Maravi

ILO warns of growing disconnection between people, governments

ILO warns of growing disconnection between people, governments
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 26 May 2012, 12:42 CAT

INTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation director-general Juan Somavia says the growing disconnection between people and politics is fuelling a global reaction of discontent.

Addressing a Youth Employment Forum that closed at the International Labour Organisation (ILO)'s head office in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday, Somavia warned of a growing disconnection between people and policy, as well as between people and governments.

"Many people are saying 'you are not taking my situation into account'," Somavia said.

"This is particularly true in the case of youth and young people whose feeling is often: 'OK, you talk about our issues but we're not there, we're not there in the process."

He also warned of growing discontent over the way the global crisis had been handled in Europe but hailed developing countries that followed a different track and increased social protection.

"This discontent is fuelling today a global reaction," Somavia said.

"Many European countries stuck in an 'austerity-led recession,' are looking at the crisis from a purely financial point of view, while the public is asking 'what about us? We're paying the cost for a crisis we had no responsibility whatsoever in producing'," he said.

"By contrast, many developing countries came out of the crisis quicker and with different policies than the developed economies that are still mired in the crisis."

He said those countries that took care of their debt years ago did not need to borrow from the International Monetary Fund IMF to confront the latest global economic crisis.

"They were able to put policies in place in which they increased minimum wages, they expanded social protection, they did a lot of things that would not have been possible had they followed the same policies being applied in Europe," Somavia said.

He hailed the young people at the Forum for trying to change society for the better, pointing out that this was "no easy task".

"Is it worth it? Is it moving forward? Are we really changing anything? Is this activism having effect? Let me tell you, the answer is yes, it is yes, yes, yes," said Somavia.

The Youth Employment Forum was a precursor to the 101st International Labour Conference that kicks off in Geneva from May 30 to June 14, 2012.

Labels: GREAT DEPRESSION II, ILO

posted by MrK @ 7:03 PM