Thank you Minister Yin, I very much
appreciate the decision of the Chinese
Presidency to organize this session with
the L20 and B20, as well as the other
outreach groups.
Tripartite consultation and social
dialogue have played a major role
throughout the world in periods of
economic crisis and post-crisis.
This is of course very natural.
Workplaces everywhere are governed
not just by the laws, regulations and
policies governments adopt but also by
the rules and processes established by
employers and workers themselves, as
they endeavour to make sure that work is
performed productively, safely and fairly.
Employers and workers can together
maximize the benefi ts of innovation and
make sure its fruits are shared justly.
So good employer-worker relations are
essential to the workplace and therefore
to the broader economy as well.
But that does not happen automatically.
As has been reaffi rmed on many
occasions, including last month at the
International Labour Conference, sound
employment relations are founded
necessarily on respect for fundamental
principles and rights at work and the
pursuit of social justice.
And living in yet another post-crisis
world right now, in which we face
formidable economic and labour market
challenges including widening inequality,
social dialogue needs to play a role in
the solutions that we implement.
So it is most welcome that G20 Ministers,
with the leadership of China, have this
year decided to stress the signifi cance
of social dialogue in the formation and
implementation of good policies.
The joint IOE/BIAC – ITUC/TUAC
Statement is impressive, both in the quality
of its recommendations to Ministers but
also in the commitment it makes regarding
action by business and labour. It shows the
power and creativity of social dialogue and
the potential of social partner agreements
for steering a way forward in diffi cult times.
I fi nd particularly signifi cant their
affi rmation that freedom of association
and the eff ective recognition of the right to
collective bargaining are key to promoting
and supporting social dialogue, especially
for the effi cient structuring of labour
markets and working conditions. Indeed
the very same determined affi rmation
has been expressed every time the
International Labour Organization has
addressed a watershed moment in history.
Governments and the social partners
today face daunting challenges.
To name but a few:
• eradicating extreme and working
poverty and reducing inequality;
• stopping the degradation of the planet;
• maintaining open economies and
societies that respect and value diversity
• shaping the future of work during a
period of rapid technological change.
Against this backdrop, the importance
of social dialogue in all of its dimensions
– be it tripartite consultations, collective
negotiations or workplace cooperation –
cannot be overemphasized as a way to
diff use political and social tensions and
to create sustainable solutions to them.
And I think it would be appropriate if this
exchange today were echoed nationally
so that country-level social dialogue
can support follow-up to the Ministerial
Declaration that will be adopted.
The ILO is similarly encouraging
governments and the social partners
to make full use of social dialogue
arrangements for discussions around the
implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development. Inclusive
and decent work are important drivers of
sustainable development and will need
to feature prominently in the national
sustainable development strategies that
member States are called upon to fashion.
Ministers, dialogue is essential both to
resolve confl icts and also build consensus
on the way forward. The leadership of the
G20 Ministers, and the support of the L20
and B20, in promoting social dialogue will
no doubt be extremely useful for Leaders
themselves at the Hangzhou Summit in
September. ■
It is most welcome that G20 Ministers,
with the leadership of China, have this
year decided to stress the signifi cance
of social dialogue in the formation and
implementation of good policies.
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