INDIA SEEKS GLOBAL FUNDS FOR TRAINING
AND FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
LABOUR
MINISTER OUTLINES PLANS TO BANISH POVERTY AT 91ST ILO
SESSION AT GENEVA
Union Labour Minister, Dr. Sahib
Singh today asked the world community to set up an International
Skill Development Fund under ILO and to work for free movement
of people along with goods and services as part of the ongoing
process of globalisation and trade liberalisation, to remove the
scourge of poverty from the face of the earth.
Following is the speech of the Labour
Minister at the plenary session at the 91st International
Labour Conference at Geneva:
"Let me
first of all congratulate you on your election as the President
of this session of the International Labour Conference. I would
also like to place on record our appreciation for the very comprehensive
report of the ILO Director General Dr. Juan Somavia on the theme
of "Working out of Poverty". It addresses several issues
of contemporary relevance.
"Poverty is
a curse and we quite agree with Dr. Somavia’s view that poverty
is a complex, deep-rooted, pervasive reality with devastating
effects at different levels. Poverty is a global problem and ILO’s
ongoing efforts to tackle it are commendable.
"The Director
General has noted in his report that skills are essential to improve
productivity, incomes and access to employment opportunities.
We need to develop new strategies to give the poor access to training
opportunities at affordable costs. I would therefore suggest setting
up of an International Skill Development Fund, under the umbrella
of the ILO as an essential element of these strategies.
"Such a system
needs to be evolved on a priority basis so that resources from
the developed world may be mobilised to help the developing countries
in their own efforts of skill development. It could also provide
technical assistance to complement the national efforts of developing
countries.
"If the battle
against poverty is to be won the international economic system
must surely be more sensitive to the needs of the developing countries.
Globalisation must bring clear and tangible benefits for the poorer
countries, if we are to ‘work out of poverty’.
"Increased participation
of developing countries in the WTO regime was touted as a means
for poor countries to reduce poverty. Unfortunately, the impact
so far for most developing countries has been less than encouraging.
"One way of
‘working out of poverty’ where ILO can play a useful role is through
freer movement of people across national boundaries. The ILO must
press for greater liberalisation of such movement as an essential
component of globalisation and market access in the area of services.
Trade liberalisation would be incomplete unless it is accompanied
by freer movement of natural persons, irrespective of creed, colour,
or religion.
"Equally important,
such movement of natural persons should not depend on their region
of origin. Otherwise, we could very well end up with a situation
like what we have in the ILO Office, where a vast majority of
the staff, especially in senior positions, comes from the developed
countries of the world. Such an outcome at the global level would
be even more regrettable than the staffing situation in the ILO.
"In India, following
the spirit of tripartism, the Indian Labour Conference, the Standing
Labour Committee and other tripartite bodies have shaped and influenced
the country’s labour policy.
"The first endeavour
of Governments must be to provide at least some gainful activity
so that poorer people with earnings below subsistence levels,
can at least earn a decent income. The decent work concept can
be meaningful only after this level of work is made available
to the labour force.
"India consciously
recognised poverty as a major issue when we started our development
plans in the early 1950s with the primary objective of reducing
poverty. Our determined efforts have borne fruit and we have succeeded
in bringing down the poverty ratio from 55% in 1973-74 to 26%
in 1999-2000. We are confident to reduce it further to 19% by
2007. Specially focussed programmes aimed at helping vulnerable
groups are being implemented for creating additional employment
and enhancing income generation.
"Concerted efforts
have also been made towards empowerment of women in India. Also
the Constitution has been amended to ensure compulsory and free
education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years so that
they become well-trained adults ready for decent employment.
"To achieve
the goal of decent work for all, let all of us arise, awake, and
stop not till we banish the scourge of poverty from the face of
the earth."
