ILO & Singapore Ministry of Manpower sign partnership agreement to improve labour and workplace practices

The ILO and the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have signed a two-year Partnership Agreement to improve human resource development and workplace practices in the ASEAN region.

Press release | Geneva, Switzerland | 15 June 2011

ILO NEWS (Geneva) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have signed a two-year Partnership Agreement to improve human resource development and workplace practices in the ASEAN region.

The MOM and the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will implement the Partnership Agreement for a Collaborative Programme on Labour and Workplace Practices between 2011 and 2013. The cooperative activities will cover a number of labour and workplace areas, including occupational safety and health (OSH), tripartism and social dialogue, productivity, employability and skills development. Other areas of work may be subsequently added by mutual agreement.

Under the Partnership Agreement, Singapore will co-organize and co-fund activities while the ILO will co-ordinate work and contribute its specialists’ expertise and time. Proposed activities include study trips and workshops in Singapore to improve knowledge on OSH, labour inspection regimes, and tripartism and social dialogue.

Ms Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Mr Loh Khum Yean, Permanent Secretary of the MOM, signed the agreement on Wednesday 15 June 2011 at a ceremony held during the 100th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

”Singapore and the ILO have a long-standing record of productive co-operation and their support for human resource development is playing a valuable role in progress towards decent work for all in Asia Pacific,” said Ms Yamamoto. “This Partnership is also an example of the importance of the region’s deepening integration, and the growing role of new forms of development co-operation and of member states working with each other and the ILO to support development in the region.”

Mr Loh said: “The Singapore Ministry of Manpower is pleased to sign this partnership agreement with the ILO. The Partnership Agreement reflects the growing and strengthening cooperation between the two parties in helping to enhance human resources management and development in the ASEAN region”.

Background

Held from 1 to 17 June 2011, the ILC is the annual meeting of the ILO, the UN specialized agency that deals with work and work-related issues. The ILC brings together the ILO’s 183 member states and is attended by more than 3,000 delegates representing Governments as well as workers’ and employers’ organizations.

For further information please contact:

Sophy Fisher
ILO Regional Information Officer for Asia and the Pacific
fisher@ilo.org

Tel : 00 41 [0] 79 558 63 52