ADDIS ABABA (ILO News) – In an address at the headquarters of the African Union, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr. Juan Somavia, called today for a stronger commitment to reinforce “African tripartism” and social dialogue throughout the continent.
“Tripartism, social dialogue, the institutions that give us the capacity to organize and voice our opinion, are all an indispensable part of our capacity to defend our own interests”, said Mr. Somavia in his address to 300 participants of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission (LSAC) of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa. The meeting included African Ministers of Labour and representatives of employers and workers associations.
Mr. Somavia also underlined the current negative impact of both the international food and financial crises.
“We are moving into turbulent times. Stability and progress in the world of work is threatened by instability and setbacks in the world of finance. Meanwhile, in the real economy, extreme poverty is declining for some, but still, four out of five people live in countries with widening inequality.”
Mr. Somavia updated participants on comprehensive UN efforts to address the food crisis. He also emphasized the importance of raising agricultural productivity and added that the crucial issue of rural employment and poverty reduction will be high on the agenda of the upcoming International Labour Conference taking place in Geneva next month.
He also stressed the need for longer term solutions to both the financial and food crises. “The danger is that we only find stopgap solutions to the immediate crises. And we forget that that will only take us to where we were before-and where we were before was a globalization that was not delivering for many people.”
Mr. Somavia also thanked delegates for their support.
“Your support is my commitment to making sure that I am in a situation to respond to your priorities, your needs and in the manner in which you see that the ILO has to be at the service of Africa—and also occupy its space internationally”, insisted Mr. Somavia.
Gathered at the Conference Centre of the African Union, delegates discussed among other issues “the over-arching theme for this year’s meeting: Improving the Informal Sector: the key to poverty alleviation”, underlined AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Advocate Bience Gawanas.
The informal sector forms a major part of most African economies. “It is a fast expanding sector providing jobs and livelihoods to a significant proportion of our populations”, added Commissioner Gawanas.
“In view of the importance of job creation, we should recognize the big challenges confronting us with the growth of the informal sector in the African economies”, underscored H.E. Mr. Girma Wolde Giorghis, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Also at the centre of discussions was the need for Africa to enhance productivity. More attention should be devoted on the education and training system as well as modern equipment to improve production capacity.
“To provide a better life for the future generation of Africa, as the human resource is the valuable asset of the continent, the core pillar of our socio-economic development agenda should be job creation”, concluded President Girma Wolde Giorghis.
Earlier, a joint meeting organized by the African Union and the ILO was held to brief delegates on the latest information regarding HIV/AIDS and the world of work in the African region.
Mr. Somavia ended his official visit with high-level interactions with H.E. Mr. Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and President Alpha Oumar Konaré, outgoing Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
For more information, please contact in Addis Ababa:
- Guebray Berhane, ILO Regional Office for Africa, guebray@ilo.org - Tel: + 251/115-444415 or + 251/911-218115
- Rahel Kebede, rahel@ilo.org - Tel: + 251/115/444454 or + 251/911-218113
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