Green jobs

Opening address at the Technical Workshop on Employment Projections for Green Jobs

By Mr Khalid Hassan, Director, ILO Country Office for the Philippines at the Technical Workshop on Employment Projections for Green Jobs, Manila, Philippines 29 June 2017

Statement | Manila, Philippines | 29 June 2017
  • Distinguished government officials, representatives from workers’ and employers’ organizations,
  • Partners, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to all of you!
Welcome you to this inaugural Technical Workshop on Employment Projections for Green Jobs.

We recognize that the current carbon and resource-intensive model to economic growth and development will increasingly undermine productivity and affect enterprises, jobs, livelihoods.

Social dialogue and the right policies become more important than ever to ensure a just transition. If well-managed, a just transition to environmentally and socially sustainable economies can become a strong driver of job creation, job upgrading, social justice and poverty eradication.

This transition will have significant effects on modes of production and consumption, on enterprises and workers, on employment and incomes. It offers many opportunities for the creation of green and decent jobs and for inclusive, low-carbon growth.

This could mean the creation of new jobs in environmentally friendly production processes and outputs, whereas other jobs will be at risk, in particular in those sectors with fewer options for a transition towards a more sustainable ways of production.

Profound economic and industrial restructuring will cause job displacement, new skills challenges, and risks for social justice, in the absence of adequate policies to ensure a just transition for all.

Managing the transition successfully and seizing the opportunities for job creation and social development will require coherent policies based on a good understanding of the interlinkages between environment, labour and economy. There is a need to understand and anticipate the impact of transformations in the world of work driven by these major structural changes.

It is in this context that we are supporting the Policy Analysis and Employment Projections for Green Jobs under the Just Transition pilot initiative in the Philippines, in collaboration with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Results of this work will be contributing to the National Green Jobs Human Resource Development (HRD) Plan. This will also contribute towards the formulation of response measures that would ensure a just transition, such as adequate and sustainable social protection for job losses and displacement, skills development and social dialogue, including the effective exercise of the right to organize and bargain collectively.

To be able successfully implement this initiative, it will require collaborative effort and commitment among government agencies, workers and employers organizations, with the objective of building the capacity of the government to institutionalize and sustain the effort.

This activity is an important step towards jointly designing this crucial work in line with the Green Jobs Human Resource Development Plan as well as the Philippine Development Plan and in support of a sustained transition to a greener economy.

I look forward to your continued active participation and I wish you all a productive two-day workshop to ensure a just transition to a greener economy that is inclusive and equitable through your collaborative efforts.

Thank you!