euronews interview – ILO leader calls for urgent action on Youth unemployment

http://www.euronews.com/ There are nearly 25 million unemployed in Europe, of whom more than 17 million are in the eurozone. One in five young people in the EU cannot find a job, that is nearly five million youngsters. In some countries the rate of youth unemployment exceeds 40 percent.

To open the interview euronews reporter Fariba Mavaddat reminded Guy Ryder, the newly elected Director of the United Nation’s International Labour Organisation, the ILO, of what he said in his inaugural speech in May: “It is a tremendous opportunity in the middle of this global crisis to make a difference to the lives of millions of people.” So, how does he intend to do that?

*Guy Ryder:* “Well, you have described the drama of the European unemployment crisis and I really believe it is dramatic. What I said in my inaugural speech was that the ILO, if it is to be a success, has to touch the lives of these people.

“We can do it in very different ways. We can do it through working with the ILO member states. It is a world organisation with 185 member governments. We can do it through them, we can do it through cooperation activities, technical cooperation in a variety of ways, we can do it by trying to influence the international policy agenda, so that we can get the growth and job creation back into the world economy that is so badly missing at the moment.

“I think the ILO has a role in all of these areas and I intend to do my best to ensure that we fulfil that role.”

*euronews:* “You called on various governments for cooperation, but to what extend do you have authority ? Do you have teeth, and how sharp are they?”

*Guy Ryder:* “Like many international organisations we have to make a case for doing what we consider to be ‘the right thing’, offering people not only the opportunity of a job but what we call a ‘decent’ job; a job which pays at a level which offers you a decent standard of living.”

*euronews:* “That’s all very well, but it is the ideal world. What is happening in Europe in particular, is that governments and businesses are spreading jobs thin. That is, jobs are now being made available, if at all, on a temporary, part-time basis , but this creates not only uncertainty and insecurity but also social unrest and eventual poverty. How are you going to address that particular problem? These are the only jobs available.”

*Guy Ryder:* “You are quite right to point out not only the number of jobs we need to create but their quality.

“You know, temporary part-time jobs can have their place in a well-functioning labour market, but they have to be taken up as a choice, not as obligation in the absence of a full time secure job.

“We have a situation — particularly in Europe but around the world – where countries are having to look at their finances. We have been through the ‘hole’ of the financial crisis. This has left very big holes in public budgets, and often it is these worlds of work, the labour market which is having to feel the effects of austerity measures.

“I think we have to review this austerity path that we are on. I think the stage we have reached today shows that there is a need for a new start.

“Secondly, we have to prepare people for the world of work, we have to look at skills development for young people. We need specifically targeted plans. I would go for a universal youth guarantee that says any young person in that situation would be offered either job experience or further training when they leave school.”

*euronews:* “That’s very logical but the fact of the matter is that we are in a recession, there are no financial resources available. It is so bad that governments are nibbling off old people’s pensions. So for all this that you are talking about, you need financial resources, and they just don’t have it.”

*Guy Ryder:* “Oh, they do. I would argue that they do. Let’s take this example of the youth guaranteed scheme. It actually is a very cheap option for governments. Our estimates are that for 0.5 percent of overall government spending, you can provide a youth guaranteed scheme for all young people of this nature.

“It is not that expensive, you put your hand in your pocket. Past experience in countries like Sweden, countries like Finland, shows that these schemes are successful. They pay for themselves very, very quickly. Look at it as an investment not a cost, and you can move in the right direction.”

Find us on:
Youtube http://bit.ly/zr3upY
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/euronews.fans
Twitter http://twitter.com/euronews

source