Promoting Decent Work through Integrating Employment in Industrial Policies and Sectoral Strategies in Southeast Asia

Project background

As countries across the Asia and the Pacific region recover from the global economic crisis, many countries are looking to strengthen the foundations for a more inclusive and sustainable future through the promotion of job-rich growth. In Indonesia, the Government is taking forward a pro-growth, pro-poor, pro-job and pro-environment development strategy. The country’s National Medium Term Development Plan 2010-2014 articulates that “it is necessary that economic growth provides the widest possible job opportunities and that it is evenly spread within the development sectors to create large work opportunities.” Towards this end, the Government has identified the development of six economic corridors, with each corridor focussed on specific economic sectors.

In the Philippines, the Philippines Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 has inclusive growth – “sustained growth that creates jobs, draws the majority into the economic and social mainstream, and continuously reduces mass poverty” –as an overarching goal. Towards this end, the Government will prioritize sectors that have the highest growth potentials and generate the most jobs, including tourism; business process outsourcing; mining; agri-business and forest-based industries; logistics; shipbuilding; housing; and electronics. The Philippines Labor and Employment Plan 2010-2016, the relevant sectoral plan of the PDP 2011-2016 identifies as a strategy to boost decent and productive employment, the formulation of a national industrial policy through social dialogue.

Project strategy

Such developments in Indonesia and the Philippines underscore a renewed policy interest across the Asia and the Pacific region in industrial policies and sectoral strategies and in leveraging these policies for job creation. Implemented by the ILO with funding from the Republic of Korea, the project “Promoting decent work through integrating employment in industrial policies and sectoral strategies in Southeast Asia” will support the better integration of employment in industrial and sectoral policies in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Specifically, the project will first work with Government agencies (including the ministries of labour and development planning agencies), workers’ and employers’ organisations and research institutions to generate knowledge on policy experiences from four countries in Asia and the Pacific in the design and implementation of industrial and sectoral policies that intensify job creation. Consequently, the documented policy experiences will be shared in (i) national workshops in Indonesia and the Philippines and (ii) in a sub-regional workshop. The project will subsequently support any technical assistance requests that may arise as a result of the knowledge-sharing.

Key partners

• Ministry of Manpower
• Development Planning Agencies
• Workers’ Organizations
• Employers’ Organizations

For further information please contact:

Mr Kee Beom Kim
Employment Specialist, Decent Work Team
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Ave
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Tel. +66 2288 1234
Fax. +66 2288 3062
Email