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“Technical cooperation must continue to be a major instrument and a fundamental means of action of the ILO in the fulfilment of its mission and the realization of its objectives. The ideals of equality and social justice embodied in the Declaration of Philadelphia have been made operational through international labour standards, and technical cooperation is an important means of promoting and implementing those standards and the workers’
rights
they promote. Technical cooperation is fundamental to the attainment of the four strategic objectives of the Organization, namely the promotion of standards and rights at work, employment, social protection and social dialogue, as well as the cross-cutting issue of gender equality. This will also contribute towards the alleviation of poverty and the improvement of the lives of vulnerable workers. Technical cooperation programmes also contribute to employment promotion and enterprise development, job creation,
the upgrading of skills and competencies, and the promotion of workers’ rights and gender.”
International Labour Conference, 95th Session (June 2006): Resolution and conclusions concerning the role of the ILO in technical cooperation
Technical
cooperation is a major instrument and a fundamental means of action of
the ILO. The ideals of equality and social justice embodied in the Declaration of
Philadelphia have been made operational through international
labour standards, and technical cooperation is an important means of
promoting and implementing
those standards and the workers’ rights they promote. Technical
cooperation is fundamental to the attainment of the four strategic
objectives of the Organization – the promotion of standards
and rights at work, employment, social protection and social dialogue,
as well as the cross-cutting aim of gender equality. This also
helps alleviate poverty and improve the lives of vulnerable workers.
Technical cooperation programmes contribute to employment promotion and
enterprise development,
job creation, the upgrading of skills and competencies, and the
promotion of workers’ rights and gender equality.
Decent
Work Country Programmes (DWCPs), developed through tripartite
consultations at the national level, are now the main vehicle for the
delivery of technical cooperation at the country level. The
challenge of delivering decent work through technical cooperation calls
for the appropriate involvement of, and partnerships with constituents
and other multilateral and bilateral development agencies, the
establishment of effective partnerships with other development actors,
and the mobilization of financial and human resources – from
both the public and private sectors – as well as the
allocation of funds to the ILO regular budget for technical
cooperation. This is based on a sound policy which embodies the ILO’s
values and principles, with clearly defined operational guidelines
developed and regularly reviewed as deemed necessary by the Governing
Body.
This section highlights some ILO successes in
technical cooperation and provides links to key information on trends
in ILO technical cooperation, evaluation, and its financing.
 The overall purpose of ILO technical cooperation
is the
implementation of the Decent Work Agenda at a national level, assisting
constituents to make this concept a reality for all men and women.
ILO’s technical cooperation and capacity-building programmes help to
build bridges between the ILO’s standard-setting role
and the people. An extensive network of offices throughout Africa,
Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East
provides technical guidance on policy issues, and assistance in the
design and implementation of development programmes.
Since the early 1950s, the ILO has been providing
technical
cooperation to countries on all continents and at all stages of
economic development. In the last decade, an average of some US$130 million was spent annually on technical cooperation projects. The
projects are implemented through close cooperation between recipient
countries, donors, and the ILO, which maintains a network of area and
regional offices worldwide.
The ILO now conducts more than 1,000 technical
cooperation programs
in over 80 countries with the help of some 60 donor institutions
worldwide. They receive support from individual governments as well as
through the European Union, UN agencies, the World Bank, regional
development banks, employers' and workers' organizations and industry
associations. The ILO has decentralized most such activities to its
regional, area and branch offices in over 40 countries.
More than half of ILO's resources are devoted to
technical cooperation programs divided into four main categories:
- Labour law reform
- Labour administration and dispute settlement
- Strengthening the ability of employers’ and
workers’ organizations to engage in organizing and bargaining
collectively
- Awareness raising
The ILO’s standard-setting and technical
cooperation are reinforced
by an extensive research, training, education and publications program.
It has established two specialized educational institutions: the
International Institute for Labor Studies in Geneva, and the
International Center for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training in
Turin, Italy.
The ILO’s strategic objectives of rights at work,
employment, social
protection and social dialogue are translated into capacity building
and technical cooperation in several areas, for example:
Promote
and apply the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work, which covers -
- Freedom of
association and the right to collective bargaining;
- Elimination of
forced and compulsory labour;
- Abolition of child
labour;
- Elimination of
discrimination in the workplace.
Create
greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and
income, including -
- Reconstruction and
employment-intensive investment;
- Investing in
knowledge, skills and employability;
- Boosting employment
through small enterprise development.
Enhance
the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all, including -
- The ILO’s SafeWork
programme, which improves security and productivity through safety and
health at work;
- Social security
tailored to the needs of poor people.
Deepen
tripartism and social dialogue by strengthening the capacities and
knowledge base of the social partners
Reflecting these standards, the ILO’s goal of
decent work, in a context of fair globalization, involves capacity
building -
- to improve rights for
all workers, whether in the formal or informal sectors;
- to promote work
opportunities involving a decent quality of employment and basic social
security;
- to protect against
vulnerability and contingency, which might take people out of work.
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