Decent work: A common goal for Youth and Trade Unions in Africa DIA Insa (Ben Said) DWT Pretoria Senior Workers Education Specialist

2 A lost generation?

Global youth unemployment is estimated to stand at 73.4 million in 2013 Increase of 3.5 million since 2007 and 0.8 million above the level in 2011 Global youth unemployment rate decreased from 12.7 per cent in 2009 to 12.3 per cent in 2011, but increased again to 12.6 per cent in 2013 By 2018, global youth unemployment rate is projected to rise to 12.8 per cent Facts on youth employment crisis 3 SOME STATS…

Over 1.2 billion people in the world between 15 and 24 years of age Four out of every ten unemployed worldwide is a young women or man 40 % of the world's unemployed are young people…. Globally young people are on average nearly three times more likely than adults to be unemployed School to work transition in developing economies 4 STATS…

 Inequalities, insecurity and vulnerability are rising  Quality of jobs available for youth is declining  Underemployment and poverty for youth is on the rise  Young workers are disproportionately represented in low-paid work  Most young workers in developing countries are in the informal economy.  Temporary employment and lack of permanent employment for youth is rising  More insecure and slower transition from school to work Risk of SOCIAL UNREST Youth are increasingly discouraged than other age groups. Facts on youth employment crisis 5 ….Unemployment the tip of the iceberg

6 WHAT ABOUT IN AFRICA ? Young people not in employment and not in any education and training ? Young people of particular concern ( known in Europe by the acronym NEET in many countries, “disconnected youth” in the United States and “ni-ni” (neither-nor) in Spanish-speaking countries. This group has been growing since the onset of the crisis, reflecting an increasing detachment from the labour market among young people. Source: ILO, Trends Econometric Models, February Global and regional youth unemployment

Global youth and adult unemployment rate 7 NEETs risk both labour market and social exclusion. n the European Union, the rate increased 1.9 percentage points from its pre-crisis level of 10.9 per cent, and exceeded 15 per cent in Bulgaria, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Romania and Spain. Data for 24 developing economies show an average NEET rate of 12.4 per cent for young men and 28.1 per cent for young women. In developing economies, on the other hand, NEETs tend to be less poor than young people who have jobs, as employment is often poverty-driven and many young men have no alternative but to work. Another factor has become the persistent skills mismatch: Imbalances between skills offered and skills needed in world of work

8 PRINCIPLES TO BE APPLIED AS A COMMON GOAL FOR YOUTH AND TRADE UNIONS IN AFRICA DECENT JOB AT THE HEART OF ANY STRATEGY OF ANY CRISIS STRATEGY CREATE JOBS WHICH GUARANTEE THE PROTECTION OF THESE JOBS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ILO CONVENTIONS STRENGTHENING SOCIAL PROTECTION CREATE WHERE THAT DOES NOT EXIST OR ENHANCE WHERE IT EXISTS THE FRAMEWORK OF INSTITUTIONALIZED AND INDEPENDENT SOCIAL DIALOGUE STRUCTURES AT THE NATIONAL, SUBREGIONAL, REGIONAL LEVELS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT IN ALL POLICIES, THE GENDER DIMENSION ALL AFRICAN LEADERS ARE OF AGREEMENT THAT THE AGENDA FOR DECENT WORK, UNDERSTOOD AS THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT FREELY CHOSEN WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION, WITH SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE, MUST BE IN THE HEART OF ANY STRATEGY FOR EMPLOYMENT IN AFRICAN …BUT NOT ONLY.

Consequences of youth unemployment 9 Little progress has been made in reducing youth unemployment Economic and social costs of unemployment, long-term unemployment, discouragement and widespread low-quality jobs for young people continue to rise and undermine economies’ growth potential Current youth generation has to be less selective about type of job they accept Youth are increasingly employed in non- standard jobs, including temporary employment and part-time work Missmatch of skills: Overeducation and undereducation or no education at all.

Youth labour markets in developing economies 10 Youth labour markets in developing economies Developing regions face major youth employment challenges and large variations in extent and development of youth unemployment Large numbers of young people not achieving full economic potential  Unemployed  In irregular employment (informal sector)  Neither in labour force nor in education/training quality of work In countries with high poverty levels and high shares of vulnerable employment, youth employment challenge is as much a problem of poor employment quality as one of unemployment Young workers often receive below average wages and are engaged in work for which either overqualified or underqualified

Labour markets in developing economies do not look like those in developed economies Abundance of labour Scarcity of capital Duality between dominant traditional economies and “modern” economies Irregular nature of employment Leave education early Lack of social protection Different type of measurement needed Youth labour markets in developing economies 11 Youth labour markets in developing economies

The Call for action focuses on five policy areas: 1. employment and economic policies to increase aggregate demand and improve access to finance; 2. education and training to ease the school-to-work transition; 3. labour market policies to target employment of disadvantaged youth; 4. entrepreneurship and self-employment to assist potential young entrepreneurs; and 5. labour rights that are based on international labour standards to ensure that young people receive equal treatment. ILO’s response to the youth employment crisis: 2012 ILC Resolution 12 ILO’s response to the youth employment crisis: The 2012 ILC Resolution “The Youth Employment Crisis: A call for action” and its follow-up plan

 Knowledge building  Advocacy and promotion of decent work for youth  Technical assistance ILO youth employment programme 13 The ILO youth employment programme

Policy measures should be balanced and adapted to country-specific needs Policies for youth employment 14 ILO Active Labour Market Policies: What works for youth? Comprehensive packages of labour market measures targeting specific groups of young people Balanced strategies for growth and job creation Bipartite and tripartite cooperation Multiple services for entrepreneurship, social enterprises and cooperatives development Platforms for exchanging knowledge and lessons of what works Employment services Apprenticeships, skills training and other work-training programmes Targeted youth employment action through tripartite consensus and time-bound action plans Policiy measures

Sweden tackles youth unemployment through jobs guarantees It's not easy being a young jobseeker today. With nearly 74 million young people worldwide unemployed, youth guarantees programmes help keep youth connected to the labour market by boosting skills and giving them support to find jobs. releases/WCMS_212957/lang--en/index.htm Best-practice example 15 Best-practice example: youth guarantee in Sweden

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