Stories by Moses John
Abuja
Director General of International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, has said that the organisation is committed to action in support of fair and inclusive societies that build a strong foundation of peace.
Ryder who was speaking during this year’s World Day of Social Justice, lamented that poverty and conflict have ruined many lives, as inequalities widen.
“We observe this World Day of Social Justice at a time of great global uncertainty. Poverty and conflict continue to blight too many people’s lives while more prosperous societies have seen inequalities widen.
“Globalisation held out the promise of an era of prosperity but the benefits have been unevenly shared. Paradoxically, while the world has become far better connected than ever before, seemingly unbridgeable social and economic gaps are opening up,” he said.
Ryder further stated that millions of people feel left behind and left out due to the absence of social justice in their daily lives, stating: “children without secure futures, parents without decent jobs and a general feeling of abandonment.
“A sense of injustice prevails in many quarters.
The consequences for communities, societies and economies are grave. Lack of decent jobs and the fear that aspirations for a better life will remain unfulfilled is a powerful force driving people’s worries and feeding uncertainty.
“It leaves young people without a stake in society. These sentiments are all the more acute in situations of conflict, fragility and dislocation where three basic desires are often expressed: to go home, to have the dignity of work and for children to be safe and in school.”
The ILO boss reiterated that the challenge before the world is to come up with policy alternatives that can deliver decent work opportunities on which the stability and success of the societies depend.
“We need solutions that lead away from conflict and towards recovery, to economic growth with social progress, solutions that build institutions girded by labour standards that guarantee rights at work.
“In an interconnected world, this is a global agenda and a global responsibility. The ILO’s founding mandate originates from the principle: Si vis pacem, cole justatium meaning If you seek peace, cultivate justice”. These words are as compelling today as they were when written nearly one hundred years ago, when the world was emerging from the ravages of war.
“Through our action in the world of work we join the UN family in re-committing to action in support of fair and inclusive societies that build a strong foundation of peace,” he said.
