Malaysian Candidate For ILO Directorship Visits Beijing

BEIJING (China), March 7 (Bernama)-- Eminent Malaysian economist, Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram who was nominated by the Malaysian government to vye for the post of director-general of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) visited Beijing Tuesday, to garner support from Chinese authorities and organisations in his bid. Jomo has met with China's Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaochu, deputy director-general of the International Organisations and Conference Department under China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Qian Bo, and secretary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions(ACFTU) Jiang Guanping, who he said, all gave him advice and encouragement. The Malaysian government considers Jomo highly qualified owing to his consistent record of innovative and progressive leadership and having demonstrated commitment to social inclusion, social dialogue and tripatism. Jomo who currently holds the post of Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, believes he is capable of coping with the challenges of leadership of the ILO. "After working for the United Unions for over seven years, I have developed relevant experience and competence," Jomo who can converse in 10 languages, said in an interview here. "This is a complex position, you have to improve the administration and provide the vision. You also need to be able to implement the vision, and you need to build concensus, to support that position...all these are the challenges to be borne by the new director-general," he added. If elected, Jomo will be committed to strengthening the leading role of the ILO in relation to the ongoing economic slowdown and social crisis, which he believes will set himself apart from the other candidates. "It is something which nobody else has a clear vision about. The ILO should take a leading role in bringing about strong, sustained and inclusive economic recovery," he said. Jomo said he would also be committed to deepening and widening ILO standards which have been observed by the organisation for more than 90 years, as well as to improving management such as of human resources and morale, especially during difficult times when operations have to be more effective and productive. He said this would be a major breaktrough for Asian countries and developing countries if he is elected. "As you know, I'm the only Asian candidate, and Asia represents more than 60 per cent of working people in the world, but Asia has never had any director-general in the ILO," he said. The current Chilean director-general Juan Somavia made history in the ILO when he became the first and only director-general from a developing country. But Chile is no longer considered a developing country, having joined the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2010, according to Jomo. The ILO is the only United Nations agency that is based on tripartism, involving government, workers and employers. It is responsible for promoting employment, good working conditions, respect for employees' rights, gender equality in working life and social security at the global level. The election for the ILO director-general post will be held in Geneva on May 28, where 28 government delegates and 14 delegates each from employer organisations and trade unions, will vote in the election. -- BERNAMA