ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, called for urgent
action in a number of critical areas to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving
world of work.
Reviewing the discussions that took place at the
102nd International Labour Conference, Ryder stressed the ILO’s determination
to fulfil the organization’s mandate to improve the conditions of Palestinian
workers.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to implement
“Seven Centenary Initiatives” – covering governance, standards, enterprises,
green jobs, poverty, women and the future of work – which were outlined in his
report to the conference and which received broad support from the over 4,700
delegates who attended the ILC.
Ryder said that the initiatives would give the
organization the tools and strategic direction it needed to make its work
better, more relevant and influential.
Speaking of a Future of Work Initiative, the ILO
Director-General said that “a forward-looking examination of the place of work
in our lives and societies is needed. It will frame policy choices and it will
be appropriate to the marking of the ILO’s 100th anniversary.”
He said there had been “strong convergence” on the
need for the ILO to establish a platform of engagement with enterprises – as
proposed in the Enterprise Initiative.
“In addition, there was widespread interest in
defining and implementing an ILO role in respect of global supply chains and
more generally in respect of corporate social responsibility,” he added.
The “End of Poverty Initiative”, which aims to
enable the ILO to play a bigger role in putting an end to extreme poverty by
2030, was also strongly supported, with many speakers linking the initiative to
future ILO work on the rural economy, informality and the post-2015 development
agenda.
Ryder observed that the “Women at Work” Initiative –
which aims to establish a picture of the place and conditions of women in the world of work, and to catalyse action to realize equality of opportunity and
treatment – had received less comment than the others. He said he hoped that
this reflected a well-established commitment among delegates to this issue
which did not require further restatement.
Ryder anticipated that the ILO’s role in the
transition to a low-carbon, sustainable development path would be “the single
factor which would most clearly distinguish the Organization’s second century
of activity from its first.” The Green Initiative would be a vehicle for taking
this forward.
The initiatives on standards and governance were
more institutional in nature, Ryder explained, but were just as important and
more closely related to the ILO’s reform agenda.
Looking ahead he said that the seven initiatives
would be further developed to establish a Centenary Road Map.
Ends.
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