Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Republic of Indonesia, Mr Al-Hilal Hamdi;
APINDO representatives, and workers’ organization representatives;
ILO Executive Director, Ms Katherine Hagen;
ILO Jakarta Office Director, Mr Iftikhar Ahmed;
Distinguished participants and resource persons

It is a great pleasure to join you here today for this Tripartite Summit on Social Dialogue. Social dialogue is of fundamental importance to the ILO – indeed, it is almost impossible to overstate that importance. And, social dialogue is of fundamental importance to democracy and good governance. Recently, the countries and the people of this region have taken great strides towards building more democratic societies. Social dialogue has played an integral part in that process. Participants at the ILO’s 12^th Asian Regional Meeting in 1997 underlined its importance – and again, in 1998, at the High-Level Tripartite Meeting on Social Responses to the Financial Crisis in East and South-East Asian Countries. Indeed, the crisis itself drew attention to social dialogue. Today, three years after the first shockwaves hit the economies of East Asia, the process of recovery from the financial crisis is well underway. Importantly, this recovery is not only financial. I think it is fair to say that the crisis has had a silver lining, in the form of a renewed and stronger commitment to good governance. Obviously, noone would want a repeat of the pain that the crisis inflicted on ordinary people and their families. But we owe it to those same people not to forget its lessons, and to preserve our gains. I believe that the crisis has produced a wider understanding that everyone concerned – all the stakeholders – need to be involved in decision-making processes. To achieve this involvement, we need social dialogue.

Social dialogue is one of the four strategic objectives of the ILO – it is of vital importance to our Organization. When we use the term social dialogue, we are including all kinds of negotiation, consultation and even information exchange between representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest to economic and social policy.

In Asia, of course, social dialogue is not a new concept – or a new method. Indeed, when we look back over our heritage, we find that the cultures and traditions of this region are often more inclusive and more interactive than their western counterparts. Recently I reread a popular Japanese novel, Shusaku Endo’s Deep River. The author weaves together the stories of a group of troubled strangers visiting Buddhist shrines in India, and creates a strange harmony between life and death. He shows us that these seeming opposites, life and death, are really a part of the one pattern. For me, this novel serves as a stirring reminder of the fundamental importance of inclusiveness and harmony in Asian society. It is a part of our daily lives – so much so that we may even take it for granted.

The challenge that we face today is to expand the scope of this inclusiveness and interaction. Traditionally, it may have been confined to a circle of peers, or to neutral groups. We need to find ways to extend this to the tripartite arena – to use it as part of our efforts to strengthen communication between government, employers and workers. And, at the same time, we need to recognize that communication and negotiation are skills. Like any skills, they need to be learned. Successful dialogue – successful negotiation – means learning to be flexible. Success may depend on becoming more patient, or less patient. It may depend on becoming more assertive, or less assertive – or on recognizing when to bend. It is also important that we remember that social dialogue is only truly successful when it reaches and involves everyone concerned. In the past, women have often been left on the fringes. But social dialogue that leaves out women is only a half measure. We need to ask ourselves, how many women are involved in social dialogue? What kind of barriers might be inhibiting their involvement? How can we make sure that the gender dimension is a part of every stage of the process – that it is part of the mainstream? If we want to build a system of social dialogue that reaches everyone, we have to answer these questions.

I think that this theme of social dialogue is of especial relevance here in the Republic of Indonesia. Your country achieved the distinction of becoming the first country in Asia and Pacific to ratify all of the ILO’s fundamental Conventions, setting an important example. Your decision to ratify these Conventions was made while your country was moving through a process of transition, and while you faced significant economic challenges. Your commitment to the fundamental human rights principles that these Conventions defend is, to me, all the more meaningful because of that timing. You did not try to postpone that commitment until your economy improved – you recognized the importance of linking economic and social progress, and of basing your future on a solid foundation of respect for fundamental human rights.

The ILO applauds your decision to ratify these Conventions – and we also applaud your commitment to implementing them. One of the most significant challenges that you face as you do this is encouraging dialogue between the institutions and stakeholders concerned. The importance of communication was a recurring theme at last year’s ILO/Japan/Depnaker National Tripartite Seminar on Globalization and Industrial Relations in Jakarta. I feel confident that progress is being made. But there is still a great deal that we can do together. I do hope that today’s summit will help us move closer to that goal. It is a goal that is well worth striving for. Social dialogue, and constructive and open communication, builds the framework for good governance, for productivity, for competitiveness. In today’s globalizing and increasingly interconnected world – we see that these are not optional extras. These are, instead, the factors that determine economic as well as social progress.

Once again, it is pleasure to join you here today. I wish you well with your work here – and I look forward to the results of some very useful social dialogue.