[World Economic Forum] ILO warns on Job Cuts

From All Africa

Funmi Komolafe
Bamako

AS the World Economic Forum (WEF) opened in Davos, Switzerland, Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Mr. Juan Somavia, has warned of unprecedented the job crisis in the world. Mr. Somavia's call tallied with that of stakeholders who met in Bamako, Mali at the World Social Forum (WSF), and called for decent jobs, lamenting that privatisation of public utilities, un-controlled trade between the North and the South have resulted in the closure of many factories in developing countries especially Africa.

This, they noted, had not only increased unemployment in Africa but also entrenched poverty. The ILO Director-General commended the decision of the WEF to place on its 2006 agenda an item on creating future jobs, and urged the world's top business and government leaders attending the Forum to consider urgent steps for tackling a worsening global jobs situation.

Mr. Somavia warned that the global jobs crisis was a growing concern in terms of its impact on markets and incomes, and a threat to the credibility of democracies around the world. He said putting job creation, global employment, new skill development and labour mobility on the WEF agenda marked a major step forward in raising awareness among world leaders.

"This crisis isn't going unnoticed on the streets of rich and poor countries alike," Mr. Somavia said,adding: "Increasingly, political leaders are hearing the voices of people demanding a fair chance at decent jobs and new opportunities to find and keep work. Yet far too often, those opportunities just aren't there."

The West African Trade Union Group whose meeting in Bamako was facilitated by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung deliberated extensively on labour market security under neo-liberalism said rising unemployment had impeded development in Africa.

In a report of Hauwa Mustapha of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), discussed in Bamako, she said: "Many firms have been forced to steamline and restructure their operations and to lay off workers in the name of rationalisation and downsizing. Privatisation of the public sector as well as restructuring of the civil service has left many jobless, especially among the youths and women."

Mr. Somavia on his part, said this "opportunity gap took a heavy toll on the lives of women and men and their families, not only because it meant that millions of people might not have enough or even any income, but also because having decent work affects people's dignity, their sense of self worth and the stability of their families."