ILO: Realizing Decent Work in Asia
The International Labour Organization is holding an important meeting in Busan, South Korea this week. Director-General Juan Somavia writes about "underemployment, insecurity, poor working conditions and a shortage of marketable skills" in The Korea Times op-ed article Realizing Decent Work in Asia:
The lack of social protection, especially among workers in agriculture and the urban informal economy is serious.
And despite significant progress in reducing poverty, some 1 billion people are still “working poor” _ working very hard and long hours but unable to lift themselves or their families above the $2 per person per day poverty line.
All this creates underlying tensions that demand our attention.
I have no doubt that Asian countries have the capacity to address and solve these problems. This is a region of initiative and entrepreneurship of opportunity and challenge.
It is a place where resilience, energy and dynamism abound.
The lack of social protection, especially among workers in agriculture and the urban informal economy is serious.
And despite significant progress in reducing poverty, some 1 billion people are still “working poor” _ working very hard and long hours but unable to lift themselves or their families above the $2 per person per day poverty line.
All this creates underlying tensions that demand our attention.
I have no doubt that Asian countries have the capacity to address and solve these problems. This is a region of initiative and entrepreneurship of opportunity and challenge.
It is a place where resilience, energy and dynamism abound.
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