OFW
Peace and tranquility can be
promoted by workers, trade
unions: ILO
By : Philip Ortaleza
Participants
A
trade union regional forum was held in Manila last
August 21 to 23 which brought together 22 leaders
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and
Timor Leste.
Hosted by the the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities
(ACTRAV), with the support of the ILO Country Office
for the Philippines, the two-day forum stressed the impact on how trade
unions have their role in addressing pressing issues of disasters and
conflicts which have long been prevailed in the Asia-Pacific region—
despite the very bright and promising economic growth prospects that
abound in the area.
The situation can be disturbing, if viewed on a global context;
according to ILO, around 1.5 billion people live in countries experiencing
situations of fragility and armed violence, and another 200 million people
are affected by slow or sudden onset of disasters. In the Asia-Pacific
region, about 93 per cent of people in extreme poverty live in countries
that are environmentally vulnerable, politically fragile or both.
As more and more conflicts and disasters increase, there is a need to
drastically reduce their after-effects that could trigger more social unrest.
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Credits : ilo.org.ph
In his speech, Mr. Khalid Hassan,
Director of the ILO Country Office for
the Philippines, stressed that peace and
tranquility is a crucial factor that can
propel countries towards sustainable
development.