in his Global Report, my Government fully supports A year ago, the ILO took custody of recovery the Report. Papua New Guinea is now going mechanisms, when the world was hard hit by the through the process of accepting the fact that child economic and financial crisis, through the Global labour is indeed a growing problem in our country. Jobs Pact. We expressed our support at that time, We now face the reality of the situation and we basically as a precautionary measure, due to the are addressing these problems using a cross-sectoral relative economic stability and financial growth we approach. The Government‟s policy and legislation were experiencing. Subregionally, we in the Pacific interventions, such as the recent reviews of the rele- have had to reinforce these precautionary measures, vant laws, and the recently enacted Lukautim Pikin-

8/35 ini Act, indicate our level of commitment to protect- Issues of recovery and growth are high on my ing the basic and fundamental rights of our children. Government‟s agenda. The Zimbabwe economy, My Government‟s ratification of the Minimum which is in a state of transition, has already re- Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Worst corded considerable growth that is poised to provide Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. the basis for lasting socio-economic progress. It is 182), and their application in our country, as well as precisely in this context that my Government identi- the application of ILO–IPEC programmes, in part- fies itself with the thrust of this Report. nership with the European Community, are further In my country, the Government and the social indications of our national Government‟s commit- partners successfully negotiated a national employ- ment to protecting our children. ment policy framework that will consolidate the My Government is planning ahead, through the restoration of socio-economic stability and provide formulation of Vision 2050, which will be imple- sustainable means for rapid growth. I am delighted mented over the next 40 years. Thus, the Confer- to inform the Conference that this policy framework ence should note that our Vision 2050 largely bases on employment was adopted by the Cabinet on 1 its aspiration on the concept of the ILO‟s Decent June 2010. Work Agenda. The Director-General‟s Report and the conclu- As a country, we look to the ILO for leadership, sions of the recurrent discussion on employment and we also offer our full commitment to ensuring and those of the General Survey concerning em- that the ILO‟s objectives and agendas are imple- ployment instruments in light of the 2008 Declara- mented. This is our commitment as we deliberate on tion on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization from various issues over the two weeks of this Confer- the Committee on the Application of Standards, will ence. provide my Government and social partners with With these remarks, we wish you all good luck in the necessary guidelines needed in the implementa- the deliberations and discussions that will achieve tion of my Government‟s workplan. outcomes which will benefit people the world over. As we move on to implement the national em- ployment policy, we will seek to strengthen the re- Ms MPARIWA (Minister of Labour and Social Services, covery of industries through supporting sectoral and Zimbabwe) macroeconomic policies that are employment cen- The Government of Zimbabwe welcomes the Re- tred. port of the Director-General as it provides us with a My Government takes guidance from the Report‟s platform to reflect on what the Organization has position on public works programmes, with exam- achieved in these difficult times, and to collectively ples of rural employment, as well as its emphasis on come up with a vision to guide us on the way for- support to small and medium-sized enterprises ward. (SMEs). These are important job creators. For de- The Report draws our attention to a number of veloping economies, the rural economy and SMEs measures adopted by different countries in address- provide the most viable entry points for better em- ing the global economic crisis. The idea of sustain- ployment growth and strategies. ability being the sufficiency criteria characteristics While it may be true that the global economy is of the interventions is well articulated in the Report. recovering, presupposing that pre-crisis economic The fiscal measures that have seen some countries levels are perhaps within reach, for developing achieve some successes against the crisis are com- countries like my own, the challenge for growth has mendable. However, these measures are unlikely to been ever present, before and throughout the crisis achieve the desired sustainability without them be- period, hence the focus on the areas where we be- ing premised in employment-centred macroeco- lieve we can make a difference. nomic policies. My Government looks forward to closer collabo- In this respect, financial stimulus packages do not ration with its social partners, the Office and other provide a basis for a permanent solution. Over- multilateral agencies in the implementation of the reliance on these measures does spell disaster, national employment policy, in particular the turn- sooner rather than later. My Government appreci- around of the economy in general. ates that the fragility of the recovery process as cur- rently configured is noted in the Report. Original Arabic: Mr SAED (Worker, Palestine) What is needed now more than ever is an em- The situation facing our workers and the Palestin- ployment-oriented agenda for recovery and growth. ian people as a whole stems from the occupation of It is of the essence that, as we focus on sustainabil- our land by Israel and its war machine. We have ity, we need to exercise caution to avoid conditions been subjected to all manner of arbitrary measures. for a follow-on global crisis of even greater propor- There are 615 military checkpoints throughout the tions. An employment-centred recovery path is territory, for example, disrupting the free movement what is desired and this is ably captured in the Re- of people and goods, undermining the economy and port. It is true that social stability cannot be making every aspect of life ever harder. As for the achieved in a jobless environment. Employment is racist Separation Barrier, it has deprived us of 20 at the heart of the recovery processes. per cent of our territory, dividing families and vil- I wish to further commend the Report for its ar- lages and keeping children from their schools, ticulation of the need for job-rich growth that is farmers from their land and patients from their hos- quality oriented. Indeed, we must always be careful pitals. Unemployment has risen to 15 per cent as a to remember that our overall target is decent work. result, leading to a similar increase in poverty. Not Our overall targets are based on the desire for both only is the continuing policy of land-grabbing and economic and social progress. Durable recovery and settlement an obstacle to any peace negotiations, but sustainable growth will only be realized through a it also encourages the settlers, protected by the Is- balanced approach that mainstreams the four strate- raeli army, to commit crimes against Palestinians. gic objectives of the ILO. The consequences of the blockade on the Gaza Strip

