Introduction

ILO Departments :

International Labour Standards Department

Enterprise and Cooperative Development Department

Multinational Enterprises

Bureau for Employers' Activities

Bureau for Workers' Activities

Working Conditions and Environment Department

Employment Department

Training Department

Industrial Relations and Labour Administration Department

Sectoral Activities Department

Social Security Department

Development and Technical Cooperation Department

International Institute for Labour Studies

International Training Centre, Turin

ILO Multidisciplinary Teams:

MDT for the Caribbean, Port of Spain

MDT for Central and West Africa, Abidjan

MDT for East Africa, Addis Ababa

MDT for East Asia, Bangkok

MDT for Central and Eastern Europe, Budapest

MDT for North-West Africa, Dakar

MDT for Arab States, Geneva

MDT for Southern Africa, Harare

MDT for Andean Countries, Lima

MDT for South-East Asia and the Pacific, Manila

MDT for South Asia, New Delhi

MDT for Central America, San José;

MDT for The Southern Cone, Santiago

INTRODUCTION

Recently, both the Social Summit in its Action Programme and the Report of the Commission on Global Governance "Our Global Neighbourhood", emphasized the crucial role of enterprises for economic and social development in general, and for job generation in particular.

The ILO, as a tripartite Organization, has worked closely with enterprises since its beginning, but to reinforce this cooperation the Director-General of the ILO, Mr. Michel Hansenne, decided in l991 to create an Enterprise Department and in l994 to create a new post in his management team for "promotion and coordination of ILO activities directed towards enterprises".

In this situation, there was a need to find out, firstly, what enterprises and their organizations expect from the ILO and can contribute to the ILO, and, secondly, what the ILO can offer enterprises, i.e. there was a need for a "customer survey" combined with a "service inventory".

The first report on " A Survey on Cooperation between the ILO and Enterprises" is now available, with an analysis of the replies from enterprises and employers' organizations in nearly 80 countries in all parts of the world to a questionnaire which was sent out in December l994.

This second Report on "ILO Activities Related to Enterprises" combines succinct contributions from all the major ILO Departments concerned, the Turin Centre, the International Institute for Labour Studies and ILO Multidisciplinary Teams.

As has become evident during the work of the new ILO Enterprise Task Force, the ILO in its current and planned activities has very much to offer enterprises - be it technical cooperation, research or information. Moreover, as the International Labour Standards Department notes in its contribution, "Labour standards and enterprises are, quite naturally, very closely related" as "the enterprise is the basic unit in the market economy where it plays an unsurpassed role as an actor on the economic scene".

However, it is obvious that many of these enterprise-related ILO activities are not fully known to our tripartite constituents, nor to enterprises. It is therefore hoped that this Report will fill this gap, enabling our tripartite constituents and enterprises to be more aware of what the ILO has to offer in this field and consequently utilizing our services even better.

In this context, it is interesting to compare what enterprises would like to obtain from the ILO (as mentioned in their replies to the Enterprise Questionnaire) and what the ILO has to offer: there is convergence in many fields, in particular as concerns technical cooperation, advisory services and exchange of information, and this offers great hope for increased cooperation in the future.

Finally, I should like to warmly thank all the colleagues who took the time and trouble to write the respective contributions, and Mrs. Dianne Baer, who gave the final form to the Report.

Geneva, May l995

H. Hammar, Assistant Director-General

ILO ENTERPRISE ACTIVITIES
DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTIONS The International Labour Standards Department (NORMES) Standard-setting activities and Enterprises

There are no activities specifically for enterprises in the programme and budget of NORMES but this does not represent a shortcoming, in so far as all the Department's activities at some point and in some way touch upon the work of enterprises or of employers' and workers' organizations in their dealings with enterprises or within the enterprises themselves. Labour standards and enterprises are, quite naturally, very closely related.

The enterprise is the basic unit in the market economy where it plays an unsurpassed role as an actor on the economic scene. It is at the enterprise level that products are developed, investments made, jobs created and income distributed. But the enterprise is not only an economic entity. It is also the place where living and working conditions are determined, where social and work relationships are organized, and where labour disputes arise and are settled. A number of legal rules must be applied to permit the enterprise function as profitably and competitively as possible, while at the same time protecting workers sufficiently to meet their basic need for dignity and security.

