By Reneé Grawitzky
South Africa Business DayJune 15, 1999
Geneva - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has taken steps to ensure greater co-ordination with the Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Speaking at the organisation's annual conference yesterday, recently elected director-general Juan Somavia said that the ILO must have a voice in the debate on the future system "of governance for economic stability and equitable development".
Somavia said in a report delivered at the gathering that he was a proponent of the ILO collaborating more closely with the United Nations and Bretton Woods institutions. His aim was to ensure that the social repercussion of globalisation were taken into account when economic policies were formulated. During an informal ministerial tripartite meeting to discuss the Asian financial crisis, he said that from now on the ILO would be invited to IMF gatherings.
During debate on Somavia's report, SA labour department director-general Sipho Pityana said there was no doubt that globalisation had led to unprecedented changes in the world of work. The ILO had to take "its rightful place alongside the Bretton Woods organisations", Pityana said, "and ensure that policies of these institutions take into consideration the social dimension". The challenge was to strengthen co-ordinating mechanisms between the various parties, he said.
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