ILO Director-General calls for new era of social justice

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director-General Juan Somavia opened the historic 100th International Labor Conference with a call for an urgent commitment to a new era of social justice and economic growth based on sustainable development to address mounting “turmoil” in the world of work.

“Our world of work is in turmoil,” Mr. Somavia said in his address to the Conference. “It is urgent to commit to a new era of social justice, of growth with social justice based on sustainable development.”

Mr. Somavia said the world of work was facing multiple crises, including an unacceptably high level of youth unemployment, stagnant levels of world investment in the real economy, marginalization of job-creating small enterprises, and “indecent levels” of income and wealth concentration.

“It is the time for a stronger ILO,” he declared.

Expressing concern over complacency regarding a still fragile recovery, he warned that “we have in front of us the bigger danger of further consolidating inefficient growth patterns and unfair globalization rules that were at the root of the crisis, and that have systematically increased inequality almost everywhere in the last 30 years. Slipping back into business as usual will lead us all, sooner rather than later, into another crisis.”

Mr. Somavia said ILO policies “contribute to a world with fewer tensions, greater fairness and strengthened security. With our values and policies, we are on the right side of history.”