International labour law is one of the sources which gives rise to these legal rules. The standard-setting activities of the ILO are thus of interest and concern to all enterprises, for whatever their legal status nature and field of activity may be these activities are bound to affect them either directly or indirectly. Balanced social and economic development is one of the basic objectives of labour regulation at the international level, and ILO standards provide a framework for the complementary economic and social functions of the enterprise. They define basic human rights which are applicable in all circumstances at the workplace. When examining the standards, which may have the objective of influencing the behaviour of governments, employers or workers, we can distinguish between protection standards, participation standards and standards for promoting social and economic policy objectives, although it should be remembered that all these standards are interdependent and complementary. Many of them explicitly or specifically refer to enterprises, industries, or employers' and workers' organizations: organizations are involved in all stages of the standard-setting process, thanks to the basic principle of tripartism.

The main objective of NORMES, as defined by the ILO Programme and Budget's Major Programme: International Labour Standards and Human Rights, is to promote universal acceptance of the ILO's standards and principles by its constituents, to serve the supervisory bodies for the application of Conventions and Recommendations, and to facilitate the coordination of standard-setting activities with the other operational and promotional activities carried out by the ILO. While NORMES has not, as mentioned above, had any specific activities planned especially for enterprises, it has from time to time collaborated with other departments or services in fields of interest to certain types of enterprise - for example, it helped prepare the discussion on the promotion of self-employment for the 77th Session of the Conference (l990) and, more recently, it assisted in proposing that the Conference include in its agenda for the l997 Session the creation of jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises.

NORMES has made, and is still making, a contribution to the Office's activities for cooperatives as well. It has assisted in the preparation of a report for a meeting of experts on the impact of labour legislation, of industrial relations systems and of ILO standards on cooperatives and cooperative law, and has participated in the implementation of a programme aimed at fostering the development of cooperatives among indigenous and tribal peoples.

The Department's main activities involve the supervision of the application of standards. While these activities are not especially aimed at enterprises, they do ultimately influence the way in which they operate. Their ultimate objective is either to guarantee compliance with certain standards applicable in the labour relationship or in the balance of power at the enterprise, or, more generally, to ensure that principles of social and economic policy are respected in practice. In the first case, the enterprise is the place where work contracts are fulfilled, and the State has a commitment to ensure that such contracts meet the relevant international standard. In the second case, the national measures taken to apply international standards influence the institutional framework and environment in which enterprises operate. Specifically, we may mention the monitoring of the application of ratified Conventions in export processing zones, or the role of a number of Conventions that are relevant to the application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.

NORMES also provides technical advisory services, some of which are mentioned above. It is involved in any examination of draft national labour legislation, comparing it with the provisions of ILO Conventions and Recommendations, especially Conventions which have been ratified and which are therefore, of course, of direct and practical importance for enterprises activities in fields governed by labour law. The Department's activities for the promotion of standards and training in employers' and workers' organizations are also of more or less direct interest to enterprises, depending on the subjects covered. For example, the promotion of standards on tripartite consultation, can lead to the establishment of tripartite commissions or bodies whose scope can often go beyond consultation standards and extend to more general issues for national consultation.

In future, standard-setting activities may be planned on the basis of the objectives which will be set by the ILO Enterprise Strategy. They should also reflect the conclusions drawn by the Director-General in his report on employment in the world, which point to the necessary regulation of the labour market and promotion of full employment - in other words the compatibility, rather than the incompatibility, of labour law with the right to work. These activities will also have to take into consideration the Declaration of the Copenhagen Social Summit, the decisions taken on how to follow up the Summit, and the discussion of the Director-General's Report at the next session of the Conference: "Promoting employment".

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Enterprise and Cooperative Development Department (ENTERPRISE)

ENTERPRISE was created to enhance the capacity of the ILO to better assist member States, in particular developing countries and countries in transition, to design, promote and implement enterprise and cooperative development policies and programmes for the formal and informal sectors, in both urban and rural areas. To achieve this goal, ENTERPRISE provides policy advice and technical support to a wide range of institutions, both public and private, in the following areas: managerial capacity building; enterprise development, cooperative development and enterprise finance.

In pursuing its objectives, ENTERPRISE works with ILO constituents (governments, employers' and workers' organizations) as well as with other partners active in the field of enterprise and cooperative development such as professional sectoral associations, management development institutions, small enterprise development institutions, cooperative movements, financial intermediaries, informal sector associations and NGOs. To ensure cost-effectiveness and sustainability, ENTERPRISE activities aim primarily at national capacity building rather than providing direct support to enterprises and cooperatives. Means of action include action-oriented research, policy advice, technical cooperation, meetings and information dissemination, through publications, a global technology information service (INSTEAD) and networks such as INTERMAN.

