Global leaders urge policies to ensure sustainable work opportunities

In putting people first and embracing the future, world leaders have called for coordinated policy responses and international cooperation to ensure that all get the benefits of technological advancement. 

They submitted that government alone could not achieve shaping the future of work, as business and labour would play a critical role in shaping a world of work that puts people, employers and workers first.If shaped accordingly, they said “the future of work could be the future we want, one that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all.”

To achieve this, the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, in his remark at the 13th G20 Summit in Argentina recently, noted that such measures include the strengthening of labour market institutions, adapting skills training to changing market needs, and achieving more gender equality.

With the global unemployment rate, Ryder warned that employment situation is expected to persist until 2020, unless governments take remedial measures to support employment and wage growth and enterprise creation.

Argentina’s President, Mauricio Macri, encouraged the leaders to focus on “dialogue to create consensus for the next ten years”, and invited them to “give the world a clear message that together we can set a horizon of development with shared responsibilities, a strong commitment towards gender equity and united by diversity.”

Ryder said there are immense opportunities for decent job creation at the same time as protecting our environment.ILO research showed that active government policies aimed at meeting the Paris Agreement’s targets would result in the creation of 18 million decent jobs worldwide, while embracing a “circular economy” which encourages goods to be recycled, reused, remanufactured and repaired could create an additional six million jobs.