[Nasional-m] The world's people need decent jobs

[Ambon]

 The world's people need decent jobs


 Juan Somavia International Herald Tribune Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Clothes for the emperor

JOHANNESBURG The International Labor Organization estimates that more than a
billion women and men are unemployed, underemployed or working poor. A
direct result of this is that some 120 million migrant workers and their
families have left their home countries in the hope of finding a job
somewhere else.
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What can the Johannesburg summit do about this? The answer is, plenty. The
summiteers can begin by affirming that today's globalization, like the
emperor in the fable, has no clothes.
.
Twenty years after the groundbreaking Brundtland report and 10 years after
the Earth Summit in Rio, it is obvious that reaching sustainable development
objectives that can help relieve this deficit of decent work will be
impossible using the present model of unequal globalization.
.
Just look at the facts. Development has basically bypassed Africa. The
lingering human costs of the Asian and Russian economic crises are there for
all to see. Argentina was recently hung out to dry as an example to the
world, in the naive belief that there would be no contagion. Help was
announced for Brazil but voters are getting the message that the markets
will turn their backs if they choose the wrong president in the coming
election.
.
Across South America the middle class is shrinking and there are more poor
and unemployed people than at any time since the Great Depression of the
1930s. A recent regional survey reported that from 1996 to 2002 trust in
democracy went down in 13 out of 17 countries analyzed.
.
While there have been achievements, for too many people and too many
countries the present external policy constraints just aren't working.
Simply repeating the same formula won't make it work better for workers and
enterprises in the future.
.
We hear time and again that bad results are the fault of the countries
themselves - that they are unstable, badly governed, corrupt, unable to hold
the line. And while that may be true in many instances, and no doubt a great
deal of cleaning up needs to be done (both in developing and developed
countries, as corporate scandals have reminded us), it is far from the whole
story.
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To truly expand the benefits of globalization, open societies and open
markets, we need to make changes in the policy prescriptions themselves. In
other words, let's get the emperor some new clothes. This is not as daunting
as it may seem. Alternatives are available and viable. They can be applied
along with the necessary care for low inflation and sound macroeconomic
management.
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We must move toward creative policy integration of the three pillars of
sustainable development: its economic, social and environmental dimensions.
But there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Policies must reflect a basic
understanding of the dynamics of people, societies, cultures and democracy
that governments have to contend with in very different settings. Here are a
few common sense approaches that can make globalization more equitable:
.
Concentrate on creating opportunities for decent work and income in rural
areas and large cities through an enabling environment for investment and
skills development, particularly for self-employment and for micro, small
and medium enterprises. The single most important thing that can legitimize
globalization worldwide is ensuring sustainable livelihoods through full
employment. Today this is globalization's biggest failure. Move away from
the bubble and speculation of the casino economy fueled by primacy of
financial markets, toward a real economy based on savings, investment and
creativity that generate solid companies and quality jobs. Promote social
entrepreneurship and socially responsible investment funds. Put strict
limitations on the linkage between pension funds and stock markets. Protect
the value of savings.
.
De-link economic growth from environmental degradation by investment
strategies for sustainable development made possible by new
environment-friendly technologies. They offer vast business and job
opportunities. Heavy investment and access to information technologies are
crucial. This is costly and should be a priority in development cooperation
with poor countries.
.
Place policy options on a sound footing by promoting social dialogue among
workers and employers and civil dialogue with representative voices of
society. Freedom of expression, the right to organize and respect for
workers' rights are key to this end.
.
Inject fairness and accountability into the international trading and
financial systems. We need a level playing field for all. Today we have
inequality of opportunities and a deficit in democratic decision making. Of
course, vested interests will react, but the fairness issue will not go away
and will continue to haunt the standard bearers of unequal globalization.
Make human security a central policy objective. We need to counter the
increasing disruption of family life under prevailing economic
uncertainties. The urgency is to acknowledge the need for change. If we do,
it can be orderly and stable. If not, it will be disorderly and disruptive,
as we have already seen. Turning a blind eye to these issues fuels the
groundswell of anger and mistrust that ultimately breeds the growing
violence around us.
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The writer is director-general of the International Labor Office. He
contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.