8/36 have been disastrous for our people and our work- size and short-term nature of such mega events, ers. which generate huge profits, is an economic phe- This policy on the part of the Israeli Government nomenon that cannot be left unchecked and unregu- has resulted in more than 1.5 million Palestinian lated. people being confined to an open-air prison for over BWI wishes to record that FIFA has undermined ten years. Protest demonstrations have been organ- the most elementary principles of the ILO notion of ized against the crimes perpetrated during the occu- decent work, and FIFA must be shown the yellow pation of the Gaza Strip, most recently against the card. peace flotilla representing the international support The struggle for decent work continues. In the for the lifting of the blockade. Instead of going into 2014 World Cup in Brazil, if FIFA fails to take se- the details of the crimes committed by the Israeli rious steps to improve conditions for the workers forces against those on board the boats, allow me, and promote ILO labour standards in procurement on behalf of the Palestinian workers, to present my policies, we will show them the red card. most sincere condolences to the people of Turkey Finally we suggest that the ILO should investigate and other countries for the flotilla‟s fallen martyrs. and develop clear proposals on how to develop the We furthermore request that the decision of the Decent Work Agenda, specifically in relation to United Nations Commission on Human Rights fol- mega-sporting events such as the World Cup. low its course, and that an international inquiry be I would like to mention briefly a few more issues. conducted in the occupied Palestinian territory. In Cambodia, construction workers have been wait- Al-Quds, the city of peace and religion, is our ing since 2005 for a resolution to three complaints capital. For more than a decade, however, the lodged with the Government. In the Republic of blockade by the Israeli authorities has deprived it of Korea, the Government has recently declared that all but one colour: that of the occupation. ready-made cement and dump truck drivers are not In spite of all these challenges, we have decided eligible to join trade unions. In Panama, the Gov- to continue the national struggle in every shape and ernment systematically violates trade union rights. form against the destruction of our national econ- omy, the Separation Barrier and the settlements; and BWI needs to file complaints with the Committee to strive to achieve our main goal, namely the build- on Freedom of Association. Unfortunately, this is ing of our own independent State. not moving owing to the lack of response from the governments concerned. For this, BWI is showing Finally, I would like to thank the members of the the Governments of Cambodia, Republic of Korea high-level mission for their faithful account of the and Panama the yellow card, for violating the prin- realities of everyday life for Palestinian people. ciples of freedom of association. Justice delayed is Mr YUSON (Representative, Building and Wood Workers’ justice denied. International) Original Arabic: Mr AL-AJMI (Worker, Kuwait) Tomorrow, the 2010 FIFA World Cup will start in South Africa. Before the games begin, Building and Kuwait has made great strides in applying interna- Wood Workers‟ International (BWI) would like to tional labour Conventions and achieving social jus- draw the attention of the ILO to the implications of tice. It has ratified 19 international labour Conven- mega-sporting events because of their impact on the tions, including seven fundamental Conventions. economies of host nations and workers‟ rights. Kuwaiti legislation guarantees the right to work, Governments see sporting events like the World gender equality, the elimination of child labour, Cup as a panacea for the problems of economic freedom of association and the right to organize and growth and urban redevelopment. However, these many other issues dealt with in international labour events have direct consequences in terms of pro- standards. moting the Decent Work Agenda. The World Cup However, there are many gaps in the legislation in particular is more than just a game. It is a global- which still affect the achievement of social justice ized, commercially viable enterprise. While FIFA is as pursued by the ILO and by the Kuwaiti trade un- expected to make a profit of US$3.3 billion from ion movement as well. Despite the adoption of the the World Cup, workers will not. Most of those new Labour Code for the private sector at the be- working on infrastructure sites have been employed ginning of this year which remedied several of these on short-term contracts, typically of three months‟ shortcomings, it did not eliminate them altogether. duration and without benefits, and earned poverty For although the Code lays down necessary condi- wages of less than US$300 per month. As a result tions for abolishing the sponsorship system applied of the huge concentration of construction work, in Kuwait, this system continues to be applied to- with its complex web of subcontracting arrange- day, and no effective measures have been taken to ments, basic conditions of employment as enshrined abolish it. This is one of the most important points in South African legislation have not been adhered of divergence in labour relations in our country. The to. There was no real and effective enforcement of Kuwait General Trade Union (KGTU), which is the minimum standards by the main contractors, the umbrella organization affiliating all the unions in Government or FIFA. Although BWI and FIFA had the Kuwaiti trade union movement, reiterates its signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing demand that the sponsorship system be abolished in trade unions to participate in joint labour inspection order to achieve genuine social justice. of worksites, the trade unions were in fact denied The second key point of divergence in Kuwaiti any direct participation in tripartite inspections. At labour law lies in domestic work, which is referred the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, trade un- to in section 5 of the new Labour Code, which ex- ions were even refused the right to inspect the sta- cludes it from its provisions. This large workforce dium, without any reprisal from FIFA. suffers a great deal from violations of their rights, BWI acknowledges that the socio-economic im- and we consider that their inclusion in labour legis- pact of these games is not the sole responsibility of lation, or the adoption of special legislation regulat- FIFA, but what is certain is the fact that the sheer ing their relationships with their employers, is es-

