Geneva and New York, June 18, 2009 – Employers, trade unions and governments have reached a historic global agreement on measures to promote employment and enterprise development during economic recovery, according to the International Organization of Employers (IOE).
The Global Jobs Pact will today be adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) annual conference in Geneva – the main United Nations labor and social policy forum. It will be the first truly global identification of labor and social measures to combat the crisis, which brings together both the developed and developing world.
The Geneva-based IOE is the largest private-sector network in the world, representing national business federations in 140 countries. It is the leading international business organization on social and labor matters, directly representing business in the ILO and working closely with policy makers at all levels. The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as the IOE’s American affiliate.
USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who serves on the ILO’s governing body, helped draft the Global Jobs Pact. She said it lays out clearly the policy approaches needed to support job creation by the private sector.
“Enterprises of all sizes have been negatively impacted by the crisis, and they all require the right policies to return to growth,” stated Ms. Goldberg.
The Global Jobs Pact directly meets the challenge laid down by G20 governments in April – supporting employment by stimulating growth, investing in education and training and implementing effective labor market policies, while also focusing on the most vulnerable.
“Having agreed measures which can combat the crisis, the hard work now begins,” the IOE said in a statement. “The challenge for the ILO, international organizations, governments, trade unions and employers, will be translating these ideas into practical measures which actually make a difference on the ground. The true test of the new pact will be its translation into more jobs in all countries.”
The Global Jobs Pact underlines the key role the private sector must play in any recovery. It emphasizes the importance of policies that support business survival, entrepreneurship and investment. It also identifies the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure development, and the positive role of rural employment, as measures to respond to the jobs crisis.
“The employers of the world are committed to ensuring the global jobs pact translates into more sustainable enterprises and therefore more jobs and a rapid and comprehensive global economic recovery,” stated the IOE. “The survival of private enterprises will be critical to that recovery.”
The text of the Global Jobs Pact is available on the ILO’s website (www.ilo.org). Click here to access a copy.
USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.
Contacts:
Scott Barklamb, IOE
+41 22.917.68.02 or barklamb@ioe-emp.org
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org
