The financial crash of 2008
signalled the beginning of the end of the current growth and globalization model
as I described last year in my report on “A new era of social justice”.
Four years on we are mired in a period of uncertainty,
unclear on what the future rules of the game will be.
We are at a turning point
where crisis brings the opportunity to change course.
I see a critical role for the ILO in capturing the opportunities that lie ahead.
The austerity-only course to fiscal consolidation is leading to economic stagnation,
job loss, reduced protection, and huge human costs,
undermining those social values which Europe pioneered.
While trying to reduce the public debt, unsuccessfully by the way,
a social debt is building up that will also have to be paid.
Giving confidence exclusively to financial operators
while losing the trust of people
not only deepens the vicious downward economic spiral
but also opens the way to extreme solutions
which I am sure European democracies do not want to revisit.
Extreme policies produce extreme reactions.
We must welcome then the emerging debate in Europe
on the need for growth jobs and social protection
and certainly the ILO will play its part
to help the region reorients itself, towards its history, towards its values.
There is a powerful reassertion of activism from young people
who refuse to accept a future of unemployment, marginal work and expensive,
poor quality education.
They go from social entrepreneurs to trade union leaders.
I applaud this capacity of the youth to react.
At the same time, in many countries,
the disturbing truth is that the young,
are becoming disconnected from the political process,
fed up with systems that have no effective answers for the jobs crisis.
In many different ways, young people are telling us “you don’t listen to us”.
So, at the ILO, we decided to listen,
interact and think together with them to get their ideas into the ILO Conference discussions
that you will be having.
We held 46 national consultations
with around 5000 representatives of young people’s organizations across regions.
It culminated last week in a very creative and stimulating World Youth Forum here in
Geneva
with some one hundred young people from employers’, workers’ and other youth organizations.
It will be a very special moment when Aung San Suu Kyi addresses this Conference.
Last year she sent a video.
This year she honours us with her presence.
It reflects some political changes underway
which we should welcome and must seize and expand the opportunities they represent.
We didn’t give up and so it should be for the future.
Democracy will come to Myanmar.
And when it does, we will be able to say: “ the ILO was there.”