Advancing social justice, promoting decent work
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Guy Ryder: "ILO and EU have a shared responsibility of realizing decent work for all"
For the 10th time in a row, and in the presence of the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, the ILO and the European Commission held their annual high-level meeting defining the focus of their cooperation for the next year. At this meeting, Guy Ryder honored the historical partnership between both institutions and looked at the common challenges in the face of the global crisis.
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder addressed the 10th ILO-EU high level meeting, describing the history of the ILO-EU partnership as well as its future challenges in current times of crisis. “The world of work is everywhere confronted with the impact of the financial crisis”, Guy Ryder said. “The ILO and the EU have a shared responsibility of responding to these challenges and seizing all opportunities for fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development aiming at realizing decent work for all.”
Over the past decade, the ILO and the EU have considerably intensified their cooperation, both within and outside the EU. The EU supports the promotion of decent work for all, the international labour standards and the wider Decent Work Agenda through its internal and external policies and actions such as development, policy dialogue and trade.
As an example, EU efforts have contributed to the ratification of core labour standards as well as other international labour conventions, both within EU member states and outside the EU. In this regard, EU-ILO cooperation should continue promoting the application in practice of these standards.
Social dialogue is another area of close cooperation. “ILO-EU cooperation can be instrumental for rebuilding social dialogue where it has been negatively affected by the crisis, such as in some EU countries”, Guy Ryder said
The ILO Director-General underlined the need and the opportunities for the ILO-EU partnership in the world of work today. “The need comes from the consequences of the crisis”, Guy Ryder said, adding that the ILO and the EU should cooperate as effectively as possible and orient their efforts towards a job rich recovery. He continued that the opportunities lie in the ILO and the EU’s shared values of inclusiveness, social dialogue and fundamental rights at work. “These common values can’t get weakened in the face of the crisis”, Guy Ryder concluded.
