Kufuor calls for promotion of decent work agenda

From Kwaku Osei Bonsu, GNA Special Correspondent, Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva, June 4, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday called for the promotion of decent work agenda to help to advance the cause of workers and enhance economic growth particularly, of poor nations.

Decent work, fair wages and pensions, social protection and inclusion must be appreciated not only as moral imperatives, but a pragmatic way of enhancing productivity and facilitating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction in poor nations of the world.

This must be made a vehicle for assuring workers all of their inalienable right to human dignity.

President Kufuor was addressing the 96th International Labour Conference, now underway in Geneva, Switzerland. More than 3,000 Government, Worker and Employer Leaders are attending the annual meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which is discussing issues ranging from decent work and involvement to child labour in the agriculture and fishing sectors; equality at work; forced labour and the promotion of sustainable development.

President Kufuor said there was the need for Governments, enterprises and organised labour to recognise the challenges of globalisation and to work in concert to tackle them. "It is true after all that the interests of these stakeholders are not mutually exclusive, they are inextricably linked and must, therefore, be organised and managed to reinforce each other to their collective and individual benefit."

President Kufuor noted that globalisation would truly lead to shared global prosperity; "if all nations were at the same stage of development and could exploit its benefits equally. "Unfortunately, many nations including most in Africa, lack the resources, infrastructure and the capacity to exploit it now." He said this, notwithstanding, Africa was no longer a Dark Continent and that its renaissance was real.

Africa, he said was back and opened for partnership with the international community with the purpose of catching up and launching itself into the mainstream globalisation process.

This called for extra support in terms of debt forgiveness, timely implementation of promises of enhanced aid and technical support, especially as pledged by the leading industrialised nations and other donors as well as fair trade. 4 June 06