From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
ILO Director-General calls on Prime Minister of Jamaica
By ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean
Feb 23, 2017 - 5:32:30 PM
Kingston
(ILO News) The Director-General of the International Labour
Organization (ILO) Guy Ryder called on The Most Honourable Andrew
Holness, ON, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica, who was accompanied by
Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Trade, and The Honourable Shahine Robinson, MP,
Minister of Labour and Social Security, on 22 February 2017.
The Director-General commended the Government of Jamaica for putting
inclusive growth, job creation and decent work at the centre of the work
undertaken by the Economic Growth Council and the national strategy of
development. He stated that this was a great
opportunity to deepen cooperation with the ILO in bringing further
emphasis on the Decent Work Agenda in the context of the inclusive
growth strategy of Jamaica.
The
Honourable Prime Minister explained how economic growth and job
creation equals prosperity. Mr Ryder recognised a strong coincidence of
perspectives with the
foundations of the ILO. He further complimented the Prime Minister and
his government for demonstrating its willingness to continue to ensure
social dialogue and a widely shared vision in carving the path forward.
Over the past years this has clearly helped
Jamaica to sail through the difficult times of implementing the IMF
agreement. Social dialogue and wider public communication must help to
engage and explain policy choices so that the future can be co-created
for lasting improvements and impact.
They exchanged views on how both the quantity and the quality of jobs
were important for uplifting the Jamaican people to a more prosperous
and sustainable future. An important part of creating an enabling
environment for this to happen is the Labour Market
Reform Programme driven by a tripartite Commission. The ILO again
pledged its support for continued technical advisory services to share
international best practice, knowledge exchange and capacity building,
for example in the areas of youth employment and
formalization.
It was recognized that the
Decent Work Agenda is embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals
2030 and hence their implementation. Mr Ryder congratulated the
government for its commitment to explore an accelerated implementation.
Mr Ryder was accompanied by Mr Jose Manuel Salazar, ILO Regional
Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms Claudia Coenjaerts,
Director for the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, and
Mr Christian Ramos; ILO Senior Advisor to the Director-General.
The Director-General is in Jamaica to attend the Caribbean Future of
Work Forum and the 10th ILO Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour,
held in collaboration with the Government of Jamaica.
The ILO delegation further met with representatives of the Jamaica
Employers’ Federation and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.
It is the first time an ILO Director–General officially visited the Republic of Jamaica.
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