The 111th annual Conference of the International Labour Organization is taking place in Geneva from 5 to 16 June. Delegates representing workers, employers and governments from the ILO’s 187 member States are discussing a wide range of issues, including a just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy, quality training, worker safety and health and safety.
On the margins of the International Labour Conference a delegation from the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, led by Chairman Satybaldy Dauletalin, took part in a meeting of a group of workers.
Welcoming the participants to the event, Gilbert F. Hungboe, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, stressed the need for a Coalition for Social Justice to fight against growing inequalities.
“The fourth industrial revolution, entailing a radical transformation of production methods, demographic shocks and the urgent need to decarbonise the economy, is an opportunity for a better future for all of us,” said the ILO Director-General.
According to him, 4 billion people in the world have no social protection and 214 million workers have incomes below the poverty line. A large number of micro and small enterprises that used to create jobs have gone bankrupt. At the same time, women earn on average 20 per cent less than their male counterparts.
The Director-General stressed the need for a Global Coalition that would bring together a wide range of international bodies and stakeholders. In his view,
The Global Coalition for Social Justice will aim to “balance environmental, economic and social considerations in the global dialogue, including in the reform of the international financial architecture” and to “advocate policy coherence and investment in social protection and decent work”.
On the margins of the International Labour Conference, the FTURK delegation led by Satybaldy Dauletalin met with Maria Helena André, Director of the ACTRAV Workers’ Bureau, Sergejus Glovackas, Head of Central Asia and Eastern Europe Section of the ILO Workers’ Bureau, Owen Tudor, ITUC Deputy General Secretary and with delegations from unions in Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Israel, Turkey and global unions.
Mr. Satybaldy Dauletalin, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan, speaking to his colleagues, focused on the implementation of international standards in national legislation, Kazakhstan’s implementation of ILO Convention 87, work on the ratification of conventions, internal union work and ensuring the irreversibility of democratic reforms in the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan.
Satybaldy Dauletalin emphasized that trade unions actively promote issues of social justice and decent work.