Employmentweb_low

EMployMEnT, worK, and HEalTH inEqualiTiEs - a global perspective
European regional Meeting of the ilo. ilo
director-General Juan somavia meets
with employees of "pastéis de Belém", one
of the oldest pastry shops in lisbon. The
pastéis de Belém has implemented pay
equity solutions for its male and female
workers, using an innovative job
evaluation method developed by local
employers associations, trade unions and
the ilo. [...]
source: © ilo/J. vasco (2009)
be an integral part of international commerce (Labonte & sanger,
2006a; 2006b). counter-claims that labour flexibility is the only way
in a global economy are simply determinist and ahistorical. Work
arrangements such as insecure employment, the informal sector,
child labour and indentured/forced labour have been successfully
addressed in the past.
Third, promoting “quality” work needs to be a central policy
objective for governments and multi-national bodies such as the
european Union (eU). at an eU presidency conference held in
Belgium in 2001, such an effort was made only to be quickly stymied
by neo-liberal opponents. This effort needs to be revived and
extended. again, this process requires clear policy and regulatory
guidance and must include unions and community groups as key
decision-making participants. Work plays a central role within
communities and the provision of meaningful and healthy work will
not occur if left entirely to the market, especially given the influence
exerted by large corporations within it. similarly, the potential
synergy between creating “green” jobs and healthier jobs (discussed
below) requires conscious social intervention. Unions in europe and
elsewhere have advocated socially constructive employment
creation in the area of green jobs that also targets disadvantaged or
displaced groups such as youth from deprived areas or unemployed
older workers (syndicats et changement climatique, 2009; sydney
morning herald, 2009). however, they have also warned that “green”
jobs need not be healthier or safer unless the latter are integrated
into the policy framework, including regulatory protection and
provision for union or community input and monitoring (hazards,
2009).
in terms of implementing this framework, we already have
enough evidence to point to the broad direction of policy changes and
the ways of implementing them. any discussion of employment
policies needs to take account of the serious environmental, climate
and population challenges we have mentioned. in march 2009, the
UK government scientist warned that by 2030, a global population of
over 8.3 billion would mean a 50 per cent increase in demand for food
and energy and a 30 per cent increase in demand for water. The
result will be serious shortages in all three, with the United nations
environment programme predicting widespread water shortages in
africa, europe and asia (mcGourty, 2009). These predictions do not
take into account the impact of global warming (United nations
intergovernmental panel on climate change, 2007; 2008) on
temperature, rainfall patterns, sea levels (inundating low-lying land)
and the melting of key glaciers (most notably those in the himalayas
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