GENEVA (ILO News) - The International Labour Office (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have joined forces to improve labour standards as a means of promoting development and reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region.
The ILO and the ADB concluded in a joint workshop recently that government commitment to improving labour standards is crucial to ensuring broad-based and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting recommended that Governments, the ADB and the ILO highlight labour standards in policy dialogue with governments; promote improved labour standards by designing projects, e.g., to address child labour, improve occupational safety, reduce discrimination at the workplace or eliminate bonded labour; strengthen monitoring of working conditions in the region; and, develop capacity-building and awareness-raising activities to improve labour standards.
The two organizations agreed to strengthen cooperation in order to promote decent working conditions that would reduce poverty, raise living standards and enhance the quality of growth by increasing productivity, according to Akira Seki, Director-General of the ADB's Regional Sustainable Development Department.
"Failing to take account of labour standards harms development in definite and measurable ways", said Lee Swepston, Chief of the Equality and Employment Branch of the ILO. "Respect for basic human rights at work, and for the legal and regulatory structures necessary to give effect to them, helps workers, employers, and economies as a whole. It is also an essential measure for poverty reduction. The ILO calls this process 'Decent Work'."
Of the estimated 1.2 billion people living in poverty around the world, some two-thirds live in the Asia-Pacific region. According to ILO figures, some 127 million of the world's 246 million child labourers aged 5 to 14 live in the region. In addition, many of the world's 20 million bonded labourers live in the area, while many countries report discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of gender, race, caste, age, religious belief and political opinion. The ILO estimates that more than 350 million decent jobs will be needed in the Asia-Pacific region over the next decade.
The ILO and the Bank also discussed labour standards for public and private sectors as part of social corporate responsibility. Details on how to conduct social audits, as currently performed by Social Accountability International or private audit firms were discussed by high level representatives from employers, unions and other organizations.
The drive to improve labour standards is gaining support from many countries, development agencies, companies and civil society organizations.
The ILO and the Bank concluded an agreement in May 2002 to strengthen cooperation for maximizing the use of scarce resources and their development impact. Among the areas of collaboration, the ADB and the ILO will: exchange documentation, studies, research and best practices to promote cooperation and complementarity in operations; combine ADB and ILO expertise to ensure the ADB supports inclusive, employment-generating development patterns and enhances workers' welfare; collaborate in the development of a cooperative framework among counterpart ministries, employers, workers' organizations, civil society partners and development institutions where ADB plans a social protection intervention; cooperate on implementing ADB-funded lending and non-lending activities in areas relating to its competence and capacity such as regional, advisory and project preparatory technical assistance; and work together on the ADB's project design and review missions through interagency consultations and engagement of ILO experts by the ADB.
"This does not mean that developing countries should be pushed into adopting regulations and protections that stifle flexibility, competitivity and growth", Mr. Swepston said. "The difficulty in practice will be to find the appropriate level of regulation and protection in each case. This will require a new approach to viewing situations and finding solutions to problems of poverty, exclusion and development."
For statement and other details, see:
www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2002/Core_Labor_Standards/default.asp
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