1. MAINSTREAMING DECENT WORK INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES
presented by
Ladis Columban Komba (Phd)
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development, Tanzania
At the International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty, held at UN Headquarters, New York, USA 15th – 16th November 2006
17 April 2019

2. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
THE DECENT WORK AGENDA
POVERTY ERADICATION: WHAT IT ENTAILS
THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM: THE CASE OF TANZANIA
THE CHALLENGES IN MAINSTREAMING DW INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
17 April 2019

3. 1.0 INTRODUCTION
There is a strong link between the unemployment problem and poverty levels ( a vicious circle)
Income – market size – investment levels – employment
Lack of unemployment benefit packages in most developing countries worsens the situation
Thus: Efforts aimed at poverty eradication must include employment creation strategies
The principal Route out of poverty is (decent) work (Juan Somavia – DG ILO, 2003)
17 April 2019

4. 2.0 THE DECENT WORK AGENDA
As advocated by ILO the DWA strives for economic growth with equity through a coherent blend of social and economic goals. The Agenda has four elements:
Employment – the principal route out of poverty is productive work
Rights – necessary to empower men and women to escape from poverty
Protection – social protection safeguards against poverty
Dialogue – participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in shaping government policy for poverty reduction is key to success
17 April 2019

5. 3.0 POVERTY ERADICATION: WHAT IT ENTAILS
Enhancing access to basic needs
a fight against hunger, provision of health services, basic education and skills, decent shelter and basic utilities (water, electricity, communication)
Increasing income levels of the people through increasing opportunities for decent work, access to financial services and profitable markets
Mainstreaming cross cutting issues
for sustainability, gender, environmental concerns and the HIV/AIDS must be mainstreamed into poverty eradication programs
17 April 2019

6. 3.0 Poverty Eradication: what it entails …..
Improving agricultural productivity
due to the dominance of the sector in most poor countries, a bigger impact would be realized by focusing on it
Enhancing investments in Industries
as a means of absorbing excess labor force from the agricultural sector, minimizing the dependence on imports and enhancing the market for agricultural produce. In any case, due to being more formal, the sector is more compatible with the decent work agenda.
Empowering the private sector
to take the lead as most Governments withdraw from active production and business undertakings following developmental reforms
17 April 2019

7. 4.0 THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM: THE CASE OF TANZANIA
According to the integrated Labor Force Survey of 2000/01, out of a total population of million people, the labor force was 17.8 million. Of these 2.3 million or 12.9% were unemployed
The rate of unemployment was more among youth with 14.3% and among women with 14.2%, compared to men with 11.6%
The situation was worse in towns and cities with 32%, compared to 8% in rural areas. Lower rates in rural areas are accounted for by Agriculture which employed 82.1% of the labor force.
17 April 2019

8. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania ……
Causes of the problem
Major causes mentioned include globalization, technological improvements, low capacity of the private sector to create employment, economic growth rate not coping with the population growth rate (2.9%), (700,000 enter the labor force annually while formal employment opportunities are 40,000), economic hardships and low quality of life in rural areas, child labor and change in roles of women in employment, privatization process, lack of access to credit facilities, lack of necessary skills among jobseekers and shortage of entrepreneurial skills necessary for self employment initiatives
17 April 2019

9. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania ……
Impacts of the problem
More significant impacts include increasing income poverty, rural-urban migration that worsens the problem in towns, youth being the mostly affected become victims of un-decent work and potential criminals. Lack of proper education among working children make them unemployable at later stages. All these may have a negative impact on investments, and generally on economic development
17 April 2019

10. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania ……
Government efforts in solving the problem
Commitment at the highest level
Putting the unemployment Agenda (Decent Work) top in its plans in PRSP and currently in National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA)
Assisting the small entrepreneurs in accessing financial services through various schemes of guarantees and direct financial support
Putting emphasis on training and skills development that generate capacities for self employment especially among Youth
17 April 2019

11. 5.0 THE CHALLENGES IN MAINSTREAMING DW INTO POVERTY ERADICATION
Definition of Decent Work, and the priorities in a country. The issue is whether what poor people need most is to have decent work or just jobs that make them earn a living
The difficulty to enforce the Decent Work Agenda, especially when the workers are willing and accept working standards below the requirements of decent work
The un-employability of job seekers due to lack of education and skills, experience, confidence and the required working culture in most multilateral organizations
The increasing role of the informal sector in economic growth, most of whose participants are unaware of the decent work agenda
17 April 2019

12. 5.0 The challenges in mainstreaming DW into poverty eradication…..
The private sector, that is supposed to be leading in economic development is not being very keen on human resource development, and investments in cross cutting issues whose benefits are not directly related to short term profits
Workers’ organizations being weak in dialogue, not only with the Government in policy formulation processes but also in negotiations with employers’ organizations. The tripartite negotiation relationships are in most cases not in favor of workers.
17 April 2019

13. 6.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Decent Work Agenda is important and very instrumental in achieving the poverty eradication targets
As advocated by ILO, the application of the Decent Work Agenda require to be domesticated depending on the level of economic development a country has and on its priorities
The capacity of the private sector that is supposed to take the lead in economic development has to be enhanced. Governments should deliberately have policies aimed at facilitating the private sector
Joint efforts of all stakeholders (Governments, Workers, employers, Development Partners, NGOs, International Organizations) are necessary to succeed in the process of mainstreaming DW into Poverty Eradication Policies
17 April 2019

14. 6.0 Conclusions and recommendations …..
Deliberate efforts should be taken to enhance active participation and improve the negotiation ability of workers’ organizations, that should play a role of ensuring Decent Work Agenda is applicable at work places.
Development of cooperative societies, that are based on group empowerment of its members should be encouraged as a means of enhancing dialogue, source of credit facilities in rural areas (SACCOS) and a way of assuring the availability of important agricultural inputs and access to markets
Youth unemployment problem should be viewed as a Time Bomb in many developing countries that need special attention. The YEN and YES require support and their deliberations to be implemented
Gender, HIV/AIDS, Environmental concerns and other Cross Cutting issues must be taken on board during the mainstreaming process to ensure sustainability
17 April 2019

15. Thanks for your kind Attention
17 April 2019