1. On behalf of the Government of Norway, I wish to convey our greetings to the President of the Conference, its Officers, and to the Director-General of the ILO.
2. The ILO must continue to play an important normative and political role in the international arena and to promote its mandate within other international organisations. ILO must also be a strong partner at the country level, not least in relation to the new sustainable development goals. The ILO will have an important role to play in the follow-up of the Post-2015 agenda. Norway will support the ILO in the efforts to become "Fit for Purpose".
3. It is with great satisfaction that we note that ILO's reform agenda and the new Strategic Policy Framework is on track. We have before us at this year’s conference agenda, items that are both coherent and highly relevant to the current world of work. Norway has always been a driver for “One ILO” – an organization that can work in a crosscutting manner and with greater presence at the national level. We very much support the efforts in the coming budget to continue to move the organization in this direction.
4. Norway also supports efforts to engage more actively with the private sector. There is a great need for more and better jobs in the world, particularly for young people. That in turn requires that the fight against child labor continue and to promote compulsory schooling and vocational training.
5. Norway therefore welcomes the Future of Work initiative. Inequalities are growing, social justice in real terms has not been achieved, and fundamental principles and rights at work are challenged. We find it extremely timely with a stocktaking of the prevailing situation in the labor market. It is important that this process is of not only a retrospective nature but also specifically draws up a vision for where we want to go and how the ILO can, best ensure continued relevance.
6. Norway supports the idea to hold national and local events in 2016 and of setting up a High Level Commission for 2017 and 2018. This Commission however, must not operate in mere isolation. It must engage in regional and national processes and interact with stakeholders. Moreover, the Member States have to be allowed the possibility of presenting reports and results to the Commission also in 2017 and 2018. The Nordic countries, having relatively homogeneous working life models, are considering if we could contribute to organize thematically coherent events in the Nordic countries in cooperation with the social partners. The four areas, which have been pointed out by the Director General in his report covers the basic fundamental challenges that we believe workplaces face.
7. The future world of work will also be strongly impacted by implementation of the new sustainable development goals. The implementation of these goals and the elaboration of the ILO Centenary Declaration will be mutually reinforcing processes.
8. We look forward to an active debate leading up to 2019 and to a strong commitment from all stakeholders. We are, unfortunately, still a long way from the goal of reaching Social Justice for all.
9. Thank you chair.