Opening Remarks at the ILO/Japan/Germany Regional Tripartite Meeting on Social Dialogue in Asia

Khun Elawat Chandraprasert, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of the Royal Government of Thailand;
Mr. Hideyo Nakano, Assistant Minister, Ministry Health, Labour and Welfare, Government of Japan;
Mr. Wolfgang Ohndorf, Director-General, Directorate-General, European and International Social Policy, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany;
ILO Governing Body Members and distinguished guests

It is a privilege and a pleasure to welcome you to this ILO/Japan/Germany Regional Tripartite Meeting on Social Dialogue in Asia. I hope that the coming three days will bring some frank discussions, and some very open exchanges of views and experiences. I would like to offer a very warm welcome to the high-level tripartite delegations from the 11 countries taking part – and from Germany. I am sure that your inputs will help us look at social dialogue in our region through new eyes.

I would also like to welcome our very distinguished group of resource persons – among them ILO Governing Body members Mr Tabani, Mr I.P. Anand, Madam Halimah – together with Dr Park, Mr Grobner, and Khun Rakawin. Our participants are similarly distinguished, among them, another ILO Governing Body member Mr Ito.

Our last regional meeting on social dialogue was held in 1999, with globalization and industrial relations as its theme. At the time, we began to hope that we were nearing the end of the Asian financial crisis. Today, I think we can safely say that the worst has passed. Even so, there is no room for blind optimism. Many East Asian economies are still wrestling with corporate and financial restructuring. The damage the crisis did, the hardship it caused, can still be felt. Investors don’t need telescopes to watch soaring stocks. Instead, they reach for stethoscopes, to check the real health of the economy. And the caution is not confined to our region. Globally, prospects for economic growth are not as bright as they could be.

Our 1999 meeting also turned the spotlight on another aspect of the crisis. It talked about a movement towards more open societies, a growing commitment to good governance. As we look back today we see that this trend has continued. It is true that this has brought with it a certain degree of instability and turbulence – as we have seen recently in several Asian countries. Even so, most countries in the region are making steady progress towards greater popular participation. There is a deep desire for good governance. And this is not confined to the political sphere. It can be seen in the industrial relations arena as well. Tripartite initiatives have played an important part in efforts to cope with the crisis in this region.

The ILO has worked hard to build firm foundations for tripartism, long before the crisis. We have had some invaluable assistance. Without the vision and the generosity that the Government of Japan has shown throughout the 12-year history of this industrial relations programme in Asia, much of that would not have occurred. The programme helped employers and workers in the region to examine the social dialogue systems and strategies they use – and to redefine them. This regional meeting will build on achievements so far. It is, of course, made possible by the continuing support of the Government of Japan. I am therefore honoured to have the opportunity to express to you, Mr. Nakano, the ILO’s gratitude for that generosity. We look forward with the same sense of gratitude and enthusiasm to our future collaboration.

I hope that we can use the next three days to take stock of the progress we have made with social dialogue -- and of the challenges that remain. In a decade, we have come a long way. In most countries in our region, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are now taken for granted. A decade ago, that was not the case. In the same way, 10 years ago, few people imagined that social dialogue would have become such an important part of Asia’s industrial landscape. Today, employers and workers are now more likely to turn to collective bargaining and labour-management consultation at the workplace to resolve conflicts. At the national level, tripartite social dialogue provides sound basis for labour market policy, and, increasingly, in broader social and economic policy areas, too. And, in transition economies, we see tripartism and collective bargaining gaining strength, as the market economy takes hold.

Of course – the path has not been smooth. We have had globalization to negotiate, and the financial crisis. Together, they have had a profound effect on national industrial relations systems. They have changed the way that labour markets are organized – as well as the way that employers and workers interact at various levels of industrial relations. We also have to acknowledge that globalization and the financial crisis have meant different things for different groups of people, and for different countries. The effects of the financial crisis were not uniform. For most of the countries represented at this meeting, the effects were not direct. For many countries, too, the crisis may not have cut as deeply as it did in, for example, Indonesia or Thailand. In the same way, globalization is being felt differently. In some countries, it means reforms in the public sector and ongoing adjustment to the still new market economy. In others, it means maintaining the pace of innovation, and boosting productivity. Despite these differences – some things are the same. In every case and in every country – globalization means a rise in external factors that affect domestic arrangements and institutions. And these effects are felt all the way down to the workplace. This is the challenge that all employers and workers face. Globalization urges us to learn to manage constant change. Managing change has always been a critical function of industrial relations. Social dialogue will play a key part in the way that we meet this challenge.

In fact, the financial crisis tested social dialogue’s ability to do just this. It came through with flying colours, often when conditions were worst. For example, it is widely acknowledged that without concerted tripartite efforts in Malaysia, many more jobs would have been lost, inflicting greater pain on thousands of working families. In the Republic of Korea, tripartite agreements helped ensure the timely introduction of social protection measures. And, as decentralization efforts proceed, social dialogue has now a role to play at the provincial level, in Thailand and Indonesia.

We have made considerable progress. But we have a long way to go. The institutions and the legal frameworks that support social dialogue are often weak. In many countries, employers’ and workers’ organizations need strengthening. Here, I would like to acknowledge the presence of our colleagues from the Geneva employers’ and workers’ bureaux. Strong social dialogue needs strong voices.

Social dialogue is founded on the principles of freedom of association, the right to organize and the right to effective collective bargaining. Social dialogue embodies the principle of democratic governance in industry through tripartite consultation and cooperation. This principle is embodied in the ILO Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144); Cooperation at the Level of the Undertaking Recommendation, 1952 (No. 94) and the Consultation (Industrial and National Levels) Recommendation, 1960 (No. 113). These principles also play a key part in the pursuit of the ILO’s primary goal of Decent Work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Underpinned by the fundamental ILO Conventions, our organization’s Decent Work agenda is vital in today’s globalizing world. It offers a social floor for the global economy, a way to make sure that people are always at the centre of all that we do. Social dialogue is the institutional guarantee that people are always at the centre of decisions that affect them.

People means women and men. And yet, too often, women’s voices are left out of the dialogue. We can see gender inequality and exclusion in every country. Around the globe, we see that women have a lower share of membership in workers’ and employers’ organizations than men. This share is also lower than female labor force participation rates might lead us to expect. Women hold fewer leadership positions in businesses, and in trade unions. Unless we redress this imbalance, we will not achieve truly inclusive, truly workable social dialogue. In a similar way, we need to find new ways to take social dialogue into the informal sector, and to reach the growing numbers of atypical workers. Traditional channels of representation, and organization, pass these people by. Unless we channel their voices into social dialogue, unless we address their concerns through social dialogue, and cooperate with the people who work for them – social dialogue will not achieve its ideal of decent work for all.

In three days, we have much to do! Allow me to conclude by suggesting some priorities. Our first task is to produce a broad analysis or diagnosis of the problems we face. Our second task is to prioritize these. I hope that at the end of this meeting, with social dialogue among tripartite participants, we will all have a clearer sense of the challenges we face, and the new paths we can take. I am confident that this seminar will also help the ILO identify how we can best serve our constituents, to promote and achieve decent work through social dialogue. I look forward to sharing the results of your hard work, and I wish you every success.