8/37 sential to eliminating a great deal of the injustice after listening to speakers and the diverging views and suffering to which they are subjected. of leaders of important countries, recognized the The National Assembly of Kuwait recently need for a strategy that should aim to ensure that it adopted an Act governing privatization programmes is not always the workers should who are the vic- and processes, which is contrary to the Constitution tims of the multiple crises that have shaken the of the State of Kuwait and threatens the economic world. To that end, the Global Jobs Pact was ap- social interests of different categories of workers proved. and the overwhelming majority of the people of In recent months, articles and news reports have Kuwait and is radically opposed to the interests of triumphantly announced the so-called beginning of the national economy in general. This Act has met recovery. However, the stark reality is the exact op- with broad opposition among the trade unions, the posite. According to the ILO itself, another 34 mil- people and Members of Parliament, and the fact that lion workers lost their jobs in 2009, bringing the it was approved by a very narrow majority in Par- figure up to around 212 million unemployed liament reflects the widespread popular opposition throughout the world, and it is also expected that in to this Act. the developed countries and European Union alone, No sooner was the law adopted than the Govern- the figure will grow by another 3 million this year, ment launched a massive campaign threatening to while over 50 per cent of the labour force will have repress trade union freedoms No. 625 intended to to make do with vulnerable jobs. oppose the trade union and workers‟ movements. Sharp reductions in public spending have been Based on that decision, a committee was formed imposed by the European Union, leading to a rise in with a largely military composition, chaired by the the retirement age, wage cuts, more unemployment Minister for the Interior, with members from the and other disastrous results, making the life of Ministry of Defence, the National Guard, the Minis- workers and their families even more insecure and try of Labour and other government departments difficult. concerned, the aim being to repress strikes and sit- It is extremely alarming that at this Conference, at ins, in an attempt at a pre-emptive strike to forestall which one of the key items on the agenda concerns the wide-scale popular and workers‟ opposition to child labour, the ILO reports that 280 million chil- the abovementioned law and its effects. The Deci- dren between the ages of 5 and 17 are working in sion does not bode well for the future of civil peace conditions of slavery or in jobs that are both dan- and security in society among the social partners. gerous and humiliating, and even as soldiers and When the trade union movement called a public prostitutes. meeting on Tuesday 25 May 2010 with the slogan Faced with this stark global reality, we Cuban “No to repression of freedoms and gagging of workers consider that it is not just a cyclical eco- mouths”, in protest against the policy of violation of nomic downturn; the problem is far more serious: trade union rights and freedoms and democracy, we this is in fact a systemic problem. It is the system were surprised to see 50 armoured cars and 200 po- prevailing throughout the world, which for some lice officers and special units cordoning off the years now has shown itself not to viable, because it KGTU building, in the first show of military force is not based on fair solutions and on distributive based on the abovementioned Decision, the aim of justice, but rather on selfishness and the individual which was to intimidate and terrorize those partici- acquisition of wealth. Under such a system, human- pating in the gathering. ity is condemned to suffer from repeated crises and We consider that the right to hold sit-ins and to injustice. strike is one of the trade union rights and freedoms laid down in the law for the workers, guaranteed by In Cuba, although of course we too have been fac- the constitution and enshrined in the legislation in ing severe restrictions due, on the one hand, to the force, and guaranteed in the international Conven- effects of the current crisis and, on the other, in a tions signed by the State of Kuwait. Therefore, they decisive measure to the consequences of the brutal are rights which cannot and must not be infringed in economic war waged against us for nearly 50 years, any form whatsoever. The establishment of the accompanied by media campaigns that are full of abovementioned committee is considered as a mili- lies and distortions of reality, we can say that our tary act of blatant repression against these rights and children are guaranteed the right to universal educa- freedoms, threatening social peace among the social tion free of charge. Even the most far-flung corners partners. Accordingly, we, the KGTU, present an of the country have their own schools and teachers, urgent appeal to the ILO demanding an investiga- and this fact has been recognized by UNESCO and tion into the matter and measures to prevent the by other distinguished institutions. Government from violating trade union rights and In addition, we have embarked on a process for freedoms. overcoming the crisis and modernizing our own We are working seriously and diligently, in coop- economic model, through ongoing social dialogue eration with the ILO and the other social partners, to which includes the participation, not only of the eliminate the obstacles and shortcomings in our la- unions, Government and employers, but also of the bour legislation to achieve social justice and prevent vast majority of the workers themselves, through violation of trade union rights and freedoms. We the broad-based participatory mechanisms estab- hope that the Government will respond to our pro- lished in our country, based on the premise that no posals and aspirations thanks to the good offices of worker shall go unprotected and that the interests of the ILO, in order to achieve social justice for all. all workers and those of their families shall be guar- anteed. Original Spanish: Mr NAVARRO FERNÁNDEZ (Worker, Cuba) Meanwhile, we continue to act in solidarity with Not for many years now has the world of work other peoples who need it in the most remote areas faced such a difficult and threatening time. of the world, not by giving them our surpluses – Last year the ILO provided an appropriate venue because we have none – but by sharing what we for the Summit on the Global Jobs Crisis which, have with the human beings who need it most.

