YOUTH URGED TO ADVOCATE FOR DECENT WORK

The youth have been called on to advocate for Decent Work as it is the surest way of eradicating poverty in the country. There is a decent work deficit-challenge, gaps and exclusions that working people face in the world of work and this deficit negates government effort of eradicating poverty and achieving the overall Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This call was made by Mr. Joseph Osei Owusu in Accra during the Youth Policy Dialogue to mark the International Youth Day. He said hundreds of thousands of workers lose their jobs merely for attempting to organize trade unions or to carry out trade union activates at their workplace, adding that 80% of these are the youth. Mr. Owusu lamented that some 200 million children aged 5-14 go to work instead of school and about 12.3 million people are trapped with force labours with more than 2.2 million people dying from work related disease and accident. According to him, there is lack of decent work and this affects young people particularly. Mr. Owusu noted that Decent work is a key element to build fair, equitable and exclusive societies being based around the principles of employment creation, workers right equality between men and women, socially protected and socially dialogued, adding that decent work is a strategy to achieve sustainable development that is centered on people. He has therefore appealed to all Civil Service Organisations (CSO) to vigorously advocate for decent work targeting young people, decision makers, employers and the government and the campaign must use different tools and strategies adapted to different audience.