INFORMAL ECONOMY, AGEING OF SOCIETY AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, AS DEBATE ON EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES
Press Release
SOC/4419
INFORMAL ECONOMY, AGEING OF SOCIETY AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED BY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, AS DEBATE ON EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES
19970227 The development of the informal economy and of small business was crucial to creating macroeconomic stability and to raising household incomes, the Commission for Social Development was told this afternoon, as it discussed the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development, focusing on the priority theme of productive employment and sustainable livelihoods.The representative of Jamaica said that small businesses had the potential to create jobs, utilize local raw materials and involve large numbers of people in decision-making. Her Government had enacted legislation to inculcate entrepreneurship in the school system; increase the number of females in small business; develop financial services for the informal sector; strengthen the marketing capacities of micro-business; and expand adult literacy.
The informal sector had played an important role in providing additional income for workers with salaries that were inadequate and often not paid on time, according to the representative of Ukraine. Income from the informal sector in Ukraine was roughly equal to that derived from the formal sector, she said.
The representative of China said that the international cooperation necessary to implement the goals set out in the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development was lacking, resulting in a further widening of the gap between the North and the South. The developed world had not met its commitments to the developing countries, she said.
The representative of Japan said that bearing in mind its rapidly-ageing society, his Government had established some 700 "silver human resource centres" that provided temporary, short-term employment for older persons. Older workers constituted a new component in the market and would play an increasingly important role in society, he said.
Malta had achieved practically full employment, its representative told the Commission. Government policies had reduced unemployment to below 4 per cent, which, given the statistics of the unemployable, was trivial.
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Other speakers this afternoon were the representatives of Nicaragua, Mongolia, Belarus, Costa Rica, Morocco, Russian Federation and Peru, as well as the observer for Switzerland. A representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also spoke, as did those of the International Chamber of Commerce, ATD Fourth World, NGO Committee on the Family and the World Leisure and Recreation Association.
The Commission will resume its general discussion of the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, 28 February.
Commission Work Programme
The Commission for Social Development met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development. It was scheduled to continue consideration of its priority theme of productive employment and sustainable livelihoods.
Statements
CARMEL L. DE GABRIELE (Malta) said that Malta currently has practically full employment; the level of unemployment was under 4 per cent, which, taking into account the unemployable, was really trivial. There was an Employment and Training Corporation which served both as an employment agency and a training establishment. It gave special attention to such persons as the disabled, ex-convicts, and ex-drug dependants. A separate unit of the Corporation catered to ex-drug addicts and ex-offenders, where special and specialized attention was offered. It also took a pro-active approach in meeting the employment needs of the long-term unemployed by working on an Employment Training Placement Scheme and a Community Work Project.
He said the Corporation also ran short-term training courses free of charge designed to help: unemployed persons acquire new skills; gainfully occupied persons who needed to be retrained; persons in need of rehabilitation; women returnees to employment; and self-employed persons who needed to improve their management skills. It was the philosophy of the Corporation and of the Government that young people should remain on the unemployment register for the shortest time possible. For that purpose, it had set up a Youth Employment section where young people between ages sixteen and twenty were given personal attention. Concerning workers with family responsibilities, there was an extension of parental facilities for employees in the public service, and fathers, like mothers, could now claim breaks to care for their children. In addition, part-time workers whose principal employment was their part-time employment had the right to a share of the vacation, sick and special leave entitlement to which full-time employees were entitled.
GRETHEL VARGAS (Nicaragua) said it was important to eliminate obstacles to the growth of enterprises and access to credit. Everyone knew well the consequences of unemployment, as the Secretary-General's report so eloquently stated. The most logical and common response to achieving full employment was achieving economic growth, but as the report had clearly stated, there were only few countries capable of achieving economic growth and creating full employment at the same time. In Nicaragua, the Government was reducing the infrastructure and implementing some of the other measures that the report had recommended. If the recommendations were not carefully applied, it was clear that the entire effort would backfire. What the developing countries required was more flexible measures, such as the reduction of the debt burden.
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Her country wished to put on record its efforts at promoting economic growth. The effort should be mutual. The international financial institutions should cooperate so that before a country undertook policies which could cause some social and economic difficulties, it would be clear what was at stake. She would have been happy with some reflection on that subject in the report.
MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said that as a rapidly ageing society, Japan needed to foster an enabling environment for the employment of older persons. The Government had established some 700 "silver human resource centres" that provided temporary, short-term work employment in activities which benefited local communities. Older workers constituted a new component in the market and would play an increasingly important role in society.
In order to mitigate the effects of growing income disparity, some 80 per cent of private companies in Japan provided vocational training for less-skilled workers. Public human-resources development facilities had also been created by local and national government agencies. Female participation in the labour market in Japan had reached 50 per cent, but further efforts would be needed to achieve de facto equality and equal payment for work of equal value.
FAITH INNERARITY (Jamaica) said that her Government had enacted policies on the aged, disabled and youth which reflected international programmes of action to which it had committed. Jamaica supported efforts to place the family at the centre of economic planning. Individual households were fundamental economic units; the welfare of families should be the target of all poverty-eradication programmes.
