Education and decent jobs are top priorities, says ICFTU
19/11/2001

Youth employment on the agenda of the UN General Assembly:

Brussels November 19, 2001 (ICFTU OnLine): The High Policy Network (HPN) on Youth Employment, initiated
last year by Kofi Annan, will anxiously await the outcome of today’s UN General Assembly as it discusses a set of policy recommendations  to combat youth unemployment. As a member of the High Policy Network, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has continuously pressed for the creation of decent jobs and quality education and training for young people as core elements of the policy recommendations it formulated with the other members of the HPN, the ILO and the World Bank.

“We believe a new global agenda for employment is not about re-launching traditional approaches but finding fresh ways of tackling the challenge of youth employment. We think society needs to see youth employment in terms of decent work, workers’ rights and sustainability”, said ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan.

The ICFTU recognises that the recommendations brought forward by the HPN are by no means revolutionary but represent a starting point from which real action can be taken to tackle the increasing scourge of youth unemployment.

“We hope that governments within the UN General Assembly will take up the challenge that these recommendations lay before them and take coherent measures to address youth employment issues. Concrete action programmes and alliances are urgently needed as a fast increasing number of young people are either unemployed or underemployed”, said ICFTU Youth Co-ordinator Yvonne O’Callaghan.

The issues of youth employment, the Brussels-based labour group believes, must not only be addressed at an international level but also at a grass roots level by involving young people and young workers.

The ICFTU intends to ensure that through the ongoing work of the HPN young people are actively involved in shaping future employment policies and programmes, and become real participants in shaping the future of society, since they are the makers of tomorrow’s world.

The ICFTU represents more than 156 millions workers in 221 affiliated organisation in 148 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions:
http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact the
ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0232
or +32 476 62 10 18.

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