Share

ILO: 100m jobs needed in Africa

Durban - Africa needs to create 100 million jobs in the next decade to meet demands of new entrants into the labour market, the head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said on Saturday.

Juan Somavia, the ILO's director-general, told African ministers that it was necessary to boost the growth of African economies in order to produce the required jobs.

"We need to concentrate on (building) the local economies. We need to concentrate on development and enterprise," he said, adding that Africa must improve productivity to create jobs.

African ministers are in Durban preparing for a summit starting on Monday to wind down the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and launch the African Union (AU).

Somavia said 90% of Africa's population lacked adequate social protection, and African women were concentrated in the most vulnerable forms of employment in the informal economy. He gave no further details.

Somavia added that the majority of African child labourers were also "trapped" in the informal economy.

"I urge Africa to put employment as an objective of its macro-conomic policies. Make the delivery of a steadily increasing number of decent jobs one of the key indicators of the future success of the African Union," he added.

Somavia also urged Africans to campaign for a fair, rules-based international system where its values of respect, fraternity, human solidarity and dialogue could flourish.

"The rules of the game (in the world) are not fair. Competition is necessary, but not through a system that favours the strong and weakens the weak," said Somavia, adding that developing countries felt that global financial, trading and decision-making structures favoured the industrialised nations.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.93
+0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.90
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.40
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
+1.3%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders