Republic Of Korea, Ilo Sign Partnership Programme Agreement
BANGKOK (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Republic of Korea have signed an
agreement aimed at establishing a “Korea /ILO Partnership Programme", representing the start of a strategic partnership
that will further strengthen relations between Korea and the ILO through a new framework and programme cooperation
agreements.
The Korea/ILO Partnership Programme represents a significant development, since up until the late 1980s, Korea was a
recipient of ILO funding. Now the country is in a position to be able to contribute significantly to the ILO and its
Decent Work Agenda in Asia and the Pacific.
Funding for 2004 (US$ 500,000) will go to projects designed to tackle such issues as migration, occupational safety and
health (OSH), basic vocational training, social security and the promotion of decent and productive work for young
people.
The agreement, signed by Don Skerrett, ILO Executive Director responsible for Regions and Technical Cooperation, and Mr.
Byung-Suk Chung, Deputy Minister of Labor, Republic of Korea, will provide funding for six projects.
This includes work aimed at enhancing national capacity on migration management in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia and
Thailand, Capacity Building of Occupational Safety and Health in Hazardous Occupations in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia,
Thailand and Viet Nam, a Training Fellowship Programme in Technology Education in Korea, Core Work Skills and basic
vocational competencies for the working poor, Technical Assistance on Social Security in Cambodia, and Promoting decent
and productive work for young people.
Five of the projects were developed by the ILO’s Subregional Office for East Asia, based in Bangkok, which will host a
visit by a Korean delegation led by Deputy Minister of Labour Chung Byung-Suk.
The primary goal of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in
conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. This does not just mean the creation of jobs, but the
creation of jobs of acceptable quality.
This is pursued through each of the four strategic objectives of the ILO (the promotion of rights at work; employment;
social protection; and social dialogue) and through a balanced and integrated pursuit of these objectives in their
totality. The sizable informal sector means many working men, women and children do not have a voice. Their concerns
must be addressed, along with those of the growing army of migrant workers.