BRUSSELS (CMC) – Secretary General of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, Dr Patrick Gomes has called on Caribbean countries to implement policies that would include investments in labour intensive infrastructures, particularly those that generate green jobs.

Addressing the “High Level Dialogue on Decent Work in ACP States,” the Guyana-born Secretary General said ACP countries must also seek to support small and micro businesses, through infrastructure development and ensuring reliable access to sound finance.

In his address, Gomes said that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in its State of the World Population 2014 report noted that decent work opportunities were still out of reach for young people poised to enter the labour force.

“Up to 60 per cent of young people in developing regions, which include many ACP countries, are not working or in school, or have only irregular employment. For young people, access to decent work and improved living conditions is a gateway towards empowerment, and a protective factor. “

Gomes said that young people are central to the next generation of sustainable development goals, especially those aimed at achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

“This is consistent with the aspirations of the post-2015 development agenda, which is, to create a just, prosperous and responsive world where all people, regardless of their age, realize their rights and live with dignity and hope.”

The ACP Secretary General said that a good education gives young people the skills and knowledge to have access to a good job or the hope for a meaningful livelihood.

“To this end, improved education quality, increasing equity of access to education, reaching marginalized populations and building strong national education systems, are crucial to meet the strategic objectives of the ILO’s (International Labour Organization) decent work agenda.”

Gomes noting that that decent work contributes directly to poverty eradication and the reduction of income inequality, said its importance to sustainable development and poverty eradication was indeed recognized in the Millennium Development Goals, where a specific target on full and decent employment was added under the poverty goal (MDG1b).

“The employment target, however, has not received the attention it deserved and remained far from being achieved in most developing countries, undermining global efforts to eradicate poverty and ensure sustainable human development.”

He said the ACP strongly supports the inclusion of a global goal on reaching full and decent employment in the post-2015 Development Framework. 

“It is vital though that this goal is accompanied by country-level targets on reducing precarious work, ensuring a living wage, investment in green job promotion, as well as complying with international labour rights and gender equality at the workplace.”

Gomes said as a result, the national policies of ACP states should endeavour to support increased agricultural productivity; invest in relevant training and education and ensure universal social protection floors for poverty reduction and resilience.

“We therefore welcome the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, which has defined this goal as to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.  

“We are also of the view that this goal will require a new set of measurable, and unambiguous indicators for productive employment and decent work,” Gomes added.