What is decent work?
Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
What is a decent work deficit?
People throughout the world face deficits, gaps and exclusions in the form of unemployment and underemployment, poor quality and unproductive jobs, unsafe work and insecure income, rights which are denied, gender inequality, migrant workers who are exploited, lack of representation and voice, and inadequate protection and solidarity in the face of disease, disability and old age. ILO programmes aim to find solutions to these problems.
Nearly 200 million people are unemployed - more than ever before. Half the world's workers live on less than US$2 a day. Of these unemployed, the ILO estimates that 86 million, or about half the global total, are young people aged 15 to 24. One out of every seven children in the world today is still involved in child labour of some kind. Accidents and diseases at work cause 2 million fatalities a year - an average of 6,000 per day … just to give a few examples.
What are the risks of a "decent work deficit"?
The global jobs crisis is one of the biggest security risks we face today. If we choose to continue along the present path, the world risks becoming more fragmented, protectionist and confrontational. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress.
Experience from many countries suggests that the risks of disorder are higher where the need for decent work opportunities is ignored. And recovery from crisis is faster where communities can come together to work for reconstruction. Decent work is an important part of the global peace-building agenda.
How can we achieve the goal of decent work?
Through the engagement and commitment of its tripartite constituents, the ILO plays a major role in facilitating the integration of the Decent Work Agenda into strategies for poverty reduction and a fair and inclusive globalization.
Decent work calls for the integration of economic and social objectives and for a well-orchestrated combination of measures converging towards four strategic objectives, namely rights at work, employment, social protection and social dialogue.
This coherent approach is proving its relevance to a wide-ranging policy agenda, from social dimensions of globalisation to poverty reduction strategies.
Growth, investment and enterprise development are obviously necessary. Promoting a conducive and competitive environment for private initiative, in the wide arc of entrepreneurship that covers helping people organize to move progressively out of the informal economy to the best way of combining national interests with foreign investments, is key to the future of work.
How does the decent work agenda translate into practical action at the national level?
Integrated decent work country programmes, developed by ILO constituents, define the priorities and the targets within national development frameworks.
ILO assistance to member States in achieving decent work objectives is to be prepared and implemented within time-bound and resourced programmes called Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs). The focus of the DWCPs varies from country to country, reflecting different national needs, resources, priorities and conditions.
While assisting the participating countries, the Decent Work Pilot Programme also supports other national decent work initiatives through exchange of experiences and knowledge among countries, the development and provision of tools and methods, as well as advisory services.
The Decent Work Pilot Programme was initiated in October 2000 to pioneer ways in which the concept of decent work can be effectively promoted and applied in ILO member countries. Eight countries formed part of the Pilot Programme: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Denmark, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Panama, Philippines. The lessons of the pilot programme countries are now being used to introduce Decent Work Country Programmes in most ILO member states as of 2005, like Argentina.
Is the Decent Work Agenda advancing?
In a relatively short period of time, this concept has led to an international consensus that productive employment and decent work are key elements to achieving poverty reduction.
Affirmative statements were made on the Decent Work Agenda from the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as African Union heads of state and government, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Organization of American States presidential summit and tripartite social partners in Latin America, the Asian Development Bank and the European Commission.
In the final outcome statement of the UN World Summit ( Note 1) in September of last year, 150 global leaders agreed to place full and productive employment and decent work as a central objective of relevant national and international policies and spelling out the central role of decent work in development strategies and poverty reduction.
In this context, the ILO's Decent Work Agenda is to be discussed at the High Level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting in Geneva on 3-5 July. The theme of the conference - "Creating an environment at the national and international levels that is conducive to generating full and productive employment and decent work for all, and its impact on sustainable development" - expresses the goal to generate solutions that will help to achieve the central Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty for 2015.
More information about decent work: www.ilo.org/public/english/decent.htm
Note 1 - www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/RES/60/1.