NEWS
International Conference on “Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities”
19.04.19, Friday
International Conference on "The Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities" organized by the Memur-Sen Confederation as part of the ILO Centenary Initiative on the Future of Work was held on 18 and April 19, 2019 in Ankara. International Conference brought together the participation of 13 regional organizations and more than 280 trade union leaders from 164 trade union representatives from 107 countries.
Organized by Memur-Sen, the International Conference on “Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities took place at the headquarters of the Memur-Sen Confederation in Ankara. This two-day conference was opened by Mr. Ali Yalçin, President of the Memur-Sen Confederation with his opening statement, emphasized the importance of the changes and forces at work in the world.
The conference was opened by Mr. Ali Yalçin, President of Memur-Sen. Mr. Mahmut Arslan, President of Hak-Iş; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey; Mr. Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ziya Selçuk, Minister of National Education; Ms. Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family; Mr. Ruben Deloso Torres, Secretary General of the ASEAN Council of Trade Unions; Mr. Julio Durval Fuentes, President of the Confederation of Public Sector Workers of Latin America and the Caribbean (CLATE); Mr. Arezki Mezhoud, Secretary General of the Organization of the African Trade Union Unity(OATUU); Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Turkey; Mr. Erol Kiresepi, President of the International Organization of Employers (OIE); and Suresh Vadivelu, Secretary General of NTUF, also delivered opening remarks. In his speech, President Yalçin, among other things, declared that: "It is now necessary to invest in people, using available resources. ". Yalçin also stressed the need and urgency to invest in human capital to improve the living conditions of people: a country should not wait to become rich to develop its human capital, said Mr. Ali Yalçın.To do this, Mr Yalçin called for strengthening cooperation and coordination within the trade union movement, taking into account the particularities of each actor, the skills and know-how of each component. "Strengthening the work of the labour movement will better serve the interests of workers and vulnerable people. " he said.
The conference sessions were organized around two thematic axes: The first session began with the theme: "Building and Featuring the Capacity of People for a Better Future: But How? ".The session, moderated by Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Turkey Office, was attended by the following panellists: Mr. Hacı Bayram Tonbul, Mr. Akansel Koç, Ms. Nurcan Önder, Mr. Selvedin Satorovic and Ms. Daiva Pakuliene.
The second session began with the theme: "Role of Institutions of Work for Decent and Sustainable Work: Facts and Conceptions. The session was moderated by Ms. Fadila Kedjour, Member of the Board of Directors of the General Union of Workers of Algeria, and was attended by the following panellists: Mr. Mehmet Zeki Güvercin, Mr. Cafer Uzunkaya, Ms. Carolyn Chepkoech Rutto (COTU-k), Ms. Alejandra Tamara Munoz Valenzuela (CUT-Chile) and Mr. Luiz Gustavo (UGT-Brazil).
The international conference looked at the challenges and opportunities in a globalized world, while identifying the challenges of the current system. Speakers also called on governments and employers' organizations to take advantage of the ecological and digital transition and to shape these two trends into a common global vision of a decent, sustainable and inclusive world of work for all, with objective the common good.
The International Conference on "The Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities" concluded with the adoption of the Final Declaration and the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements with 49 trade union movements and 5 regional organizations.
The conference ended with a gift exchange ceremony and the traditional group photo.