–  in Switzerland
MINISTER of Labour, Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul, is leading a delegation to the 101st session of the International Labour Conference. The conference, which attracted almost 5,000 government, union and employer delegates from the ILO’s 185 member states, opened at the United Nations Office at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday last.
Guyana’s delegation comprises the minister, along with Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle; Kenneth Joseph, General Secretary of National Association of Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE); and Samuel Jerry Goolsarran, Consultant Advisor of the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industries Ltd (CAGI).
Among the issues on the conference’s agenda are the Social Protection Floor, where the conference will consider the possible adoption of an international labour recommendation under the single discussion procedure; the youth employment crisis, a topic prompted by the unprecedented proportion that the youth employment crisis has acquired; and the fundamental principles and rights at work, which will help member states to better understand the diverse realities and needs, as well as ILO’s action to address these needs.
The conference is also expected to adopt a plan of action determining the priorities for the period 2012–16.
Also among the conference’s highlights was an address by Ms. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, President of Costa Rica, and the first Head of State to address the conference.