8/38 We reiterate our recognition of the noble ideals of in Sri Lanka subscribed. We are now involved in a the ILO and our unflagging commitment to con- tripartite consultative process to develop a national tinue working constructively within the ILO. policy on HIV/AIDS in the world of work and we The Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) and hope that our experiences will provide valuable in- the Cuban unions reaffirm their constant solidarity put to the discussions here. with the Palestinian people and condemn the con- At almost every Conference over the past years, stant aggression to which they are subjected, the we have drawn the attention of this house to the most recent example being the attack on the flotilla failure of our Government to effectively implement, carrying humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza. both in law and in practice, the Freedom of Associa- Mr SHELTON DEVENDRA (Worker, Sri Lanka) tion and Protection of the Right to Organise Con- vention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise At the outset, I would like to touch upon the situa- and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. tion in my country. It is now one year since the war 98), on which the entire foundation of this Organi- against terrorism ended. During that black period, zation rests. Although it must be admitted that the the country had to face enormous challenges deal- Ministry of Labour has put in a lot of effort in this ing with civilian refugees affected by the war. Al- regard, the Government seems to be lacking the po- though the majority of these innocent victims of the litical will to give effect to these fundamental Con- conflict have been resettled or relocated, there is ventions that were ratified many years ago. still more work to be done to bring back normalcy In conclusion, it is my duty to report that, when I to these areas. addressed this Conference in 2006, I made reference However, the biggest challenge faced by the Gov- to the ongoing discussion on the employment rela- ernment is to find a meaningful and lasting solution tionship. Subsequent to the adoption of a Recom- to the grievances of the minority communities. Al- mendation on this issue, trade unions have put pres- though the main responsibility in this regard rests sure on the Government to bring in legislation mak- with the Government, it is a task in which civil so- ing certain types of labour subcontracting illegal. I ciety has to play a vital role. As powerful civil soci- am happy to report that, after three years of intense ety organizations representing millions of workers, debate among the social partners, we have finally trade unions in Sri Lanka have consistently taken up reached tripartite agreement on draft legislation that the position that a political solution, arrived at will hopefully be presented to Parliament this year. through serious dialogue among all concerned par- If it becomes law, it will be a historic victory for ties and based on respect for the fundamental hu- tens of thousands of subcontracted workers pres- man rights of all citizens, is urgently needed if a ently engaged in precarious forms of employment in lasting peace, leading to the economic and social our country. development of our country, is to be achieved. The agenda of this Conference this year includes Mr PETRIASHVILI (Worker, Georgia) several items which are of special concern to our Decades of deregulation, free-market speculation country and its workers and, in my view, the discus- and neoliberal miscalculations have plunged the sion on decent work for domestic workers occupies world into deep economic recession. Thirty-four a very important place among them. At present, million people have lost their jobs and 64 million domestic workers are not covered by the labour have fallen below the poverty line. No end to this laws of our country and this, coupled with the fact unbearable situation is in sight. On the contrary, the that the majority of domestic workers are internal economic crisis is becoming more dramatic and the migrants, makes them an extremely vulnerable quest to end global poverty is ill-defined. Human- group. kind is confronted with huge challenges and eco- On the other hand, Sri Lanka being a labour- nomic instability is plain to see. exporting country, we currently have over 1.6 mil- Naturally, the economic crisis has also had a pain- lion workers employed mainly in countries of the ful impact on Georgia. With large international fi- Middle East, of whom nearly 1 million nancial institutions using the whole country, its are estimated to be domestic workers. Low skills, population and economy, as a laboratory for neolib- lack of adequate pre-departure training, exploitation eral experiments, and in the light of market funda- by employment agencies, and physical and sexual mentalism, the abolition of mechanisms for state abuse make them the most vulnerable group of regulation in the fields of labour, health care and workers in the world of work. occupational safety, and the ignoring of ILO Con- In 2008, trade unions participated in a tripartite ventions and universally recognized norms of tripar- exercise to develop a national migration policy for tism, social dialogue and collective bargaining, our country, with the support of the ILO. However, Georgian citizens see the world in ever-darker col- implementation of this policy has still not gathered ours and feel the wolf-like glare of globalization, momentum. Therefore, we hope the discussion will compounded by a neoliberal lack of responsibility result in a Convention and Recommendation that towards their problems on the part of the Govern- will confer obligations and offer guidelines to both ment. sending and receiving countries. The establishment of a tripartite social partnership The second discussion on HIV/AIDS and the commission can be considered the only positive world of work is awaited with much interest. Al- point of the past four years. It came about as a result though Sri Lanka is considered a low-prevalence of the tireless, coordinated work of the ILO, the In- country, trade unions have played an active role in ternational Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the this area, working closely with the ILO Office in Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) and mem- Colombo on a number of initiatives to develop pre- bers of our movement, the Georgian Trade Union ventive as well as managerial measures. As an ini- Confederation (GTUC). We regard it as a success tial step, a joint trade union policy on prevention when dialogue and general relations with the Gov- and management of HIV/AIDS in the workplace ernment and employers bring positive changes to was developed, to which all the major trade unions the lives of our members. Our members and other

