By Rene Anthere
Rwanda has set itself a target of creating at least 1,250,000 decent and productive jobs for the next five years saying trade unions will play a big role. That is equivalent to 250,000 jobs annually.
Ambassador Christine Nkulikiyinka, the Minister of Public Service and Labour, revealed during the target 10th Ordinary Congress of CESTRAR, under the theme: “Just transitions towards decent jobs creation: Embracing technology and workplace safety for an empowered labour force.”
“The Ministry of Public Service and Labour appreciates the role of Trade Unions in advancing the decent work agenda that is our common goal and commends the collaboration which exists between tripartite constituents in our Country,” she said.
She said the government recognizes the pivotal role that Employees’ and Employers’ Organizations are already playing in the push for Decent work for a just transition.
“We can only hope for even more efforts leading us to a more prosperous and sustainable society,” she said.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the importance of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8 implies that over 600 million new jobs need to be created by 2030 just to keep pace with the growth of the global working age population. That is about 40 million jobs per year according to ILO.
Decent work and the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda of ILO (employment creation, social protection, rights at work and social dialogue) also became integral elements of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015.
“In alignment to the Global initiatives but most importantly by aiming to tackle our local challenges, our Country set itself a target of creating at least 1.250,000 Decent and Productive jobs for the next 5 years which are equivalent to (250,000) jobs annually,” Nkulikiyinka stated.
She said the goal of the transition is to have decent work for all in a low-emissions, climate-resilient society.
“Today, we are facing complex challenges from the effects of globalization which are affecting most if not all spheres of our lives including the world of work. Therefore, the situation requires bold efforts to provide solutions that are transformative. We should stand ready to continue the journey to deliver solutions for a just transition to societies with green and decent jobs for all,” she said.

Securing adequate and decent employment for all jobseekers remains one of the biggest challenges, and Nkulikiyinka said this requires, first and foremost, the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises to prosper and create jobs.
“Given the scale and urgency of these challenges in the world of work, it is clear that confronting them is not an option, but a necessity.
All the challenges call, more than ever, for the need to reaffirm our commitment for decent work for a just transition.”
In response to these complex global challenges, in September 2021, the UN Secretary-General launched the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions (Global Accelerator) with the aim of fast-tracking much-needed global actions to promote a job-rich recovery, as well as just ecological, technological, and societal transitions to more sustainable and inclusive economies.
Many countries have demonstrated strong political commitment, solidifying the will to pursue the objectives of the Global Accelerator.
“Since its introduction, Rwanda is among Countries which have formally joined the initiative by sharing a high-level political commitment to the United Nations Secretary General,” she said.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 emphasizes the need for inclusive growth and sustainable development, advocating for the transformation of our economies through industrialization and technological innovation.
“This vision reinforces our commitment to harness technology for socio-economic progress across the continent. Through, the Global Accelerator initiative, Rwanda as pathfinder, will benefit from the UN’s initiative that will direct investments to help create decent jobs and extend social protection coverage for all,” she added.
From the perspective of decent work and just transition, the ILO guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for entails coherent policies across the economic, environmental, social, education and labour portfolios that provide an enabling environment for enterprises, workers, investors and consumers to embrace and drive the transition towards environmentally sustainable and inclusive economies and societies.
“Policy coherence for a just transition and convergence of all actions are vital. More efforts are needed to improve policy coherence at all levels including of Government, Workers, Private Sector, Development Partners and local communities,” she said.
The alignment of employment, education environment and other sectors’ policies can accelerate decent work agenda and speed up a just transition to more sustainable societies.
“As we focus on achieving this high ambition, we must also turn our efforts and attention to creating jobs that are decent, jobs that have quality and jobs that develop our human capital with the skills for today’s needs and tomorrow’s employability.
As key policy areas and institutional arrangements for a just transition for all, our aim should be to generate decent jobs all along the supply chain, in dynamic, high value-added sectors that stimulate the upgrading of jobs and skills, as well as job creation and improved productivity in more labour-intensive industries that offer employment opportunities on a wide scale,” she said.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development remains a strategic approach to enable shared knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources, scaling up what works with great coordination and collaboration and the role of social partners including Workers’ Organizations and Civil Society is crucial in contributing to a renewed social contract, Nkulikiyinka reiterated.
She said with “Beyond Advocacy” approach, they have been developing policies together through a tripartite approach”.
“But most importantly we have been implementing them together and this occasion should be an opportunity for the “Call for Action” for all the Actors in the Decent Work Sector. “
She said “challenges we are facing and actions to be taken to address them cut across various sectors. Therefore, there is a need for mainstreaming decent work and sustainable development across all our policies and programs and enhance our cooperation and coordination mechanisms to strengthen synergies even further for the wellbeing our citizens.”
She reaffirmed commitments to fully deliver to National Goals and Targets as stipulated in NST2 which reflects the aspirations of the people of Rwanda.

