The Future of Decent Work – 100th Anniversary of ILO

Let me greet you all on behalf of the UN Family in Montenegro.

We are all very proud to stand behind and support our sister agency ILO in celebrating their 100th anniversary.

Over a century long quest for social justice, the oldest UN agency has been bringing its specialist skills and knowledge to help countries upgrade labour norms, to convene social partners around common issues with a single goal – to strengthen and promote decent work. As the UN Secretary General said – ILO’s tripartite governance model is a source of strength and legitimacy.

Today, in a time of growing uncertainty, the theme of this conference – “Future of Decent Work” is important maybe more than ever before.

Decent work is central to Agenda 2030 – as Sustainable Development Goal number 8.  Adopted by 193 UN member countries, Agenda 2030 present a bold global vision for future development that balances environmental, economic and social goals – and a world in which no one is left behind.

In Montenegro, the two-year strategic document – Decent Work Country Programme (2019 – 2021) enlightens a path towards achieving SDG 8 in Montenegro, based on priorities and objectives agreed with the Government, trade unions and employers. But it’s not only about SDGs. At the same time this strategic document is strongly backing EU Accession process, more precisely Chapter 19 - Social policy and employment.

To help the country make this document reality, ILO deploys its expertise and convening power on many fronts, ranging from supporting labour legislation reform, development of Labour Code, drafting Law on Social Council, Law on Representativeness of Trade Unions, developing White Paper on Youth Employment, training judges, mediators and labour inspectors, supporting development of labour market information system, tackling informal economy and creating favourable conditions for employment and sustainable entrepreneurship. Together with national partners, the ILO is helping the country connect dots around the complexity of Decent Work which depends on so many determinants.

But all those efforts would have limited impact, without fruitful cooperation of national actors. Montenegro demonstrates serious commitment to uplift its labour framework. Aside of adopting the National Strategy for Sustainable development that transposed 2030 Agenda into national context and adoption of the Decent Work Country Programme, the country ratified over 70 ILO conventions, demonstrating clear commitment to align its policy framework with latest international standards.

Due to its complexity and cross sectoral nature, decent work is impossible to address without a proper data. The identification of labour market issues critically rests on the availability of data, information and analysis.

Montenegro becomes the first Central and Eastern European country to install one of the world’s most advanced statistical platforms for labour market information, the Labour Market Information System. The system provides an essential basis for employment and labour policies, and informs the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that are better focused and targeted. Therefore, the Montenegrin Government decided to take a step forward in assessing the actual situation in the field of employment and have reliable and valuable data available in one place, which is a prerequisite for creation of sound labour market policies.

Because of all these achievements, the country needs to be commended for clear determination to progress in the area of decent work.

Dear friends, let me close by quoting the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, who wisely summarized the increasing need for decent work: “Today, more than ever, decent work opportunities for all are the key to inclusion, social justice, stability and peace. In a world of work undergoing transformative change, Governments, Workers and Employers must come together to build the future of work we want.”

Thank you all.