Support for green jobs

The Government reiterated its commitment to support green jobs creation in Sri Lanka Labour and Labour Relations Ministry Secretary Upali Wijayaweera told the tripartite Project Advisory Committee (PAC) on Green Jobs, held recently.

The Government is committed to promote the green jobs initiative and to create more gender sensitive green jobs opportunities. This will give smooth transition for workers and employers towards a low-carbon, climate resilient, environmentally friendly sustainable development in Sri Lanka, through the ILO's Green Jobs in Asia Project. The ILO's Green Jobs in Asia Project is being implemented in five countries in Asia (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines) in the next two years with financial support from the Australian Government.

The project will contribute directly to national programs and initiatives on climate change, the environment and recovery from the global economic and jobs crisis.

In Sri Lanka, the project will include an integrated sector-based study on linkages between the environment, employment and the economy; training and awareness-raising programmes to address the needs of social partners (employers and trade unions) and a demonstration project for the creation of green jobs and decent work in collaboration with the Ministries of Labour and Labour Relations and Environment.

ILO Country Director Donglin Li, commended the Ministry for their commitment and efforts to the Project and ensured ILO's continued support to the constituents with a view to building their capacity and creating the conditions of social dialogue to mainstream green jobs into social and economic policy.

ILO Regional Project Coordinator of the Green Jobs in Asia Project Myriam Fernando said green jobs are decent jobs that contribute to environmental sustainability. However, it is also important to define Green Jobs at country-level to make the concept relevant to the local context.