German Labour Minister Franz Muentefering called on the Group of Eight (G8) wealthy nations to pay more attention to the social dimension of globalization, DPA reported. "Economics, ecology and the social aspect need to be in equilibrium and implemented in a coordinated fashion," he said in remarks prepared for delivery at a meeting of G8 labour and employment ministers opening in Dresden on Sunday evening. Given a social veneer, globalization "will bring prosperity to people" and will be accepted, thus allowing it to play a peacemaking role, the German minister said. "We have to ensure that this view is given more prominence in the world, that the social aspect has strong economic power," he told his counterparts from the US, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, Britain and Russia. Muentefering said social protection in developing and newly emerging economies was one of the most pressing problems relating to the shaping of a social component in globalization. Only 20 per cent of the world's population had "good or adequate social protection," he said, pleading for the adoption of minimum standards like those laid down by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Minimum standards "form the basis for social endeavours required to achieve good work which enjoys validity throughout the world," he added. He also called for industry to play a role in improving social standards, saying the more firms that participated the more successful globalization would be. Representatives from the EU Commission, the ILO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank are also taking part in the three-day conference. The focus of the gathering will be on strategies for more and better jobs and on improving social protection systems in developing and threshold countries. It is the first time the World Bank is attending such a meeting, which will also deal with the issue of corporate social responsibility and preparations for next month's G8 summit hosted by Germany in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm.
