Call for making decent work “a reality in Africa”

“It is my hope that...decent work, as a concept will become a visible reality,” in Liberia and Africa, said Liberian President H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in her keynote address during the two-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Labour of Liberia, in partnership with the international organisation “Realising Rights (RR): The Ethical Globalisation Initiative” and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The Monrovia High-level Forum covered a wide range of topics including the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for Fair Globalisation, plus renewed efforts toward decent work in Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

“Decent work means decent life...and the call for action for decent work programmes is a just call,” stated Kofi Woods, Liberian Minister of Labour in the presence of more than eighty representatives from governments, employers and workers associations, the development partners, the private sector and civil society organisations.

Key issues of concern to African and international stakeholders were raised while consensus and recommendations focused on practical examples from the region including Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia to promote and implement decent work approaches, post-conflict reconstruction and job creation.

“We see decent work as a core human right and this meeting is part of a wider strategic effort to get more priority for decent work in the context of discussions in the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)” in late September 2008 in New York, underscored Realising Rights President Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“There is no lasting peace without jobs”, emphasised Mpenga Kabundi, ILO deputy-regional director for Africa by drawing the attention to “decent jobs for a just society and a sustainable route out of poverty.”

The decent work agenda includes for main topics:

• Creating economic and other policies that put job creation as a centre objective
  
• Respecting ILO core labour standards such as non-discrimination and health and safety at the workplace
  
• Promoting social protection for all
  
• Promoting social dialogue between the government, employers and workers.

“Employment creation is a key component of reintegration and peace-building,” concluded Jordan Ryan, UN deputy special representative for Liberia by calling for a strong “focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.”

The High-level Forum was preceded last week by an international conference in Oslo, Norway on “Decent Work - a key to social justice for a fair globalisation” designed to build coherence between trade and employment opportunities.

The Monrovia workshop was built on existing sources including the commitment framework from the 2004 African Union Extraordinary Summit on Employment and Poverty Alleviation and the follow-up given at the 2007 ILO African Regional Meeting in Addis Ababa, the employment program design for Liberia presented to Development Partners at the June 2008 Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum in Berlin and the lessons learned from existing Decent Work programs in other countries in the region.