scan0151PROTOCOLS AND APPRECIATION

I bring fraternal greetings from the President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar to the chairperson as well as the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, who until last year was a formidable voice in global trade union movement.

We thank the 10th Director General of the ILO for his report which in the words of the ILC chairperson is “concise, clear and accessible“. An old received wisdom has it that “He who does not look ahead always remains behind“. We commend the Director-General for his comprehensive forward looking realistic report entitled; “Towards the ILO centenary; Realities, renewal and tripartite commitment.” The strength of his vision lies in its profound commendable appreciation of the current realities in the world of work and as well as its proposals for the future for positive change. Two issues are of special interests; war against extreme poverty and sustainable development.

WAR AGAINST POVERTY

This report rightly deals with the issue of extreme poverty and prosperity. Today it has become a fashion to lament the plight of the poor. Poverty studies and findings can fill the shelves of many global libraries. But it was ILO which first commendably raised the alarm about the danger global poverty poses to global order and harmony. And that was at a time it was not fashionable and even risky to do so. The Declaration of Philadelphia in 1944 says it all; poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere!  

We agree with the optimism of this report that overcoming poverty is clearly surmountable. The report rightly singled out the case of China’s dramatic development which has taken millions out of poverty. It is encouraging to read that progress has been made in the global struggle to eradicate poverty. The Director General’s report is even frank enough to point out the danger of the emergence of what I call the new poor, ironically in a number of middle income countries. “These new contours of poverty and prosperity” task us to critically relook at the Declaration of Philadelphia with a view of putting into reality the vision of the ILO”s founding fathers to banish poverty. The poor need jobs, incomes, food, housing, schools, electricity, roads, credits not recommendations and conclusions.

6 years into ILO centenary, poverty anywhere remains a danger to prosperity everywhere. It is not by accident that the zones of the world breeding terrorism are also poverty zones of the world. We are therefore encouraged by the report of the Director General which declares war against extreme poverty and want. It is however time for ILO to be even more vocal and loud against the extreme wealth of the few in few nations of the world. There seems to be a linkage between the prosperity of the few and the misery of the many. Many millions of youths and women lack jobs. Many workers do precarious jobs without minimum wages. Many young women and children are pushed into prostitution and child labour. All these unacceptable deprivations take place in a number of member-countries of ILO that parade few billionaires and even owners of private jets! We must reverse this trend. The global widening income inequalities undermine the struggle for social justice.  Mahatma Ghandi has said it all; “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”.

At centenary, ILO must throughout the instrument of social dialogue demand for global wealth redistribution to eradicate poverty. Let us moderate extreme prosperity of the few through tripartite social dialogue for wealth redistribution. It is about common sense. We have downsized the poor enough. The extreme rich must also shed the weight of their excess wealth through reinvestment of idle luxury wealth in sustainable labour intensive industries, public sector institutions, public schools and creation of decent green jobs. There is a saying that; “The alcohol that is insufficient for a whole town ought not to intoxicate one man.” In the next century, ILO should be celebrating the wealth of nations and peoples of our planet not lamenting the poverty of many and prosperity of the few. We must replace the well-having of the few with the well- being of the many.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

We agree with the conclusion of this report that the key out of poverty is decent job. A Nigerian proverb says it all; “Work is anti-dote/remedy to poverty“. However without sustainable development there cannot be decent jobs. In many African countries, we have to reinvent development before we can even make it sustainable. There is a new underdevelopment and de-industrialization in Africa. African economies are becoming dumping grounds for imported finished goods and exporters of raw materials just as in colonial times. Many African economies are outside development discourse much less sustainable development! Growth drivers in the continent are in the extractive sectors. Economies that live on extractions of raw materials without value additions pose serious danger to the climate.  Extractive economies are also corruption-oriented.  ILO’s priorities should include the promotion of economic diversification in constituent members states that are currently dependent on export of raw materials. Countries should be encouraged to create value adding green economic activities that in turn create quality jobs through appropriate macro economic and industrial policies. We need sustainable enterprises to guarantee sustainable jobs. Indeed as ILO celebrates its centenary, we need a binding Convention on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Only sustainable decent value adding manufacturing activities as well as protected strong public sector can guarantee decent jobs and environmental sustainability.

This is why the NLC and its Affiliate unions are not just matching for decent wages and decent jobs but also we are on the street to realize the vision of ILO for sustainable development. 

Lastly we once again congratulate the Director General for his Vision and urge all tripartite members to make it a reality through critical tripartite engagement and cooperation with his centenary reform agenda.
Thank you