8/39 workers have yet to benefit from the commission, But as General Manager of the institution repre- which is down to the fact that the discriminatory senting private employers, I have to ask – are these labour code is still in force in spite of the Govern- impressive statistics for economic growth resulting ment‟s repeated pledges to amend it. in the creation of jobs for our people? If so, are Freedom of association is not still guaranteed. Un- these jobs of the quality standard which is decent ion leaders and activists are still subject to constant work? Are these jobs sustainable? Is the standard of oppression, intimidation and threats, while collec- living for the average ni-Vanuatu citizen improving tive bargaining and occupational safety remains as a result of our economic growth? Unfortunately, ignored. It will be impossible for Georgia, and the the answer is all too often “no”. world as a whole, to find a way out of the crisis In Vanuatu, we are facing an increasingly urgent unless the Government shares the responsibility problem with youth unemployment and underem- with all concerned social groups and ensures their ployment. Far too many of our young people are full participation in decision-making and in the pushed out of the education system too early, and elaboration of reforms and laws, which calls for real owing to the lack of formal education and absence social dialogue to protect the rights of every indi- of technical skills, they remain virtually unemploy- vidual. able in the formal private sector. The formal private In the wake of the recent military aggression of sector in Vanuatu simply cannot absorb all the the Russian Federation which put 20 per cent of the school leavers each year. Rural young people mi- country under occupation, this is vitally important grate from their islands to the urban areas in search for Georgia. Constant provocation from the occu- of income-earning opportunities. In the urban areas, pier aiming to shatter the country‟s economy and without employment or money in their pocket, sovereignty has not yet been met with a sufficiently youth are attracted to negative influences, including strong response from the civilized world. The high drug abuse and criminal activities. Those who are rate of unemployment and social distress, along lucky to get one of the few places in our vocational with a range of external threats, further jeopardize training schools also find it difficult to find em- Georgia‟s statehood. The only recipe for overcom- ployment when they graduate. Our vocational edu- ing these problems and giving a fresh start to the cation colleges are not delivering industry-standard, country‟s development is to promote truly democ- competency-based training. Our employers com- ratic change, to strengthen civil society, and to plain that they have to start from the beginning and strive for civil harmony. None of this can happen retrain vocational students when they come looking without the willingness of the Government to share for skilled and semi-skilled employment after the responsibility for decision-making with all rele- graduation. vant social groups, without strong unions, and with- In Vanuatu, we have much work to do to align the out fostering social justice and peace. These are the supply side of the labour market – education and priority issues. Whether in Georgia or elsewhere in training – with the demand side – an expanding pri- the world, all of the above will remain unachievable vate sector and increased opportunities for new as long as trade unions are perceived to be the prob- business development by micro, small and medium lem and not part of the solution. enterprises. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry stands Mr KALNPEL (Employer, Vanuatu) ready to play its part, and we call on the Govern- We value the importance of tripartism and social ment of Vanuatu to play its part by developing ac- dialogue in Vanuatu, and we recognize this as the tive labour market policies to promote employment only way to resolve the challenges we face from and decent work in Vanuatu. In this regard, the em- time to time. We also value our working partnership ployers of Vanuatu endorse the Port Vila Statement with the ILO Office for Pacific Island Countries in and the Pacific Action Plan for Decent Work, which our joint efforts to address the labour market chal- was agreed together with our tripartite constituents lenges we face in Vanuatu. at the Tripartite High-Level Meeting: Decent Work The formal private sector in Vanuatu is small in for Sustainable Development in the Pacific, held in comparison with those of many other countries rep- Port Vila in February 2010. By endorsing the Port resented at this Conference, with most major em- Vila Statement and the Pacific Action Plan for De- ployers being expatriate investors, mainly from cent Work, the employers in Vanuatu in turn en- Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, em- dorse and support the ILO Global Jobs Pact. In ploying local staff. Vanuatu, implementation of the Pacific Action Plan The main drivers of our economy are the tourism, for Decent Work will affirm our commitment to the agriculture and construction sectors, followed by application of the Global Jobs Pact in Vanuatu. retail services and small-scale manufacturing. We call on our Government to adopt and imple- As well as providing services to our private sector ment economic policies which promote local job members, the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and creation. We call on our colleagues in the Vanuatu Industry dedicates a lot of its resources to trying to Council of Trade Unions to assist in our efforts to open up new markets for Vanuatu products and fa- support our members. We call on our members, the cilitating trade links between countries in the Pa- employers in Vanuatu, to ensure that the employ- cific region. This is an important additional role we ment they create is above the minimum standards. perform in order to support the Government‟s ef- Ms KANYOKA (Representative, International Union of Food, forts to achieve private sector-led economic growth. Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Recent economic growth statistics from Vanuatu Workers’ Associations) have been impressive. In 2009, despite the eco- There are millions of domestic workers in the nomic and financial crisis, our economy grew by 4 world, both in developing countries and developed per cent. In 2010, we expect to see our economy ones. But for all this time, they have never been grow again, but perhaps at a slightly reduced rate of recognized as workers in the world of work, with approximately 3.5 per cent. the rights that other workers have.