The promotion of macroeconomic stability was at the centre of policies in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, she said. The development of the informal sector would be critical in that regard. Small businesses had the potential to create jobs, utilize local raw materials and involve large numbers of people in decision-making and development. New legislative measures were needed in her region to strengthen small business, inculcate entrepreneurship in the school system; increase the number of females in small business; develop financial services for the informal sector; strengthen the marketing capacities of micro-business; integrate technology into production; and expand adult literacy. Transforming the informal sector into a generator of viable economic enterprises would be central in the effort to attain full employment.
JEAN JACQUES ELMIGER, observer for Switzerland, noted significant elements on the subject of full employment, including that a healthy growing economy was the basis for full employment, that technological progress was a determining element for growth, and the importance of adaptation to globalization. Efforts should be undertaken to enable workers meet with the requirements of change, he said, noting that job training would reduce the
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strain of structural change and make it possible for workers to benefit from economic growth.
MENG XIANYING (China) stated that the international cooperation necessary for the attainment of various goals set out in the World Summit for Social Development was yet to be effectively carried out. The commitments made by developed countries had not been fulfilled, and the gap between the North and the South was widening further, with a poverty population of over 1.3 billion. She outlined three points to expedite the settlement of employment issues: promoting economic development was the basis for the expansion of employment; improving the educational level of labourers was an effective means for the expansion of productive employment; and while expanding employment, the governments of all countries should strengthen international cooperation and establish a fair and equitable international economic order.
China, she said, had all along taken full employment as a primary objective of its national development and closely integrated employment policy with economic policy. It had maintained a basically steady employment level and kept unemployment rate at about 3 per cent. Clearly aware that expansion of employment and eradication of poverty were a long-term task, it would not only maintain an annual economic growth rate of 8 per cent from 1996 to 2000, it would readjust the economic structure and accelerate structural reforms as well. It would also create 40 million more job opportunities and bring 65 million people out of poverty.
She pointed out that a legal system to protect the rights and interests of disabled persons had been implemented, while on ageing, a Development Plan of Work for 1994-2000 had been promulgated. Similarly, China had taken an active part in the drafting and implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. Attaching great importance to the family, it was now carrying out activities related to the International Year of the Family.
NYAMOSOR TUYA (Mongolia) said that in the early years of its transition to a market economy, Mongolia suffered unemployment as a result of layoffs of public employees. But more recently, the majority of unemployed represented recent graduates of secondary schools and former servicemen. Present unemployment was being generated by insufficient investment directed towards private enterprise.
Mongolia had responded to the Copenhagen Summit by initiating a two- phased national unemployment reduction programme covering the years 1996-2000 and 2000-2010, she said. The main policy measures of the programme included institutional capacity-building in the national network of employment regulation agencies and improved statistics; new legislation covering minimum wages, occupational safety and the promotion of small and medium-sized
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enterprises; the provision of soft loans to generate self-employment; and the promotion of cooperatives. Her Government was also developing industries which targeted disadvantaged regions and stimulated exports; organizing labour-intensive public works programmes; and creating training and retraining programmes for high school graduates and unemployed persons. Mongolia had recently introduced unemployment benefits and tuition payments for unemployed persons, as part of an enhanced social safety net.
ELLA M. LIBANOVA (Ukraine) said that in 1994 her country had suffered from runaway inflation of over 2000 per cent per annum. The monetary measures that had been introduced to lower that rate to 140 per cent in 1996 had resulted in the closing of many factories. During that year, some 20 per cent of workers were placed on unpaid leave. Official levels of pay for most jobs in Ukraine were inadequate and often not paid on time. As a result, many workers had sought additional income in the informal sector. According to the World Bank, income from the informal sector in Ukraine was roughly equal to that derived from the formal sector.
Ukraine had created a series of incentives to expand the economy, including a package of tax decreases which had been sent to Parliament, she said. The Government needed to undertake additional measures to create employment -- otherwise, the "criminalization" of the economy would be complete. Pensioners comprised some 25 per cent of the population of Ukraine. The Government was attempting to maximize the contribution of older persons by allowing them to seek employment while receiving their pensions.
VOLGA DARGEL, Minister for Social Protection of Belarus said that her country was today going through a very difficult transition; only one half of the population was economically active. Unemployment had reached 3.3 per cent, with roughly half of that number concentrated among younger workers. Many corporations had slowed production, laying off workers and placing others on unpaid leave.
A complex set of national programmes had been established in Belarus to address the situation, she said. Government had sought to promote labour- market flexibility and entrepreneurship and was committed to keeping unemployment below 4.6 per cent. The gender aspect was critical to employment planning as women were in a difficult position in many transition economies. Some 54 per cent of unemployed were women; they were the first to go when workers were laid off. Government had sought to support working women by providing one free workday per week to all female workers with two children. That benefit would soon be extended to women with disabled children.
