Economic growth needs to be an ILO priority

IOE Secretary-General Roberto Suárez Santos pushed for more to be done to support enterprise development during ILO Tunisia’s recent Centenary celebrations.

On 3 May ILO Tunisia organised a high-level event to mark the organisation’s Centenary. The Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) and IOE were invited to join and engage in this celebration.

In his speech, IOE Secretary-General recognised the remarkable contributions of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, of which UTICA is a founding member, in the political stabilisation of the country and the promotion of democracy. "Allow me to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the role played by the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet and 2015 Nobel Prize winner in building a pluralist democracy following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution," declared Suárez Santos.

The Secretary-General then addressed what he views as the new orientations the ILO needs to take to become more inclusive of business and employer concerns. He outlined five areas where ILO could strengthen its work: better foster a constructive business environment, increase action on skills development and anticipation, tackle with courage and conviction informality, be the driving force for a more robust national compliance culture and implementation of existing regulations, and expand action to strengthen capacity of social partners.

He concluded by reiterating the employers’ commitment to work with the ILO and its Constituents to effectively meet the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s world of work. But he added, "the ILO and its Constituents must also believe in and support the private sector and contribute to building an environment that is conducive to business development."

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