8/40 The role of this sector in economic and social de- in rural areas, you can diminish child labour and velopment cannot be understated. As domestic increase the prosperity of whole communities. workers themselves say, we are the oil in the I am just giving you this one example from my wheels. It is our work in households that enables own country to show how imagination and com- others to go out and be economically active. And mitment – above all by governments – can help to yet, our huge economic and social contribution has solve problems that at first seem so difficult to not been acknowledged until now. Few govern- overcome. ments have statistics that measure our true worth. At this session of the International Labour Con- Yet, it is us who take care of your precious children ference we have had domestic workers from all over and your sick and elderly; we cook your food to the world not only watching but also some taking keep you healthy and we look after your property full part in the proceedings as delegates. Decent when you are away. work for domestic workers is an effective way of But, over these two weeks at the ILC, we have reducing poverty and increasing the quality of the been making progress. There is now a proposal for a work provided to millions of households. So, rest Convention with a Recommendation that recognizes assured that we will be back next year. that domestic workers are workers and do have rights. Though many details are still being negoti- Mr YIMER (Employer, Ethiopia) ated, we feel so happy that the fundamentals are in The theme of social policy is crucial to alleviating place. The right of domestic workers to be included the socio-economic problems of States. Unless so- in decent work has been won, at least for now. cial issues are given due consideration, the world We would particularly like to thank the Vice- faces a bleak future. The Ethiopian Employers‟ Chairperson of the Workers‟ group on the Commit- Federation believes this and is promoting job crea- tee on Domestic Workers – Ms Halima Yacob – and tion through investment in Ethiopia. Socio- her colleagues for all their hard work and commit- economic problems cannot be viewed in isolation ment to the rights of domestic workers. from appropriate policy instruments in each coun- Facing the economic crisis, some governments, try. including from the rich countries, are afraid of tak- We therefore work closely with the Government, ing on further commitments. They feel they do not the employees‟ federation and other social partners, have the resources to organize such things as social and with the ILO, to tackle social problems. The security, maternity benefits, occupational health and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has safety, and regulation of employment agencies. But planned to end poverty through a programme of these are key human rights as well as labour issues. sustained and accelerated economic growth. This is What is more, I want to tell you that I come from the basis of the ILO Decent Work Country Pro- one of the poorest countries of the world, which did gramme, and is intended to promote economic and decide to make a commitment and has put in place a social development. The Federation, as signatory to number of measures to bring about decent work for this Programme, is making a major contribution to domestic workers. its implementation. My country is the United Republic of Tanzania, Our aim is to create decent work, especially for and the Government, as poor as it is, recognized unemployed young Ethiopians. The small and me- domestic workers in the Employment Labour Rela- dium-sized enterprises organized under our um- tions Act of 2004, covering them under the mini- brella organization are the ones creating more jobs. mum wage legislation, freedom of association, and Most importantly, women, who were previously collective bargaining. And now it has started to in- marginalized in society, are also organized under a clude domestic workers in the social security number of business associations by our Federation. scheme. Another burning issue that should be given spe- One of our biggest problems is poverty in rural cial emphasis is HIV/AIDS. The Federation, in col- areas. Families used to have little option but to send laboration with social partners and various other their children to work as domestic workers in the stakeholders, is attempting to mitigate the preva- towns and cities, and even abroad. We know they lence of HIV/AIDS in the country and at the work- have been trafficked as far as the United Kingdom place. We are actively participating in this cam- and Saudi Arabia. But, back in 1996, the Govern- paign at different levels. Awareness raising among ment committed itself to eradicating, as far as pos- employers and employees has been going on for a sible, this child labour, including in domestic work. long time and is set to continue. It saw it as a key part of its poverty reduction pro- The Federation supports appropriate vocational gramme. It took an integrated approach, involving training for unemployed citizens in line with labour all the key ministries, including education, agricul- market requirements. Occupational health and ture, finance, women, gender and community de- safety of workers are also on the agenda of the em- velopment, planning, and health, as well as local ployers and the Federation. government. We got a lot of support from the ILO Global warming is also an issue requiring our at- International Programme on the Elimination of tention. The ILO has already voiced concern, and Child Labour (IPEC), for which we are very grate- recently we participated in Green Jobs Training. ful. The Federation believes that this has to continue More than 7,000 child domestic workers have and that we must stand as one and save our planet, been rescued and reunited with their families, re- as the effective use of resources ensures food secu- turned to school or retrained with new skills. At the rity and opens opportunities and hope for job- same time, we involved the rural communities in seekers. planning their own social and economic develop- As you are all aware, peace and security in a ment. This included new agricultural production country assures growth and prosperity. That is why cooperatives, entrepreneurship skills and savings democratic practice opens the way to solving a and credit schemes, just to mention a few. This country‟s political, social and economic issues. shows that, by promoting sustainable development Civil society also plays a great role in the democ-

