By Sahr Ibrahim Komba in Freetown
232News
Sierra Leone Labor Congress (SLLC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have ended three-days pre-conference capacity building workshop with the theme “Strengthening Social Dialogue for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth: Enhancing Trade Union in Engagement in UNSDCFS and DWCPs Police dialogue.”
The training started at Hotel 5-10 in the east end of Freetown from the 21st to the 22nd September 2022 and ended at Family Kingdom on the 23rd September.
The training addressed four objectives such as:
- To clearly articulate the United Nation’s collective response to help countries address national priorities and gaps in their pathway towards meeting the SDGs.
- To embody the spirit of partnerships that is at the core of the 2030 Agenda.
- To help turn our collective promise to leave no one behind into tangible action for people on the ground, especially those furthest behind.
- To provide UN country teams with the tools to tailor responses to a Member State’s specific needs and realities, ensuring that all entities, whether present on the ground or not, can effectively support national implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Speaking at the conference, Ellenor Franciso from the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Sierra Leone highlighted the importance of social dialogue as key UN tool to address human problems for the promotion of peace and national cohesion.
She said that Sierra Leone Medium Term National Development Plan is in line with the global sustainable development goals that provide a platform to mobilize broad base action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace, security and prosperity.
She added that central to 17 goals is the cross-cutting themes of gender equality, climate action and the pledge to leave no one behind, noting that, the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework is the most strategic instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities in Sierra Leone.
She explained that it defines how the UN system in the country will support the implementation of the Sierra Leone Medium Term National Development Plan and the progress towards the achievement of the 17 SDGs.
She also stated that with less than 10 years left to achieve the SDGs agreed deadline in the agenda 2030, there is an urgent need to step up actions to successfully implement the cooperation’s framework and that realizing the SDGs require a whole society approach built on partnership.
She reiterated that the UN welcomes the pre -Conference workshop with trade unions in Sierra Leone as they represent a vital segment of the society within the initiative of the organizers.
She continued that the UN commends the ILO commitment to continuously engage with workers’ organization especially in the formulation of the analysis in the drafting, implementing and monitoring evaluation of the corporation’s framework.
She concluded that the key to successfully seizing new opportunities often lies in the exchange of ideas which is why dialogue event like this are so important in a democratic society.
Acting President of Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Mohamed Sallieu Bangura said the per-conference workshop aims to discuss issues surrounding the workers, the employers, education system and social security.
“This comes at a very good time because we believe that social dialogue was not effective in the past and that is the reason for political tension in the country’’ he said.
He noted that without social dialogue citizens usually engage in violence and unlawful act but with dialogue, citizens will communicate their concerns to the appropriate authorities.
‘’With the implementation of Social dialogue, we will witness less or no violence agitation during and after elections’’ he added.
He added that the August incident should serve as a wakeup call for Sierra Leoneans, adding that social dialogue helps citizens to share their concerns or challenges with authorities.
He added that they will also discuss the living condition in the country because a worker wants to live in a society where he or she can support the family.
He concluded that their members working in cement factories are suffering and their working condition is bad and they have made recommendations to the employers to address their working condition.
“Victimization in workplace is also a concern which the union is not pleased with and we are calling on employers to stop victimization in workplace’’ he stated.
