TIM eMagazine Volume 3 Issue 6 | Page 41

TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 6 Philippines hosts trade union regional forum on decent work for peace and resilience I nternational Labour Organization (ILO) estimates revealed that 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. Trade unions are expected to play a key role to address conflicts and disasters in the region. From 21 to 23 August 2018, the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), with the support of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines, will be holding a trade union regional forum in Manila, Philippines. The regional forum on decent work for peace and resilience will bring together 22 trade union leaders from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who is also the Government Chief Peace Negotiator will keynote the forum, to be delivered by Undersecretary and currently OIC Secretary Joel Maglunsod. Fragility, conflict and disaster undermine peoples’ livelihoods The Regional Forum On Decent Work for Peace and Resilience participants Credits: ilo.org.ph and create decent work deficits. If not addressed, these problems can lead to increased poverty, inequality, and social unrest. ILO Recommendation No. 205 on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience highlights the importance of generating employment and decent work for the purpose of prevention, recovery, peace, and resilience. Workers play a key role and trade unions need to be at the centre of efforts to address conflicts and disasters. During this forum, participants are expected to: *Explore various conceptions of peace and the values and principles underlying the philosophy of peacemaking. *Discuss 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. *Explain the relevance of ILO Recommendation concerning Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience, 2017 (No. 205). *Define a trade union policy position and roadmap informed by the tenets of R205 as pathways for building peace and resilience in the Region; *Develop action plan to rollout the trade union roadmap for peace and resilience in the Asia and the Pacific region www.ilo.org.ph Fragility, conflict and disaster undermine peoples’ livelihoods and create decent work deficits. If not addressed, these problems can lead to increased poverty, inequality, and social unrest. ILO Recommendation No. 205 on Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience highlights the importance of generating employment and decent work for the purpose of prevention, recovery, peace, and resilience 41