8/41 ratic process. It is because of this that the Ethiopian lifelong learning and a solid foundation of general Employers‟ Federation and 11 other civic associa- education. Our inter-sectoral forum in March tions formed a Coalition the main aim of which was showed that, but the ILO strategy needs to move to observe the fourth Ethiopian elections. The Fed- from analysis to practical proposals. We have to eration served as a chairman and more than 40,000 address the need for many more qualified teachers observers all over the country witnessed the elec- and instructors. Education International is ready to tions. work with the ILO, as well as the Organisation for The elections were free, fair, peaceful, democratic Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and participatory, according to the preliminary re- the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- port of the Coalition. The overall process was de- tural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank, mocratic except for some minor issues which can be to make the strategy work in practice. improved in the future. In my capacity as Ethiopian Until a few weeks ago, the head of the IMF Employers‟ Federation President and Chairman of agreed with the ILO that there can be no recovery the Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Societies for Elec- until there is recovery of employment. Today, how- tion Observation, I can proudly inform you of the ever, the IMF is back to its old habit of preaching validity of the vote. Such locally organized election fiscal restraint to the exclusion of social cohesion observation is new to many and could also be a and so are the G20 finance ministers. We say it is model in African politics. time for the labour ministers who come to this Con- The democratic process plays a great role in eco- ference to be more assertive, to insist that the finan- nomic growth; that is why annual economic growth cial sector must be at the service of the real econ- of about 11 per cent has been recorded in Ethiopia. omy, not the other way around. Dismissals of teach- This growth cannot be realized without the full par- ers have started in many countries; several hundred ticipation of local and foreign investors. In short, thousand more dismissals are expected in Europe we, the employers, and especially those of us in the and the United States before the year is out. Those private sector, are the engine of growth and devel- dismissals mean quality education denied to several opment. The Ethiopian Government has realized million children and young people. these facts and has created a favourable investment Global unions, the Global Campaign for Educa- environment based on the principles of the free tion and constituents of the World Economic Fo- market. The development seen in the country over rum, including major IT companies, are all asking the last years is the result of these efforts. the G20 to take two key decisions in Toronto and Finally, we wish to thank the ILO for its contin- beyond: to convene a ministerial-level committee to ued support and hope it will continue in the future. work out how to close the financing gap so as to Mr HARRIS (Representative, Education International) achieve education for all and, secondly, to support Will we have a lost generation? Will we allow the establishment of a global partnership for teacher market speculation to deny quality education for our education and professional development. We call on children and relevant vocational training for our the ILO to support these proposals. youth? With the latest phase in the financial crisis, At the same time, the ILO remains the institution that is the stark political choice that countries now to which we look for the defence of human and confront. trade union rights. We are worried that the consen- As the ILO Director-General said in his opening sus around the ILO‟s fundamentally important nor- address, the G20 countries, the International Mone- mative role is being chipped away. tary Fund (IMF) and the European Union all agreed How can the