A tripartite Egyptian delegation, that is led by Manpower Minister Hassan Shehata and comprises representatives of the government, employers and workers, took part in the opening session of the 111th International Labor Conference, which is organized by the International Labor Organization on June 5-16 in Geneva, Switzerland.
As many as 5,000 envoys from 187 countries are taking part in the event.
The conference offers an important opportunity for discussing the ILO director general’s report on the promotion of social justice and another report on the conditions of the occupied Arab territories’ workers, as well as other reports on apprenticeships, gender equality and social protection for workers.
Shehata will deliver a speech to the conference on Wednesday to present Egypt’s leading experiment in boosting labor relations and protection and social justice programs.
Director-General of the International Labor Organization Gilbert Houngbo gave an address highlighting his report that will be probed in the conference about “advancing social justice.
Houngbo said that at the end of 2022, 685 million people were estimated to be living in extreme poverty, the majority of whom were in sub-Saharan Africa and in fragile and conflict-affected economies.
These people are unable to secure sufficient resources to meet their basic needs for safe drinking water, food and sanitation, health and shelter. Such deprivation is an affront to human dignity. It is often interrelated with other injustices, including child and forced labor, he said.
He added global estimates indicate that 160 million children were engaged in child labor in 2020, while close to 50 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021.
The increases since 2016 in the absolute number of people in child labor by over 8 million and modern slavery by 2.7 million are the antithesis of social justice, according to him.
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