GENEVA (ILO News) ─The President of the Republic of Slovenia, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), today expressed support for the Decent Work Agenda of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and called for its worldwide implementation.
In an address to the annual International Labour Conference of the ILO, H.E. President Danilo Türk, the first sitting president of the EU to address the ILC, said the Decent Work Agenda for creation of employment opportunities, implementation of basic labour standards, social protection and social dialogue are “objectives of global importance.”
“They are also among the criteria by which history will judge the quality of our era of globalization”, he said. “It is not an exaggeration to say that the recent evolution of the debates on globalization deepened the understanding of the centrality of issues of decent work at this point in time.”
Mr. Türk commended the ILO and Director-General, Juan Somavia for generating a high level of acceptance of the concept of decent work and its relevance for policy making at the national and international level.
In introductory comments, Mr. Somavia said “Your presence with us further underscores the EU’s support for the Decent Work Agenda and a fair globalization. This support has come from not only the EU Council and the Commission but also the Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee”.
Noting that current debates on globalization concentrated on issues related to uneven distribution of its results, ethical and legal aspects of technological development and other social and political issues, the President of Slovenia said that “a mature understanding of the advances of the past decades necessarily involves greater emphasis on their social and political dimensions. The current financial upheavals and the rising food prices have only added an element of drama to this understanding”.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Mr. Türk said the concept of decent work was also an essential element in the Lisbon Strategy on growth and employment adopted by the European Union in 2000 and the subject of intense policy discussion since 2005.
According to the President, “social partnership is a key guarantee for success in the processes called for in the Lisbon strategy”, including helping the young to attain the opportunity to work and developing their skills and assisting older workers, who in an ageing population in Europe, have to work longer and develop new skills in a prolonged period of employment.
“In many ways the ILO practices have paved the way to the forms of international cooperation existing today in the UN system and beyond. All this experience is a tremendous asset in our era of globalization. Let this experience inform and, wherever necessary, guide the discussions and policy making”, he said. “The ILO does not only have great historical experience. It also has a great mission today and a great role to play in the future”.
“It is therefore entirely appropriate for the international community to insist on the basic principles advocated by the ILO and to strengthen the implementation of the existing legal standards”, Mr. Türk said.
In this context, he referred to the 50 per cent increase in the ratification of the eight fundamental ILO Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, child labour, forced labour and discrimination at work in the past ten years: “It tells us something about the enduring importance of the ethical basis of labour standards and about their legal soundness”.