Employers‟ group possibly justify that coordinated stimulus for sustainable recovery their insistence on taking Colombia off the list be- should continue in 2010, with planning for credible fore the Committee on the Application of Standards exit strategies in 2011. But, now, the speculators when 14 teacher unionists, and 30 trade unionists in who caused the crisis two years ago are betting all, were killed just this year? This is outrageous. against entire nations, forcing massive cuts in public How can the Islamic Republic of Iran justify the services, including cuts in vital resources for educa- recent execution of a teacher on trumped-up tion and training. charges? We are going to continue to struggle for My colleagues in Education International and the full respect of trade union rights in many coun- other global unions often go to meetings where they tries. We have cases before the ILO, Turkey and hear all kinds of theories, but I am here today to talk Guatemala, but we perceive a general softening of to you about the reality in the local communities of the ILO‟s position on normative issues, under pres- country after country, where ordinary people strug- sures of various kinds, and we call for greater firm- gle day in and day out, not only for a decent life ness. now, but also for a decent future for their children. Be assured that Education International, with 30 We all know that education and training are key million members around the world, will continue to factors in sustainable recovery and decent work, yet work closely with the ILO on programmes. Teach- market pressures, driven by unchecked thirst for ers, who by the nature of our vocation are present in short-term gain, are placing this necessary invest- every local community, can play an important role. ment – public investment – at risk. We have a great deal of experience on education Education International, with other global unions, against HIV/AIDS and on issues addressed in the supports the ILO‟s role as a place where govern- Recommendation on HIV/AIDS in the world of ments, employers and workers can cooperate to- work. Tomorrow we will say more on child labour. gether on the recovery of the real economy. We We have spoken on the report of the Committee of strongly support the ILO‟s role at the G20; we sup- Experts on the Application of the Recommendations port the recommendations of the G20 labour and concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART). There is employment ministers to the Toronto Summit, call- good work being done on an ILO Human Resource ing on the ILO to continue its work with the con- Toolkit of good practices for the teaching profes- stituents on a skills and training strategy based on sion.

8/42 We will continue to work closely with the other It is all the more important that the ILO, and la- global unions, governments and employers on a bour ministers, remain steadfast and firm on insist- skills and training strategy reaching across sectors. ing on policies for investment in people as a way We need more qualified teachers and instructors, forward to a sustainable future. with mobility facilitated between industry and col- Original French: The PRESIDENT (Mr DE ROBIEN) leges, and across borders. The study planned by the ILO on personnel work- May I thank everybody for their contributions and ing in early childhood education will also be impor- may I particularly congratulate those of you who tant for society as a whole in terms of both growth have stayed this late, especially the delegation of and equity. In these ways, the ILO is demonstrating Cameroon, which has attended assiduously. value added. (The Conference adjourned at 7.20 p.m.)

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CONTENTS

Page

Third sitting

Presentation of the Report of the Chairperson of the Governing Body ...... 1

Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director-General: Discussion ...... 2

Fourth sitting

Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director-General: Discussion (cont.) ...... 13

No. 8 – Monday, 14 June 2010