DECENT WORK FRAMEWORK Shigeru Wada ILO Bangkok

Brings together individual aspirations and society’s goals Decent Work Brings together individual aspirations and society’s goals

Some statistics in the world of work 1.2 B live in poverty 1B unemployed and underemployed Half of world population live in less than $2/day 250-260M children are child laborers 30M work in EPZs 3,500 die daily of work-related illnesses and accidents. 90M people work or live outside their own country

What are the aspirations of the average Workers in Asia/Pacific? Food at least 3 times a day Own house Education for children Healthy family Permanent and secure job Some savings Some recreation More…….. Decent work – people’s aspiration   Provides an adequate income, enables you to satisfy basic needs and responsibilities, educate, to feed and care for your family Leaves time for other dimensions of life Offers a reasonable level of economic security particularly in bad times Respects your rights as a human being Gives you a sense of self-worth, a social identity, and voice

Decent Work is a goal defined nationally, based on context, needs NO CEILING perpetual progress RELATIVE multiple paths A universal social floor All who work have basic rights at work: freedom from oppression and discrimination, freedom of association, the right of children to learn and develop rather than work, freedom of choice in work But it is relative Everybody, everywhere, has a sense of what decent work means in terms of their own lives, and in relation to their own society. The full realisation of universally accepted principles requires time and will very much depend upon national conditions and policies.   There is no ceiling The realisation of decent work is in perpetual movement,. The threshold of what is sees as “decent” advances with economic and social progress, and reflects the priorities which each society sets. SOCIAL FLOOR basic rights at work

Social floor: basic rights at work Freedom of association, expression Freedom from discrimination Freedom from forced labour Right of children to develop fully, learn Enabling rights - empower all those who work. Freedom of choice and contract- consistent with market economies and democracies. Equality - all have rights.

Decent work: advances economic and social goals Poverty reduction among the working poor Global competitiveness Productivity Equity and social stability

Decent work deficits create and reinforce poverty Insecure, irregular income Long hours of work, yet meagre earnings Bad working conditions-worsens poor health, risks Vulnerability to risks (no social insurance, no assets) Working children - generations of poverty Forced labour - trapped in exploitation Discrimination, exclusion from productive resources, opportunities Few choices, powerlessness, no voice Poverty in work can be traced to decent work deficits. Precarious, intermittent, irregular income Long hours for meagre earnings Income barely enough to keep body nourished and healthy enough for the next day’s work No extra money to develop human capital, build assets Vulnerable - no other resources for food, medicine, education in case of job loss Generational poverty- children who work long, hard, in unsafe conditions; no time nor means to prepare for a better future Forced labour – trapped in exploitative work arrangements No rights Exclusion from sources/markets of capital, land, education, skills, information Powerlessness, no voice, no representation in making rules that govern their work, their livelihood  

A decent work agenda Basic rights at work Sustained social dialogue Broad social protection Generate quality employment Basic rights at work Sustained social dialogue

Realize basic rights at work Legal and policy frameworks Institutions to implement and monitor

Generating good quality employment Macro economic policies Sector policies Inclusive labour market policies Work organization that encourages performance Generation of “good quality” jobs Macroeconomic and sector policies that ensure a close link between growth and employment generation, support sectors with higher employment/output elasticity, support development of small enterprises, recognize and anticipate trade-offs between macro economic targets and employment   Inclusive labour market policies that enhance efficient and equitable outcomes, avoid segregation, exclusion and discrimination; combine flexibility and income protection for workers, harmonize work and family, include active minimum wage policy that ensures remuneration above poverty line Performance work organization that encourage productivity, quality including working hours, financial incentives, workers’ participation, job security, on-the-job training.

Broad social protection Private and public arrangements Long range benefits Reduce workers’ insecurity, facilitate occupational & sectoral mobility Minimize costs to families, communities, governments Help economies to recover from shocks

Sustained social dialogue Legal and institutional infrastructure for negotiation, collective bargaining Minimize social conflicts Increases potential for positive-sum outcomes between « conflicting » interests

Decent Work The goal of decent work connects with people’s hopes to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security & human dignity. It is about jobs & future prospects; about sound working conditions; about balancing work and family life, putting children through school or getting them out of child labour. It is about gender equality, equal recognition, & enabling women to make choices & take control of their lives. It is about your personal abilities to compete in the market place, keep up with new technological skills & remain healthy.

Decent work…… It is about not being discriminated against, it is about having a voice in your work-place and in your community. In the most extreme situations it is about moving from subsistence to existence. For many, it is the primary route out of poverty. For many others, it is about realizing personal aspirations in their daily existence and about solidarity with others. And everywhere, and for everybody, Decent Work is about securing human dignity.

Asian Decent Work Decade 2006-2015 14th Asian Regional Meeting, 2006, Busan, Korea The ILO’s Asia Pacific members have committed themselves to an Asian Decent Work Decade (2006-2015), and in doing so reaffirmed their commitment to achieving full, productive and decent employment for all their people by 2015 15th Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting, April 2011, to do mid-term evaluation of the ADWD

Decent Work Country Programmes The ILO member states are creating their own national Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCP), which set out appropriate, individual goals, in order to reflect the different economic, social and development of each country.

Five Priorities of ADWD Increasing competitiveness, productivity and jobs Improving labour market governance Extending social protection Eliminating child labour and creating opportunities for young people Improved management of labour migration

ILO Core Conventions

Thank you very much!