Home Editorial “Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment”
The theme for World Day of Social Justice 2022, celebrated on Sunday, was “Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment”.
According to the United Nations, “more than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population, that is two billion women, men and youth, earn their livelihoods in the informal economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the vulnerability of workers in the informal economy. Informal workers, who often lack any form of social protection or employment-related benefits, are twice as likely to be poor compared to formal workers. Most people enter the informal economy not by choice, but due to lack of opportunities in the formal economy”.
For the UN, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of its global mission to promote development and human dignity. The General Assembly had recognised that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
So, on November 26, 2007, the General Assembly declared that starting from the 63rd session of the General Assembly, February 20, will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
This year, the world body said promoting the transition to formal employment is a necessary condition to reduce poverty and inequalities, advance decent work, increase productivity and sustainability of enterprises and expand Government’s scope of action, notably in times of crisis.
“In accordance with the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No 204), and acknowledging that the pathways to transition to formality depend on national circumstances, comprehensive integrated strategies that tackle multiple drivers of informality work best,” the world body acknowledged.
It noted that the principles of social justice are upheld when countries promote gender equality or the rights of Indigenous peoples and migrants. Additionally, countries advance social justice when they remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, or disability.
“The identification of the right incentives and the elimination of obstacles to formality are essential. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, preventing the informalisation of formal jobs is also of particular importance. Formalisation results from a complex and gradual process.”
Further globalisation and interdependence are opening new opportunities through trade, investment and capital flows and advances in technology, including information technology, for the growth of the world economy and the development and improvement of living standards around the world.
Many countries are utilising new technologies to facilitate the transition from informal to formal employment through E-formalisation tools, such as electronic database systems for proper identification of employment and wider access to ICTs and e-commerce.
Today, there remain serious challenges, including serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, exclusion, and inequality within and among societies and considerable obstacles to further integration and full participation in the global economy for developing countries as well as some countries with economies in transition.
On this day, therefore, all Guyanese should join in the global call for social and economic justice and demand that the Government promote inclusive development for all citizens.