Decent work key to future development<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
The International Labor Organization (ILO) lashed out on
\nFriday at draft documents for the next World Summit on
\nSustainable Development in Johannesburg, saying that the drafts
\nfailed to pay attention to employment and decent work, two
\nessential preconditions for eradicating poverty and implementing
\nsustainable development.<\/p>\n
The ILO director general, Juan Somavia, contended that these
\nlabor issues should be focused on during the current preparatory
\ncommittee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable
\nDevelopment.<\/p>\n
In his statement read out by his special envoy Allan Larsson
\nduring the ILO's roundtable discussion, Somavia stressed that the
\nquestion of more and better jobs should be introduced to the
\nJohannesburg strategy.<\/p>\n
Somavia stressed that employment and decent work had always
\nbeen the world's most important concerns, and they should also be
\nthe focus of efforts in pursuing sustainable development.<\/p>\n
He noted that better jobs were badly needed by some 500
\nmillion working poor and an additional 500 million newcomers to
\nthe labor force over the next ten years, 97 percent of whom would
\nbe in developing countries.<\/p>\n
\"The growing global workforce should be seen as a potential
\nand essential part of the solution to the challenge of reducing
\npoverty and promoting social progress rather than as a separate
\nproblem to be dealt with later,\" Somavia said in his statement.<\/p>\n
The 500 million working poor were part of the almost 3 billion
\npeople worldwide who lived on less than US$2 per day, mostly in
\ndeveloping countries, according to International Conference of
\nFree Trade Unions (ICFTU) data.<\/p>\n
A participant from an India-based NGO explained that a decent
\nworkplace remained an elusive dream for workers in developing
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"Imagine a company located in Kenya, with raw materials from
\nChina, workers from Kenya and owned by Anglo-U.S. businessmen.
\nThe workers labor in a small, hot factory, with two small doors,\"
\nthe Indian participant said.<\/p>\n
The preparatory committee (PrepCom) meeting for the World
\nSummit on Sustainable Development was a good opportunity for the
\nstakeholders -- government officials, NGOs and other major groups
\n-- to work toward improving working conditions and promoting
\nproper incomes for workers, said the ICFTU in its statement.<\/p>\n
The ICFTU put forward priorities to be highlighted in the
\nPrepComm, which could later be manifested into an action plan to
\nbe implemented after the World Summit in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
The priorities included putting pressure on developed
\ncountries to help developing countries tackle the poverty
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
\"The European Union, G-8 countries and the Organization for
\nEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries must
\nfinally agree to take decisive action on poverty alleviation, for
\nexample, by halving world poverty by 2015,\" said the ICFTU.<\/p>\n
The ICFTU cited other commitments that should be brought into
\nreality by developed countries, including development assistance
\nand debt write-offs for developing countries. Assistance by
\ndeveloped countries should target secure employment, which was
\nthe key to an effective strategy for poverty eradication.<\/p>\n
Besides secure employment, lack of decent work -- in the form
\nof occupational health and safety -- was part of the problems
\nthat should be addressed in a bid to achieve sustainable
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
\"The improvement of the working conditions of workers should
\nbe the outcome of the World Summit and this must be enforceable,\"
\nsaid K. Chetty, assistant director general of the South African
\nMinistry of Public Health.<\/p>\n
The issue was important since workers are a significant
\nportion of the global population. Moreover, workers, most of whom
\nwere breadwinners, could become the front line messengers for
\nimproving global health and literacy, which were promoted by the
\nChairman's Text for the World Summit, she said.<\/p>\n
Poverty and labor issues were included as social pillars of
\nsustainable development. Poverty and social breakdown were
\nbelieved to be stumbling blocks for people in adopting
\nsustainable lifestyles.<\/p>\n
Poverty and low economic growth, for example, had prompted the
\ngovernments of developing countries to tolerate the operations of
\nmining companies, disregarding the potential for environmental
\ndamage.<\/p>",
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