EMILIA CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica) said she supported the proposal of the Portuguese delegation to host a conference of ministers responsible for youth, in cooperation with the United Nations. She stressed the need to incorporate older people into the work force in order to avoid a crisis in the
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future; that was important in the preparation for the International Year of Older Persons (1999). She further recognized the important contribution that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was making towards the programmes of the youth, which led to hope that a strategy that encompassed the human dimension, as well as sustainable livelihood in peace, justice and happiness, would be developed.
ZAKIA EL MIDAOUI (Morocco) said that the Programme of Action of the Social Summit had proved difficult to implement. The responsibility mainly fell into the laps of governments, which had to come up with solutions. While there was no perfect world, however, the Summit had indeed engendered great hopes all over the world. Her country had elaborated a social development strategy for the 1990s based on foundations that included provision of social facilities, such as water and housing, social welfare, and the better targeting of vulnerable sectors of society.
Morocco had developed a special charter for the family, she continued, pointing out that the recognition of basic social rights in the country had its roots in the Constitution. There was now also a national youth council, while an employment code forbade discrimination. The Government, working with many sectors and bodies within the country, had agreed on legislation to continue to work in that regard. By those measures, the country hoped to be able to combat the poverty that had come as a result of the recession.
B.A. TSEPOV (Russian Federation) said that his Government had virtually eliminated central planning in the Russian economy. Labour was redistributing itself toward high-income sectors. While beneficial for those sectors, that process had exacerbated inflation and led to job losses and reduced standards of living in many areas. A severe lack of resources had limited the Government's ability to carry out programmes aimed at easing that dislocation. Social problems today constituted a threat to stability in Russia. The "balance sheet of social development" showed a sharp drop in the rate of inflation, but it also showed that social policies should be aimed at stabilizing and improving the living standards of workers.
The Russian Federation was seeking to eliminate arrears in the payment of wages and benefits, he said. It was also attempting to prevent mass layoffs in crisis areas of the labour market. In order to reduce unemployment, the Government would improve the "broker" services of employment agencies by establishing databases. It would also prepare proposals for legislative changes with a view to making financial aid available to entrepreneurial enterprises.
ROSA FLORES MEDINA (Peru) said that only economic growth could reduce unemployment and eventually reduce poverty. For the past three years, Peru had enjoyed economic growth that had measurably increased standards of living. Government social spending had also played an important role in economic
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recovery and poverty reduction. Over the next five years, Peru would fight extreme poverty so that the poorest workers would be incorporated into the larger economy. The goal was to give 2 million of Peru's 4 million poorest citizens a means to support themselves. The goal was to halve poverty by the year 2000.
Private investment should be central to national economic growth and should also positively target the poorest parts of the economy, she said. Peru had developed a "poverty map", which had identified those deprived of economic and social infrastructure. Peru would concentrate its efforts on coordinated local plans, rather than large-scale national efforts. People could identify their needs and priorities and could meaningfully participate in local plans.
SERGE NAKOUZI, a representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), said that the majority of the world's 1.3 billion poor lived in rural areas where agriculture employed as much as 80 per cent of the labour force. Over 70 per cent of agricultural workers were women. In sub- Saharan Africa, food production had declined over the past 25 years. That region was now a net food importer. By the year 2000, it was estimated that the total cost of Africa's food imports will have increased by $4.5 billion as compared with 1989.
He said the FAO Special Programme on Food Production in Support of Food Security in Low-Income Food Deficit Countries was helping those countries to rapidly increase food production on a sustainable basis in order to meet increasing demand, stem undernourishment and increase agricultural employment and income.
A representative of the International Chamber of Commerce, also speaking on behalf of the International Organization of Employers, said that owing to globalization, people were now looking up to the private sector to create jobs. For that to work, a sound policy framework was required at both national and international levels. That, in turn, would demand a stable political, social and economic environment; a stable and consistent macroeconomic environment; and a stable institutional and policy environment. He asked Governments to provide policy with aims such as: avoiding deficit financing; encouraging labour market flexibility; and ensuring that primary and secondary education was of the highest quality. Although the primary aim of business was profit, he pledged that within the limits of economic realities, business would make the necessary contributions to this process.
A representative of ATD Fourth World requested Member States and non- governmental organizations to bring together families living in poverty and the organizations helping them, in the follow-up to the Social Summit.
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A representative of the NGO Committee on the Family, speaking on behalf of the International Catholic Child Bureau and the members of the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, drew attention to document E/CN.5/1997/NGO/2 prepared by his Committee and supported by 37 NGOs. Among others issues, the statement underlined the indispensable links between families and the priority themes of the Commission and called for appropriate sustained attention to family in the medium-term plan and the work of the Commission. He hoped that a family dimension and family-impact consideration would be mainstreamed in future programmes of the Commission and the United Nations Secretariat.
A representative of the World Leisure and Recreation Association pointed out that full employment was a desirable goal, but asked how realistic it was, and what was full employment? She drew attention to those who had "too little time -- the over-employed". A child who had no time to play was not a child, she noted, saying that her association had developed a programme for leisure education. A graduate education programme now existed and was based in the Netherlands. It had so far trained over 100 students from all over the world, equipped to work in various areas of society.
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