The Government of Fiji is serious about its employment issues, our Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Filipe Bole told the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference yesterday.
“The Report on Recovery and Growth with Decent Work is a judgment call to us all. It challenges the policy options we take, and the Fiji Government has placed employment at the heart of its economic and social policies to
empower our people out of poverty.
“This is our key commitment under the Global Jobs Pact to significantly improve our basic social protection and decent work opportunities,” he said.
The Minister also said the Fiji Government fully supports the theme of the Global Report under the 1998 Declaration on the urgent need to accelerate action against child labour.
Minister for Labour’s speaks at the 99th Session International Labour Conference, Geneva 2010.
“Fiji’s ILO Child Labour Project is progressing very well and our social partners are redoubling their efforts in this journey.
“We want to see all our children at school and not working, but we want to see their parents at work to support their children,” he said.
Mr Bole said to support this vision, the Ministry of Education has maintained fee-free education in the first 13 years of primary and secondary education; abolished external examinations in primary and lower secondary schools to
reduce dropouts from the school system; provided free transport to all students in primary and secondary schools who qualify under a means test; and continues to work closely with non-Government school authorities for continuing provisions of education facilities for greater inflow of children students into the school system.
“The Fiji Government wishes to thank the ILO and the tripartite constituents in the Pacific for adopting the Port Villa Statement and the Pacific Decent Work Action Plan on 9th February this year.
“Under this regional commitment, Fiji’s tripartite partners have renewed their efforts to further reduce our decent work deficit under Fiji’s Decent Work Country Programme and help us achieve our Millennium Development
Goals,”he said.
Mr Bole, also Minister for Education, National Heritage, Culture and Arts, Youth and Sports is currently attending the Conference in Geneva.