On eve of Toronto

G 20 Summit:

ILO urges strong action

The annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded its 2010 session yesterday with a strong call for placing employment and social protection at the centre of recovery policies.

“We must get the right balance of policies to secure strong, sustainable and balanced growth,” said conference delegates.

Meeting in the run-up to the G20 leaders summit in Toronto, representatives of the “real economy” - government, employer and worker delegates from the ILO’s 183 member States - expressed broad concern that the global economic recovery remained “fragile and unevenly distributed, and many labour markets are yet to see jobs recovery match economic recovery.”

“It is urgent to adopt policies putting employment at the centre of economic policies” said Japan workers representative, Shigeru Nakajima.

“Here at the ILO, we have reinforced this concept: the only real recovery is a recovery without social deficit” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia in a message to the closing plenary of the Conference.

“Quality jobs at the heart of the recovery” was a key message from Pittsburgh last September.

“This remains more relevant than ever” said Somavia.

ILO News