ASEAN launches regional study report on labour productivity

The Regional Study Report on Labour Productivity in ASEAN was launched virtually on February 23, providing an analysis of the current situations and concepts in the field across ten member states and looking into the feasibility of developing a regional index.

Illustrative photo

The event, hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat, gathered representatives from member nations’ labour ministries, the International Labour Organization, the ASEAN Confederation of Employers, the ASEAN Trade Union Council, and the Asian Productivity Organization (APO).

In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Kung Phoak underlined the importance of labour productivity in ensuring a sustainable economy of the region.

“Against the backdrop of the changing world of work, digitalisation of economies, globalisation and aging populations, effective strategies to improve labour productivity are needed. The Study Report provides useful analysis and recommendations in this regard”, he noted.

In the same vein, APO Secretary-General Achmad Kurnia Prawira Mochtan highlighted that human capital should play a more central role in labour productivity growth.

 The Study Report recommends greater investment on skills advancement of human resources and promotion of life-long learning culture, including in-service training, to support long-term labour productivity growth.

The Regional Study on Labour Productivity in ASEAN is a project in the Senior Labour Officials Meeting’s Working Group on Progressive Labour Practices to Enhance the Competitiveness (SLOM-WG) Work Plan 2016-2020. It was completed with support of the Asian Productivity Organization./.

VNA