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ILO welcomes G20 shift back to growth, jobs and social protection

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia has welcomed the focus placed by the G20 Leaders Summit in Cannes on growth, jobs and social protection, in the context of expressions of global discontent with employment and social conditions in many cities and countries around the world.

Press release | 04 November 2011

CANNES (ILO News) – International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia has welcomed the focus placed by the G20 Leaders Summit in Cannes on growth, jobs and social protection, in the context of expressions of global discontent with employment and social conditions in many cities and countries around the world.

The G20 Leaders put a strong emphasis on Friday on growth and jobs within the G20 “Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth”.

The G20 established a Task Force on Employment that will initially concentrate on youth employment, which today is between two to three times higher than adults’ unemployment. The Task Force will be convened under the Mexican Presidency of the G20.

Building on the recent report by former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, G20 Leaders recognized the importance of investing in nationally-designed social protection floors.

The G20 also tasked several international organizations, including the ILO, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank, to report to Finance Ministers on the global employment outlook and how the Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth can contribute to job creation.

They also called on international organizations to achieve greater coherence between employment and social issues on one side, and economic, monetary and financial issues on the other. In particular the G20 called for working together on an assessment of the social impact of economic policies.

“G20 Leaders are connecting their macroeconomic agenda to policies for decent work, a better start in working life for young women and men, and social protection floors to prevent extreme poverty” said Mr. Somavia. “If pursued and implemented with determination, it will start to rebuild confidence among working people that governments are able and ready to manage the global economy in their interest.”

The G20 also stressed its commitment to promote and ensure full respect of the fundamental principles and rights at work, and encouraged the ILO to continue to promote ratification and implementation of the eight fundamental ILO conventions.

As a contribution to the G20 Summit, the B20 for business and the L20 for labour issued a joint statement addressing employment policy initiatives especially for youth, social protection floors, fundamental principles and rights at work, and policy coherence in the multilateral system.

Noting the G20 Leader’s support for the role of social dialogue, Mr Somavia highlighted the importance of inviting representatives of the real economy -- labour and business – to contribute to the Leaders’ policy debates. It is vital that the voices of those who represent the people who actually build strong, sustainable and balanced economies are heard at the highest level.

The G20 meeting in Cannes took place amid weakening economic recovery and as the global economy is on the verge of a new and deeper employment recession. An ILO/OECD report prepared for the recent G20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting in Paris warned that the slow-down in the global economy could result in a massive jobs shortfall among G20 countries by next year.

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