GENEVA (ILO News) - The Nobel economics laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University today urged world political and economic leaders to back the International Labour Organization (ILO) goals of "decent work, full employment and better working conditions" and said development requires "basic labour rights."
Speaking on the second day of a three-day Global Employment Forum at the ILO, Professor Stiglitz argued in his keynote address that current international policies often fail to take account of the human value of labour, instead treating it as a commodity.
"Equitable, sustainable and democratic development requires basic labour rights, including freedom of association and collective bargaining," he said.
The Forum has drawn some 700 world political and economic leaders here to discuss the theme of " Creating Decent Work in the 21 st Century" and address what ILO Director-General Juan Somavia has called the "biggest threats to human security affecting the largest number of people - rising unemployment and poverty."
At the opening session Thursday, Mr. Somavia and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan endorsed a new Global Agenda for Employment being considered by the Forum. The Agenda is designed to combat both long- and short-term employment challenges, including the job losses and poverty expected to result from the current recession and economic fallout of September 11.
Professor Stiglitz told delegates Friday that it is not enough to do "no harm" with policies promoting global economic prosperity.
"The international community should push for decent work, for full employment and better working conditions," he said, adding "if we demand that before programmes (such as structural adjustment programmes) are adopted, there be a 'labour impact statement,' then it is more likely that policies which minimize the adverse impact on workers will be adopted."
Professor Stiglitz also said labour policies in many countries had been "subsumed" under broader economic policies often dominated by "commercial and financial interests".
"For too long, labour has acquiescent, sometimes becoming an even more effective advocate of the policies than those whose interests they serve," he said. "Let me be clear: what I am calling for is not the return to class warfare but a simple recognition of long standing principles - that there are trade-offs, that there is uncertainty, that different policies affect different groups differently, that the role of the economic adviser is to inform policymakers of the consequences of different decisions, and it is the role of the political process to make those decisions."
Forum panels
In today's morning session, a working panel discussed "education and training: skills for employability including the challenge of youth unemployment" with Charles Hodson of the CNN as moderator. The panellists included Dr. Paul Ryan, Kings College, Cambridge University; Mr. Avrim D. Lazar, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy and HRD, Canada; Mr. Z. Rampak, President, Malaysian Trade Union Congress; Ms. Adrienne Bird, Chief Director of the South African Employment and Skills Development Services; Ms. Miroslava Kopicova, Director, National Training Fund of the Czech Republic; and Mr. Alain Dumont, Director of Education and Training, Movement of Enterprises of France.
Panellists discussed key characteristics of education and training policies which effectively support decent work-centred development strategies, the role of the private sector, appropriate mechanisms for funding and the specific challenges of youth unemployment. They agreed that on-the-job training and apprenticeship schemes for youth should be revised to generate gainful employment. Traditional apprenticeship, as current practiced often produced poor results, including cheap labour and exploitation.
The panellists noted there were some 60 million youth currently unable to find work, while 10-year estimates said this number could rise to 1.2 billion.
A second panel discussed the theme of "Global governance and international policy coordination" with Prof. Stiglitz moderating. The panellists included John Evans, General-Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD; Thomas Niles, President of United States International Business Council (USCIB); Noordin Sopiee, Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia; and Jeff Faux, President of the Economic Policy Institute, USA.
The discussion centred on the role of governments in promoting employment in an increasingly globalized world economy; the design and use of appropriate fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate employment creation and equity; provision of social protection, especially unemployment insurance; active labour market policies; and international coordination of macroeconomic policies.