SEATTLE (ILO News) - The International Labour Office (ILO) has called for a new multilateral initiative to address the social implications of globalization involving all the organizations dealing with the international aspects of economic and social policy. The initiative aims at reducing inequality of opportunity both within and between countries and ensuring that the global economy benefits working people and their families in developed and developing countries alike.
In a written statement submitted to the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle today, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, warned that "unless questions of unfairness and inequality are addressed by the global community, the process of international integration itself may be rejected by increasing numbers of countries and people". Speaking to reporters in Seattle, Mr. Somavia pointed to the demonstrations outside the Conference Centre as evidence of this growing malaise.
"Evidence is accumulating that globalization is widening inequalities between industrialized and developing countries", he said adding that the gains enjoyed by developing countries had been "small and much less than hoped for at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round". But uncertainty and insecurity are not confined to the South. In the North also many "feel caught in a race to the bottom and believe that intensified global competition is exerting downward pressure on working conditions and labour standards."
Employment arrangements that are less secure and provide fewer social benefits are becoming commonplace. Income inequality is rising almost everywhere because, among other factors, of the weakened bargaining strength of labour resulting from the multiple "exit options available to capital in a globalizing world economy".
But "by far the biggest impact on social development has come from the effects of increased financial liberalization", especially speculative short-term surges which lie behind the frequency and severity of the financial crises of the 1990s.
"In the face of these formidable social and labour problems", states Mr. Somavia, "there is much that the ILO can do". The ILO's goal of decent work for all - work that is carried out in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity - "can provide the social foundations of the global economy".
Decent work, to the ILO, represents the synthesis of four strategic objectives. The first of these involves fundamental principles and rights at work . The ILO, in recent years, has redoubled its efforts to promote the core labour standards identified by the 1995 Social Summit in Copenhagen as the social floor of the emerging world economy. These include "freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to engage in collective bargaining, together with the elimination of force or compulsory labour, child labour and discrimination in employment or occupation". The 174 member States of the ILO - including virtually every member of the WTO - adopted a solemn Declaration in 1998 committing themselves to respect these fundamental rights.
The second strategic objective is the promotion of employment. "Without full employment, or at least steady growth in employment creation, (...) improving labour conditions and achieving other social objectives will be extremely difficult", the statement acknowledges. The goal of decent work for all, if it is to be achieved, requires both enterprise development and an enabling environment for productive investment. In a series of reports published since 1995, the ILO has stressed the need for comprehensive employment strategies. It is now undertaking employment policy reviews, country by country, in an effort to mainstream employment objectives into national strategies.
The third objective concerns social protection. "Much anxiety", notes Mr. Somavia, "results from the inadequacy of social protection systems, including the fact that a growing majority of the world's population is excluded from coverage by social security schemes, notably most of these in informal production and employment". ILO studies have demonstrated how social protection in developing countries "can bolster stability, minimize social unrest and help countries adjust more easily to economic, social and political change". As the statement emphasizes, "people's security makes an important contribution to the stability of the global economy".
The fourth strategic objective is the promotion of social dialogue between labour, management and government. "The ILO's work in this field involves reinforcing the capacities of worker and employer organizations, as well as governments, for analysis of (social and economic) issues, and promoting dialogue through the development of institutions and mechanisms at national and international level".
"As part of its agenda, the international community has to develop more effective ways of encompassing the interdependence of social and labour objectives on the one hand, and the dynamics of the global economy on the other", notes Mr. Somavia. "The frameworks which govern and regulate the global economy, whether they concern trade, international capital flows, international migration, communications or intellectual property cannot be interpreted only in economic terms". Their social impact cannot be ignored. At the same time, social and labour policies must take their own economic consequences into account. "Good social policy," the statement underlines, "is an integral part of economic efficiency".
The different organizations of the international system bring different perspectives to bear on these issues. "By working together", says Mr. Somavia, "we can show better how different dimensions of economic and social progress are mutually supportive and contribute to a process of development in which everyone participates and benefits". Because of its tripartite structure - bringing together workers, employers and governments - "the ILO is well placed to contribute to objective assessments of these issues."
"The next stage will be to promote policy synergies among the organizations which deal with international aspects of economic and social policy in order to address the social impact of globalization. The ILO is prepared to participate in a multilateral initiative which would permit more integrated approaches to be developed at different levels, such as:
- inter-organizational efforts to pool knowledge and undertake joint research;
- analytical frameworks for international policy development;
- policy packages at the national level, encompassing the international and macroeconomic issues as well as development, poverty reduction and decent work."