ILO plans week of activities to mark 90 years

Anjalie Garnier

Is International Labour Organization(ILO) geared to tackle the global unemployment problem specially at a time when a number of companies are closing down?

This was the main question discussed at a media workshop held in Colombo to mark the ILO's 90th anniversary.

"Mahinda Chinthana Chapter 11 outlines key issues of ILO policies paving the way for a new Sri Lanka," said Secretary Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower Mahinda Madihahewa who was the chief guest on the occasion.

Sri Lanka has organized a range of national and regional events which included a high-level national event to be held at the Presidential Secretariat Colombo on April 20.

"Decent work and gender equality at the workplace should be ensured. It is not the quantity but the quality of the job that is important", said Regional Information Officer(Asia and the Pacific) Sophy Fisher.

Mahinda Madihahewa also said Budget allocation for the ILO related poverty alleviation projects for this year is over Rupees 45 million. Twenty self employment projects have already begun in Divisional Secretariats.

"We have been able to find employment for over 100 disabled people at 34 differnt companies at a job fair," said Director General Employers' Federation of Ceylon(EFC) Ravi Peiris.

"The Labour standard in Sri Lanka is at a higher level compared to some of the developed countries," said Peiris.

Sri Lanka and the ILO have joined hands in developing a Decent Work Country Program for 2008-2012. It assists Sri Lanka to improve the livelihoods and working conditions of the country's women and men.

Sri Lanka and the ILO have collaborated very closely since the country became a member of the ILO in 1948.

Using its unique tripartite structure, the ILO in Sri Lanka works closely with the;

• Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower,

• Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and

• Major trade unions: SLNSS, NWC, COPSIU, CWC, CMU, CBEU, FTZGSEU, JSS, and LGSU and NATURE (Group of 17 Trade Unions working together on training and educational activities).

Regional Information Officer(Asia and the Pacific)ILO Bangkok Sophy Fisher, ILO Bangkok, Director, ILO Colombo Tine Staermose, Social Dialogue and Labour Administration Specialist, ILO Sub-Regional Office, New Delhi Marleen Rueda, Deputy Director ILO Sub-Regional Office, New Delhi Andre Bogui, Director General-Employers' Federation of Ceylon(EFC) Ravi Peiris, Director, ILO Colombo Tine Staermose participated at the media forum.

The ILO is the oldest specialized agency of the United Nations and the only surviving major creation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailes.

In Asia and the Pacific, as in other regions, ILO 90 will be marked by a wide range of high-level activities during the week of April 21-28,(The ILO's original Constitution was approved on April 28, 1919). These activities will be united by the theme of '90 years working for social justice' and will be organized by the ILO's tripartite constituents with support from the ILO.