Cuban Labor and Social Security Minister Margarita M. Gonzalez talked on Tuesday about the world employment crisis affecting humanity and its catastrophic consequences for development.

Addressing the 99th International Labor Organization (ILO)Conference, Gonzalez analyzed unemployment and brutal budget cuts to social welfare and social security.

Fifty-six percent of humanity lives in extreme poverty, 215 million children are still trapped in child labor, and several countries are suffering hardship caused by environmental degradation and climate change, the island's minister said.

Gonzalez said the rich countries were responsible for the current global crisis, and stressed the importance of examining issues related to employment, labor rights and social protection.

The Cuban minister also referred to the need for real political will to confront the failure of neoliberalism and practices that hastened and worsened the impact of the crisis.

In referring to Cuba, Gonzalez said that 50 years after the triumph of the Revolution, the Cuban people continue suffering from an unfair economic, commerical and financial blockade, media aggression, and political manipulations.

The Cuban minister previously took the floor during a meeting of labor ministers from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) attending the ILO Conference.

Regarding this issue, Gonzalez asked the NAM gathering to bring about changes within the organization.