2023-06-02 05:41:45
This Monday opens in Geneva the 111e International Labor Conference (ILC) which each year brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers from the 187 member countries of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the only “tripartite” agency of the UN. More than 5000 people have planned to attend this meeting. It is, after the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the largest gathering within the UN system.
This is an opportunity for us to take stock, to continue our standard-setting work, to develop international labor standards, to monitor their application, and above all to address in depth the pressing problems affecting the world of employment, problems which since the pandemic have become more and more complex.
Almost eighty years ago, in 1944, at the dawn of a new world order, another CIT unanimously adopted the “Declaration of Philadelphia”, the keystone of the objectives and programs of action of the ILO. The document reaffirmed the fundamental principles of our organization founded in 1919, namely that work is not a commodity and that poverty, wherever it is, constitutes a danger for the prosperity of all. It is clear that these principles are more topical than ever.
The promises of renewal made during the Covid-19 crisis, to “build back better”, have not been fulfilled for the vast majority of workers around the world. Added to this is record inflation which weighs heavily on the incomes and savings of the most modest. Globally, real wages have fallen, poverty is on the rise, inequality seems more marked than ever. Businesses, especially SMEs and micro-enterprises, have also been hard hit. Many are unable to cope with the cumulative effects of recent events.
“We can’t waste any more time, now is the time to act and act together.”
Our latest report – the ILO World of Work Monitor – finds that the gap between the economies of developed and developing countries continues to widen. While global unemployment in 2023 is expected to fall below pre-pandemic levels – at 191 million, corresponding to a global unemployment rate of 5.3 percent – low-income countries are struggling to return to the level of unemployment. before Covid.
To meet these economic, social and environmental challenges, we need to be ambitious. This is why during this CIT, which will be attended by several Heads of State and Government, I will call for the creation of a Global Coalition for Social Justice. Its aim is to create an international dynamic to reduce and prevent inequalities and to make social justice the cornerstone of more effective multilateralism.
Social justice must be a priority in the development of national, regional and global policies and activities, in development cooperation and in financial, trade and investment agreements. It must also be integrated into reflections on the transitions that shape the world of work: climate change, demographic upheavals or digitization. The idea is to pave the way for the emergence of a renewed, fairer, more equitable social contract. The proposal comes from the ILO, because our organization has always been at the forefront of social justice, which is at the heart of its mandate.
We are at a pivotal moment. Recent crises have highlighted the dependencies of economies and societies around the world and demonstrated the crucial need for concerted and coordinated action. We cannot waste any more time, the time has come to act and to act together.
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– Advancing Social Justice
Gilbert F. Houngo – Director General of the International Labor Organization