Director General of International Labour Organization (ILO) meets UN Country Team

Opportunities to collaborate with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on its Decent Work Agenda topped discussions between visiting ILO Director General, Guy Ryder, and Jamaica’s UN Country Team on 23 February 2017.

Mr. Ryder met with the Resident Coordinator and members of the UN Country Team during his recent visit to Jamaica for the Caribbean Future of Work Forum, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the Government of Jamaica, and the 10th Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour.

The meeting with the UN Country Team was convened at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, and attended by locally based representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and the International Labour Organization.

The meeting discussed socio economic challenges and conditions facing the Jamaican economy and the Jamaican worker, and explored opportunities for joint collaborations in support of ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.

Mr Ryder’s main engagement in Jamaica, the Caribbean Future of Work Forum brought together Ministers with responsibility for Labour, Permanent Secretaries and high-level officials of the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, as well as representatives from the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) and the Caribbean Employers' Confederation (CEC), civil society, academia, development partners and the United Nations.

The Opening Ceremony was addressed by Hon. Shahine Robinson, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica, Mr Ryder, Jennifer Issacs-Dotson, President, Caribbean Congress of Labour, and Wayne Chen, President, Caribbean Employers' Confederation.

Under the Future of Work Centenary Initiative which the ILO launched in 2013, the Forum examined the drivers of change as they affect the world of work in the Caribbean and identified proactive actions needed to shape the future of work desired.

Panel discussions led by ILO Regional Director, Jose Manuel Salazar Xirinachs, focused on: Decent Jobs for All; Governance of Work; and Organization of Work and Production