The Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo, is on an official visit to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
A statement from the ILO stated that this is Mr Houngbo’s second visit to Africa since he took over the headship of the world body in October last year.
The Director-General according to the statement, will discuss current issues related to the world of work with government authorities and ILO partners and his vision for creating a Global Coalition for Social Justice.
He will also meet with the Ministers in charge of employment and Labour relations in Ghana and Employment and Social Protection in Cote d’Ivoire as well as employers and workers’ representatives and the UN System Country Team.
During his visit to both countries, he will be accompanied by Svenja Schulze, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany.
“In Ghana, the focus will be put on strengthening cooperation, including tripartite partnerships with the government, social partners, and other development partners on key decent work areas.
“The ILO Director-General will launch the new ILO project Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work”, report said.
The statement further said that the ILO Director General, while in Côte d’Ivoire, will discuss an innovative Dutch-funded project “which tackles the root causes of child labour in supply chains.
“The government has developed the project in collaboration with the private sector and social partners. He will also visit a cocoa plantation and cooperative, as well as an ILO-supported initiative that promotes registration for universal health coverage by local populations”.
Before the end of his trip to the two countries, “the ILO Director-General will participate in a High-level conference on ‘’Promoting decent work in supply chains to eliminate child labour’’ co-organized by the ILO, the CIM (Interministerial Committee for the fight against trafficking, exploitation, and child labour), and the CNS (National Monitoring Committee on Action to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation, and Child Labour) on Friday 24th February in Abidjan”, the statement said.
Olusola Akintonde
