Decent work for everyone is very important to achieve sustainable development. This is clearly shown in Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focuses on promoting steady, inclusive, and long-term economic growth, full employment, and decent work for all people.
Decent work includes creating jobs, protecting workers’ rights, ensuring fair treatment, and giving people a chance to speak up at work. These ideas are also part of many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 2030 Agenda.
At the Rio +20 Conference, world leaders shared concerns about poor job conditions and the lack of decent jobs. They said it is important to connect ending poverty, providing full and productive employment, and ensuring decent work for everyone. They also called on all governments to take action to fix the issue of youth unemployment.
This issue was also brought up earlier in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The action plan from that summit highlighted the need to help developing countries create more jobs, especially those that help people earn income. It also supported the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on workers’ rights.
The plan (JPOI) said that good governance is key to sustainable development. This means having strong democratic institutions, good economic policies, peace, security, human rights, gender equality, and fair laws. All of these things help create jobs, reduce poverty, and build stronger economies.
Agenda 21 (another global plan) also says that employment is a powerful tool to fight poverty. It encourages governments to create more income-earning opportunities for their people. These jobs should match the needs and resources of each country and should be enough to support the growing number of people entering the job market.
The agenda also stresses the need to help vulnerable groups, like women, urban poor, rural unemployed people, and low-income city residents, by creating jobs that suit their situations.
17 SDG Malaysia helps lead efforts to build global partnerships.The country works to raise awareness, promote action, and encourage cooperation among different sectors to help achieve decent work and sustainable development for all.
