Social protection

The national initiatives launched by the Sectoral Activities Programme to "Improve the Competitiveness of the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Sectors through Decent Work" are socio-economic integrated strategies that incorporate the four pillars of the decent work approach, including social protection.

Depending on the priorities defined at the national level by the Government and the sectoral social partners, particular emphasis has been put on specific components of social protection.

In all cases, the strategy developed at the national level aims at improving the conditions of employment of the TCF workers and establishes clear linkages between the improvement of working conditions and the productivity of enterprises. This link has been demonstrated in the modular training approach for the social upgrading of enterprises developed in Morocco and currently tested, on a pilot basis, in Egypt. The question of working time and of its annualization has been a key element of the priorities defined by the Government and the TC social partners in Tunisia. A constructive social dialogue has been developed around this theme and, with the support of the ILO, an exposure to the solutions adopted in other countries has facilitated this dialogue.

All the national initiatives have also incorporated in their Plans of Action a strong component on safety and health to be implemented at the sectoral and enterprise levels. In the case of Morocco, for example, the obligation made by the new Labour Code to create safety and health committees in the enterprises has created new expectations and training requirements that the TC social partners discuss, at a sectoral level, with the support of the ILO.

In Romania, the topic of "Social Protection" has been identified as a key priority and a training seminar has been organized to improve the awareness of the TCF social partners to the national situation in that matter, as compared with the situation in the most advanced EU Member States.