This is my third opportunity to offer the Director-General’s Report to the International Labour Conference. The first, Decent work, revisited our mandate, interpreted it and defined our mission for the world of today, based on ILO values. You subscribed to the agenda we set out, which affirmed that the ILO had to be concerned with all workers, including those beyond the formal labour market.
My second Report, Reducing the decent work deficit, examined the gap between people’s aspirations about work and the reality. I identified the decent work deficit as a measure of that gap between the world we work in and the hopes that people have for a better life. That Report observed that, for many, decent work is the quality road to poverty reduction and greater legitimacy of the global economy. This year’s Report zeroes in on that theme. It focuses on the working poor and the poor who are excluded from work.
It shows the “decent work dividends” that accrue to families and societies as a whole through a concerted effort to attack poverty.
Chapter 1 crystallizes my thoughts, commitments and ideas on this vital issue. We have a rich historic mandate that calls us to the challenge of fighting poverty. Our experience on the ground is bringing that mandate to life throughout the world. And we face common challenges as we join with others to provide women and men with the tools and support to work out of poverty. Chapter 1 is my personal exploration of these key issues.
The subsequent chapters are more technical in nature, providing an indepth and detailed account of the various dimensions of ILO efforts to eradicate poverty. Chapter 2 focuses on the complexity of poverty and the cycle of disadvantage that it creates. Chapter 3 describes ILO action on the ground and tools in the fight against poverty. Chapter 4 examines how rights at work and the institutional structure of the informal and formal labour market relate to employment creation, poverty reduction and competitiveness in a global economy. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the need for a coordination of policies that focus on different dimensions of the life of people living in poverty.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. But one cannot legislate employment in and poverty out. It is a long and complex process that requires all elements of society to work together. Governments, employers and workers each have a unique and crucial role to play in defining a positive consensus. I invite you to emerge from this International Labour Conference with a renewed tripartite commitment to helping free people and societies from the global poverty trap. Tripartism is our strength and unique contribution. Together, let us take the next and needed step on the road out of poverty and to decent work for all.
April 2003 Juan Somavia
To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
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