Ban welcomes adoption of global pact to boost jobs amid economic crisis

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the participants of a United Nations-backed labour conference for responding to the current worldwide recession by reaching agreement on a Global Jobs Pact, which places employment and workers protection at the heart of government economic stimulus packages.

The Pact, designed to guide national and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery, was adopted by the 183-member International Labour Organization (ILO) at its annual conference in Geneva.

“The Global Jobs Pact responds directly to the everyday worries of working women and men,” Mr. Ban told some 4,000 participants at the conference in a video message.

He said the agreement “speaks to the concerns of enterprises large and small. It addresses the hopes of young people seeking opportunity as they enter this turbulent market.”

According to the ILO, the Global Jobs Pact amounts to its most urgent and wide-ranging response to an economic crisis, calling on governments and organizations which represent workers and employers to join forces in tackling the global jobs crisis through policies in line with the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.

A recent ILO report showed that, during the 2007-2009 period, between 210 million and 239 million people would be unemployed, representing global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 per cent, respectively, or increases of between 39 and 59 million unemployed people since 2007.

ILO projections indicate that 200 million workers are at risk of joining the ranks of people living on less than $2 per day between 2007 and 2009.

With some 45 million new entrants to the global job market annually, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said that the world economy would have to create some 300 million new jobs over the next five years to go back to pre-crisis levels of employment.

“Urgent action is required now to boost economic recovery and job creation whilst preparing for a greener, more balanced, fairer and sustainable economy,” Mr. Somavia told delegates attending the conference, which met from 3 to 19 June.

“This Pact provides a path crafted together by all members of the ILO and based on tried and tested policies,” said Mr. Somavia.

Among the measures called for in the Pact are steps to retain people in employment, to sustain enterprises, to accelerate employment creation and social welfare protections, to promote investment in infrastructure and to avoid protectionism.