Global Governance Group (3G)

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR VANU GOPALA MENON, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON BEHALF OF THE GLOBAL GOVERNANCE GROUP (3G) AT THE INFORMAL PLENARY MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON FRIDAY, 3 JUNE 2011

The Global Governance Group (3G)* would like to thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this meeting and for inviting H.E. Mr Xavier Bertrand, Minister of Labour, Employment and Health of France, as a representative of the current Chair of the G-20, to discuss G-20 activities with Member States.

2 As stated in the 3G's inputs dated 7 April 2011 to the G-20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting, the 3G agrees with the assessment of the first G-20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting, held in April 2010 in Washington, that placing employment and poverty alleviation at the centre of global economic strategies is important for achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth. The 3G is concerned about the ongoing impacts of the world financial and economic crisis, and the other interrelated crises and challenges, which disproportionately affect developing countries and put at risk their hard won development gains. The 3G therefore welcomes the G-20 French Presidency's initiative to convene the second G-20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting on 26-27 September 2011 to continue with the efforts to promote job creation in tandem with economic growth and recovery.

3 The 3G is concerned about the escalating employment challenges facing both the developed and developing countries. Job growth has been lagging economic growth. Unemployment remains persistently high and it is especially troubling that youth unemployment is double the rate of adult unemployment in most countries. Long-term unemployment has also increased. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the challenge facing most emerging and developing countries is to generate enough "decent work" to keep pace with their growing workforces**.

* The 3G comprises the following States Members of the United Nations: Bahamas, Kingdom of Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kuwait, Principality of Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Principality of Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Republic of the Philippines, State of Qatar, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of San Marino, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovenia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

**"Recovering from Global Crisis - Information Note on the Outlook for the World Economy", GB.310/WP/SDG/2/3 and "Recovering from Global Crisis - Addressing the Global Crisis", GB.310/WP/SDG/2/1.

BUILD ON THE ILO GLOBAL JOBS PACT AND RECURRENT DISCUSSION ON EMPLOYMENT

4 In this regard, the ILO Global Jobs Pact adopted in June 2009 and the Conclusions of the Recurrent Discussion on Employment adopted in June 2010 harnessed the collective wisdom of the tripartite partners to provide timely responses to the jobs crisis and the broader challenges vis-?vis employment in the longer term. The 3G stresses the importance of these initiatives and recommendations and hopes the G-20 will draw inspiration from them when reviewing policy responses and considering new measures. The 3G recognises that the ILO is the competent global body discussing labour issues and setting international labour standards. We welcome the G-20's continued efforts to lend their expertise and ideas to the labour process and to play a constructive role in identifying global trends and opportunities and sharing innovative approaches to tackle the challenges.

CONTINUE TO PLACE EMPLOYMENT AND JOB CREATION AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA

5 The 3G subscribes to the growing international consensus that economic strategies need to accord priority to job creation, which is also in line with the recommendations made at the G-20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting in April 2010 in Washington. In this regard, the 3G urges the G-20 to translate these well-considered recommendations into strategic measures and plans for implementation. This should take into account the new challenges highlighted earlier, giving special attention to global youth unemployment. Where applicable, the impact of these challenges on new entrants to the workforce could benefit from analyses against backdrops of relevant demographic changes and rapid improvements in technology.

6 Emphasis should also be placed on closing the skills gaps of workers. The mismatch or lack of skills has weakened the employability of some workers and impeded their entry or retention in the workforce. The 3G welcomes ideas from the G-20 to formulate policy responses to improve the quality of education, expand training and skills development programmes, provide incentives for skills upgrading and continuous learning, enhance job-matching and placement services, strengthen active labour market policies and promote entrepreneurship and innovation. These should enhance the employability of workers and their employment opportunities. These ideas should build on the G-20 Training Strategy, which was prepared by the ILO and OECD and was accepted at the Toronto Summit in June 2010. While providing decent work remains the priority, improving the quality of jobs and preparing workers for the future should also receive due attention.

ALLOW GREATER INVOLVEMENT ON NON G-20 COUNTRIES IN WORK GROUPS

7 The 3G appreciates and commends the French G-20 Presidency's efforts to consult widely beyond the G-20 countries. The 3G reiterates its call for the G-20 to conduct its work on such globally pertinent and important issues as employment and labour, in a consultative, inclusive and transparent manner. To ensure that such employment and labour issues could be holistically addressed to benefit both developed and developing countries, the inputs and participation of countries and social partners outside the G-20 would be valuable. This would ultimately contribute to well-coordinated economic strategies which would help bring about global job creation, inclusive growth and a better quality of life.

8 Thank you.

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