11 International Labour Office Public policies for the promotion and maintenance of employment Presentation by: Mohammed Mwamadzingo, Senior Economist, ILO Geneva. ACTRAV/ITC-ILO inter-regional course on Decent Work response to the Global Economic Crisis, Turin, November 2010

22 Outline of the presentation 1.ILO Mandate on full employment 2.Realities and trends 3.The role of state in employment creation 4.Core ILO programmes 5.Public employment programmes

33 ILO Mandate on full employment The objective of full employment is derived from: –the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia –the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), –the Global Employment Agenda –the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization –the Global Jobs Pact

44 II Realities and trends in employment policies  High income countries: –1930s to mid-1970s characterized by a major movement to embrace full employment as a central economic and social goal. –Oil shocks of the 1790s and the emergence of worldwide “stagflation” saw a paradigm shift in which the control of inflation was seen as the primary goal of economic policy. –2008 and 2009 saw virtually all advanced economies focus on aggressive reductions in interest rates and fiscal stimulus packages to stem the decline in aggregate demand.

55 II Realities and trends in employment policies  Low and middle income countries: 1960s to mid-1960s characterized by dirigiste modernization and import substitution industrialization policies the 1970s witnessed a shift in policy paradigms-- emphasized private sector-driven, export-oriented and FDI-dependent industrialization strategies The SAPs and PRSs of the World Bank and IMF in the 1980s through 1990s: characterized by job-less growth, reduced public spending, growing inequality, and higher external debt payments

The role of state in employment creation The crisis and its employment effects have once again brought the role of the state in employment creation strongly to the forefront due to massive losses of jobs in the private sector: What is the role of the state? –Overall employment policy and strategy –State role in creating an enabling environment –Direct role in employment creation 6

The role of state in employment creation The Global Jobs Pact and public employment policies is recognized: the role of direct employment creation by government through emergency public works programmes and employment guarantee schemes that are well targeted and include the informal economy 7

The role of state in employment creation The Global Jobs Pact also considers a broader view: - broad conceptualization of employment policy, - stronger articulation of employment policies with national development frameworks, - importance of industrial policy, structural transformation and sectoral strategies, and -the role normative instruments on labour markets and employment policies. 8

Some ILO Programmes Target specific policy areas and groups, such as: -Public investment in infrastructure -Active labour market policies -Labour market information systems -Social finance -Youth employment -Skills and employability -Enterprise development -Local economic development But, many of these programmes are lopsided, and only emphasizes supply side factors. 9

Public policies on employment creation 10 Public Employment Programmes Employment Policy and Reducing Unemployment Addressing Deficits in Infrastructure and Services Poverty Reduction Crises Responses and the Global Jobs Pact Social Protection and Social Security

Public policies on employment creation 11 Public Works Programmes (PWP) refer to the more common and traditional programmes; although these may be a temporary response to specific shocks and crises, public works programmes can also have a longer-term horizon. Employment Guarantee Programmes / Schemes (EGP/S) which refer to long-term rights-based programmes in which some level of entitlement to work is provided.

Public policies on employment creation 12 Targeted Employment Programmes (TEP): These are public employment programmes that aim to reach a specified target group. Public Employment Programmes (PEP) include all of the above as well as a wide spectrum of options between them. It is used to refer to any direct employment creation by government through an employment programme - rather than through the expansion of the civil service.

Public policies on employment creation 13 Examples Bolsa Familia in Brazil contributed to a dramatic fall in inequality and a reduction in poverty Indian national rural employment guarantee programmes providing a legal guarantee for employment to adult members of any rural household at the statutory minimum wage. This has provided 40 million people with public sector work Empresas Recuperadas in Argentina based on workplace decision making in which workers themselves agree on choices (production methods, customer care, division of labour, etc).

Way forward Comprehensive policy framework that will make employment central to national economic and social policies and to international development strategies. The aim should be to promote decent employment in which ILS and workers’ fundamental rights go hand in hand with job creation, thus simultaneously promoting employment growth and quality of work.

Way forward Use of normative instruments (continued): –Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and Employment Policy Recommendation, 1964 (No. 122). –Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169). –Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No.168), and Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment recommendation, 1988 (No. 176) –Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), 2 and Employment Service Recommendation, 1948 (No. 83); –Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), and Private Employment Agencies Recommendation, 1997 (No. 188). –Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, 1977 (amended 2000).

Way forward Expanding the “social economy”. The social economy includes cooperatives and other businesses with primarily social objectives – where surpluses are principally reinvested rather than being driven by the need to maximize profit for shareholders and owners.