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ASEAN+3 to promote green jobs for sustainability and inclusive growth in the region
Published:  Nov 30, 2018 4:07 PM
Updated: 9:17 AM

The 10-member ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners – People’s Republic of China, Japan and Republic of Korea have pledged to grow the green industries with the creation of more green jobs in the region for 2018 – 2020 where Malaysia is the chair of the labour sector, under the stewardship of Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources, led by its Minister M. Kula Segaran. The move is to promote sustainability and inclusive growth across ASEAN.

“In addition to raising the awareness and importance of green jobs, member nations will be focusing on up-skilling, reskilling, grading and certification to realize the potential of green industries,” remarked Kula during his opening keynote address, on behalf of Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

     

Malaysia hosted the 25th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (25th ALMM) and 10th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting Plus Three (10th ALMM+3) in Kuala Lumpur on 28 and 29 November 2018, with the theme “Promoting Green Jobs for Equity and Inclusive Growth of ASEAN Community” as the key agenda. The top-level meetings were supported by the ASEAN Secretariat and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The ASEAN Labour Sector’s deliberation for 2018-2020 is an extension of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint (ASCC) and the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Work Programme (ALMM) 2016-2020.

Other declarations

In addition to key agenda, the meetings had also resulted in the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers and List of ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network (ASEAN–OSHNET) involving the Working Group-Meeting of ASEAN Senior Labour Officials.

In this regard, the Ministry of Human Resources held a series of five meetings consecutively on relevant policies and cooperation initiatives among the member states. The first was the 14th ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting (14th ASEAN SLOM) on 24 and 25 November 2018; followed by the 16th ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting Plus Three (16th ASEAN SLOM+3) and the ILO/Japan Project Cooperation Committee (PCC) Meeting on 26 November 2018; the 6th Human Resources Conference on 27 November 2018; and the 25th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting on 28 November 2018; before culminating in the 10th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting Plus Three (10th ALMM+3) on 29 November 2018.

China, Japan and Korea joined the 16th ASEAN SLOM+3, ILO/Japan PCC and 10th ALMM+3 as the dialogue partners, gathering over 200 delegates.

China

China has been playing a key role in helping ASEAN achieve the green-tech aspirations. The ASEAN+3 ‘Belt and Road’ Conference on Employment Services on 24-26 July 2017 in China aimed to explore the South-South collaborations and opportunities. China and the ILO have even signed a new “Partnership Agreement for Promoting Development Cooperation with a Focus on South-South Initiatives” in November 2018 in Beijing to step up skills development efforts within ASEAN.

Japan

The ASEAN-ILO/Japan Project on Promoting and Building Income Security and Employment Services in ASEAN Phase III and Skills Evaluation System Promotion Programme is a testament to the continuous support from Japan. The commitment was further affirmed at the 8th Regional Seminar on Industrial Relations of “Promoting Sound Industrial Relations through Social Dialogue and Implications of Changing Forms of Employment to Industrial Relations in the ASEAN Region” on 8-9 November 2017 in Vietnam; and the 15th ASEAN-Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies of “Healthy Development of Children for Future Generations” on 31 October – 2 November 2017 in Tokyo. The 16th ASEAN-Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies will take place on 5 - 7 December 2018 in Yokohama, Japan.

Korea

Korea is equally active through the Global HRD Partnership Programme such as the Global TVET Management Master Degree Progromme and Invitational Training Programme; ASEAN-ILO/Korea Partnership Programme in support of ASEAN Initiatives in TVET and Skills for Inclusive Future of Work; Fellowship Training on Employment Injury Insurance (EII) and Employment Insurance (EI); and Project on Enhancing the Occupational Safety and Health Framework in ASEAN. The 5th ASEAN+3 Human Resources Development (HRD) Forum of “Enhancing Job Creation and Skills to Prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution” on 7 - 9 November 2017 in Seoul was a commendable effort while the 6th ASEAN+3 HRD Forum of “Digital Economy and Shared Future: Innovation, Policy and Governance in Skills Development” is scheduled for 13 - 14 November 2018 in Jeju Island.

Exploring green economy potential

According to Kula, employment across ASEAN’s green economy grew by 3.2% over the past two years against the overall economic growth of 5% to 6%. This translates into the creation of almost 1.4 million new green jobs as reported in Development Bank of Singapore’s Annual Report 2017 on Green Job Opportunities in ASEAN.

“The Malaysian government aims to grow the green technology sector with RM180 billion revenue as the target, which is expected to create more than 200,000 green jobs by 2030,” he said, urging all the stakeholders including employers and employees to commit themselves to promoting green jobs and green skills with a common goal in mind.

Sectors that contribute to the creation of green jobs include agriculture, construction, forestry, renewable energy, transport and waste management. “Malaysia has seen a strong growth in the renewable energy sector such as wind and solar power as well as production of equipment and installations for heating and energy savings solutions,” Kula added.

Bilateral collaborations

The minister had also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore, Japan and China for labour cooperation and good practice sharing between Malaysia and the partner countries.

“The regional collaborations will benefit the peoples of our region through the promotion of skills development by creating rural employment involving micro, small and medium enterprises as we foster closer industrial relations and expand social protection, which will ultimately lead to better quality of life for the ASEAN people,” said Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, during her closing address.

“This reflects the common desire of ASEAN member states to have green jobs as a central theme to sustainable development, which is in line with the global demand of environmental protection, socio-economic development and social inclusion,” she added, urging ASEAN to keep strengthening its commitment towards achieving a common goal.

“While enhancing the competitiveness of ASEAN workforce, we need to ensure employees are engaged in a safe and decent work environment with adequate social protection through productive employment and progressive workplace,” she highlighted.

“Everyone has a role to play in attracting more skilled workers and enhancing the capability of its workforce in this regard,” she concluded, while reminding ASEAN to follow the international labour standards and labour migration frameworks.

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