The Federation of Kenya Employers was privileged to host the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, on 28th November 2023 at Waajiri House, Nairobi. This was the first visit to Kenya since his election by the ILO's Governing Body as the Organization's 11th Director-General, becoming the first African to hold the position.
The Director General was received by Dr. Habil Olaka, the National President FKE and Ms. Jaqueline Mugo, the Executive Director & CEO FKE together with the Board members.
In her welcoming remarks, Ms. Mugo, the Executive Director & CEO expressed her gratitude to the Director General for honoring FKE with the visit “we are honoured to host you at FKE. It is indeed exciting to us that we have for the first time an African leading the ILO,” said Ms. Mugo.
On his part, Dr. Olaka, National President Federation of Kenya Employers highlighted the tough business operating environment “Social Justice can only be achieved if enterprises and businesses are productive enough to create jobs and wealth for the masses. The business environment should support growth and expansion of businesses. Kenya’s private sector is unfortunately shrinking which casts doubt on progress towards social justice. The Kenyan economy is saddled with high inflation, high debt, and an increasingly heavy tax regime” said Dr. Olaka.
Dr. Olaka further called on the ILO DG and the entire UN to support efforts that will improve the business climate in Kenya “There is need for ILO DG and the whole UN to support efforts to improve the business climate in Kenya. This will contribute towards reducing job losses and bridging income gaps. We are seeing increased redundancies, business closure or relocation to other markets. This poses a threat to achieving social justice” He said.
Dr. Olaka further expressed Employers' commitment to work collectively within the African continent to spur enterprise growth and decent work. “Through BUSINESSAfrica Employers Confederation whose secretariat FKE hosts, we are ready to mobilize the employers and businesses across Africa to play their part in promoting the African dream of a better life. The Secretary General of Business Africa Mrs. Jacqueline Mugo, who is also part of the Governing Body of the ILO will support you in this” said Dr. Olaka.
Other concerns raised by FKE include Strengthening Tripartism, building capacity of Employers Organization in Africa and Scaling up implementation of strategic projects that will ensure that Kenya is not left behind in the face of global challenges.
While making his remarks, The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, acknowledged the role played by employers in the Labour sector in promoting job creation, productivity and skills development. “The moment we are going through in the labour sector as a country and employers is crucial. Despite this I recognize the effort done by employers in the development agenda for Africa… There is no way a government can run a country without labour and there is no way you can have labour without employers “Said the ILO Director General.
Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo recognized the adverse impact of geopolitics on private sector but encouraged the private sector to remain resilient and focus on inclusive and sustainable development, promoting labour rights for all, ensuring universal access to social protection systems, closing the skills gap in the informal economy and promoting sustainable enterprises.
He pointed out the important role played by Kenya in the technological advancements and called upon employers to embrace these new technologies, including the Artificial Intelligence (AI), where major opportunities have emerged. The expansion of the digital economy and the progress in artificial intelligence have opened up prospects for millions of people. Yet the general impression is that of an overall worrying state of play” Said Mr. Houngbo.
On enterprise productivity, the Director General made a commitment to advancing initiative that will support enterprises towards the transition to a green and digital economy. He further affirmed ILO’s commitment to support employers’ organizations in building capacity through resource mobilization and technical support, skilling, reskilling, and upskilling of Employers organization staff.
The Director General further lauded the role that employers in Kenya have played in skills development and adoption to green economy “ I am talking about a commitment to ensure that new technologies create decent jobs, to provide the skills and support needed for just transition so that workers and enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, can benefit from the new low-carbon economy, and to support social protection in ever fairer, more cohesive and more resilient societies” Said the DG.
Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo welcomed the idea for the Federation of Kenya Employers to take the lead and bring together employers in Africa to collectively work towards enterprise growth and decent work “I fully support the idea of the FKE to bring together employers in the continent and ILO will fully support this idea…this is indeed a Strategic and bold move that will unleash creation of wealth and quality jobs in the continent” said Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo.
The visit to Kenya by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, comes against the backdrop of struggling enterprises due to the high cost of doing business, unpredictability in Regulatory Environment as well as dwindling employee productivity.