KATHMANDU, JULY 8

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said protection of the most vulnerable, including migrant workers and those in informal sectors, and provision of adequate social security and health care was the key to minimise the impact of COVID-19.

Addressing virtual ‘Global Summit on COVID-19 and the World of Work: Building a Better Future of Work’ convened by the International Labour Organisation today, he said that the world economy had suffered a lot due to global decline in investment, trade and disruption in travel industry, thereby rendering millions of workers vulnerable. According to him, the impact is unevenly high in the LDCs and low-income countries.

Expressing support to the human-centred agenda of decent work, PM Oli called for a robust global response to the pandemic with United Nations and its specialised agencies such as ILO.

Highlighting that migrant workers are losing hopes and returning home in the midst of the pandemic without protection of job and income, he said this situation could have been avoided and norms of WHO should have been observed in the process.

“Humanity is tested in the time of crisis. Our conscience should guide us to uphold justice and fairness even in the time of extreme difficulty,” said the prime minister. International solidarity at this hour could prevent job loss and return of migrant workers and resulting rise of poverty, he added. Prime Minister Oli underlined the efforts made by the Government of Nepal to prevent and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the immediate and medium-term measures taken for the protection of workers in the formal and informal sectors and creation of sustainable employment opportunities.

He expressed commitment to partnership and social dialogue at the national level and called for greater solidarity to address the situation globally.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the global summit brought together over 50 heads of the state and government, prominent leaders of employers organisations and trade unions as well as heads of international organisations to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on employment and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of workers around the world.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 9, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.