TIM eMagazine Vol . 3 Issue 6
And this can be done , thanks to the ILO ’ s Recommendation No . 205 on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience ; this highlights the importance of generating employment and decent work for the purpose of prevention , recovery , peace , and resilience .
As workers play a key role and trade unions need to be at the centre of efforts to address conflicts and disasters , there are indeed several possibilities that can address the situation on their part , which include :
* Exploring various conceptions of peace and the values and principles underlying the philosophy of peace-making ;.
* Discussing the Decent Work Agenda with a focus on job creation and livelihood support to create the economic foundations for inclusive peace , resilience and state-building processes ;
* Explaining the relevance of ILO Recommendation concerning Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience , 2017 ( No . 205 );
* Defining trade union policy position and roadmap informed by the tenets of R205 as pathways for building peace and resilience in the Region ; and
* Developing an action plan to rollout the trade union roadmap for peace and resilience in the Asia and the Pacific region .
In his speech , Mr . Khalid Hassan , Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines , stressed that peace and tranquillity is a crucial factor that can propel countries towards sustainable development .
“ As workers , we also know that peace and tranquillity must be nurtured . It does not come easy , neither it is automatic . It is against this background that trade unions can contribute to reducing causes of conflict , manage situations of disasters and also be effectively involved in assisting postconflict countries and disaster-affected communities to build back better . Experiences of unions in resolving conflict at the workplace , and in bridging divided communities are assets that could be employed in conflict and crisis response at the local , national , and regional levels . “ Conflicts dislocate labour markets , and often the rule of law is sidelined ,” he warned , stressing how this scenario leads to decreased protection against discrimination and increases in the use of forced labour and child labour as a result of destruction of adult jobs , forced migration and increased number of orphans .
Hassan added that in this context the Workers ' Group of the ILO Governing Body have fully endorsed this subject matter . This endorsement led to the decision to place on the agenda of the International Labour Conference a standard-setting item on decent work for peace , security and disaster resilience to revise Recommendation No . 71 . In 2017 , the ILC adopted Recommendation No . 205 on a strong tripartite consensus . The new Recommendation , which supersedes Recommendation No . 71 , is a timely , highly relevant , and up-to-date instrument to guide ILO constituents .
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“ Recommendation No . 205 stands out as the only international normative framework focusing on employment and decent work dimension in the context of multiplication , complexity and the devastating impact of crisis , which affects over 2 billion people globally in the last decade . Next year , the ILO will mark its Centenary or 100th anniversary ,” he added . “ We have to remember that the ILO was founded in 1919 after a major conflict – the first World War to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice .
“ This is the same premise of Recommendation No . 71 on the fundamental role of employment and social justice . Recommendation No . 205 expands the original scope of Recommendation No . 71 to include internal conflicts and disasters . It broadens and updates the guidance on employment to several other elements of the Decent Work Agenda , taking into account the contemporary context and nature of crises as well as the experience gained by the ILO and the international community in crisis response . Furthermore , it adopts the latest internationally agreed terminology . Upon its adoption , governments , employers and workers were called upon to give full effect to Recommendation No . 205 . The ILO proposed a follow-up strategy for action based on the content of the Recommendation and priority areas of demand , initially covering a six-year period from 2018 to 2023 .
Hassan also mentioned during his speech that the global journey towards giving effect to the Recommendation No . 205 started in Africa , followed by Eastern Europe and Central region , and then in the Americas including the Caribbean islands . He furthered that it was also in Africa where the ILO International Training Centre organized a Regional Academy in June .
“ I wish to call upon trade union leaders , educators and conflict experts to share their knowledge and experience on how they have dealt with conflicts and disasters . Rest assured that the ILO will provide continued support through technical advisory and services for the design and implementation of regional , sub-regional and national trade union plans of action , as follow-up to our long standing cooperation with the labour movement in the region , “ Hassan graciously summed up . www . ilo . org . ph
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