In the area of managerial capacity building ENTERPRISE services aim at:
- increasing the impact and effectiveness of management development policies, programmes and institutions;
- cooperation and networking among management development and productivity institutions;
- facilitating the transfer of successful innovative management practices, including in the area of environmental management;
- training of public and private sector managers in human resources management and productivity;
- enterprise restructuring and conversion in the context of structural adjustment and privatization processes.

Since it is now generally recognized that most new jobs will have to be created by enterprises in the private sector, particularly small enterprises, ENTERPRISE services in the area of enterprise development focus on:
- promoting a policy and regulatory environment at the national and local levels conducive to enterprise creation and growth;
- strengthening of small enterprise support organizations and networks;
- establishing linkages among enterprises (small-small and small-large);
- institutionalizing basic management training for small entrepreneurs using the Improve Your Business/Start Your Business (IYB/SYB) methodology and materials;
- introducing entrepreneurship training in skills training curricula;
- promoting effective and sustainable delivery by private sector bodies of the services required by enterprises;
- promoting self-help organizations of informal sector entrepreneurs to facilitate their access to information, technology, credit and markets; and
- development and promotion of low cost technology and sectoral approaches for use by micro- and small enterprises.

Recognizing the potential role of cooperative enterprises in terms of employment creation ENTERPRISE activities in the area of cooperative development aim at strengthening the economic viability of cooperatives through:
- Reforming cooperative structures and revising cooperative legislation to facilitate the creation and growth of genuine cooperatives and strong and autonomous cooperative movements;
- support to cooperative training networks;
- strengthening of rural cooperatives and similar associative self-help undertakings;
- support to cooperatives of indigenous and tribal peoples;
- promoting the role of associative and cooperative enterprises in local economic development; and
- facilitating trade among cooperative producers in the South and cooperative consumers in the North.

An important constraint to private sector development is the difficulty of small enterprises and cooperatives to access financial services which would enable them to grow and create additional jobs. To overcome this constraint ENTERPRISE activities in the area of enterprise and cooperative finance focus on:
- improving access by small enterprises and cooperatives to existing financial services;
- the development of new financial mechanisms to supply financial services to small enterprises at a reasonable cost;
- promotion of local savings mobilization through financial self-help intermediaries such as cooperatives, credit unions and village banks;
- management of revolving and similar funds; and
- assessment of the suitability of financial and non-financial institutions to provide small-scale financial services.

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Multinational Enterprises (MULTI)

In response to concerns about the concentration of industrial power and the implications of the border­crossing operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the resulting possible conflict with national policy objectives and the interests of workers, the Governing Body of the ILO adopted in 1977, a Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.

The Declaration is a 58 paragraph voluntary code which is commended to governments, employers' and workers' organizations and multinational enterprises. It is the first universal response to the social and labour problems the activities of multinationals may give rise to and was achieved as a result of extensive consultations and negotiation between representatives of the parties concerned.

The Declaration sets out principles in the fields of employment, training, conditions of work and life and industrial relations, the observance of which enhances the contributions the addressees can make individually and collectively to the overall objectives of furthering economic and social progress. The principles and practices enunciated in the Declaration reflect good practice for all concerned irrespective of whether or not an enterprise is national or multinational.

A series of international labour Conventions and Recommendations further amplify in the form of international standards the contents of the Declaration.

Despite being non­binding, follow­up surveys on the effect given to the Declaration are conducted at regular intervals by means of detailed questionnaires. The governments' responses to the survey (as well as any from national employers' and workers' organizations) are then summarized in a report by the Office as well as analyzed by a small Working Group of a standing Subcommittee of the Governing Body to which both documents are then submitted for examination.

Disputes concerning the non­observance of the provisions of the Declaration by the parties concerned can be submitted to the Governing Body for interpretation.

A wide­ranging research programme has also been established to gather factual information about the activities of MNEs in the ILO's fields of concern (employment, training, safety and health and industrial relations, etc.), specific economic sectors (e.g. textiles, food and drink, banks) and new emerging areas of interest (e.g. export processing zones). A separate brochure listing relevant publications is available upon request.

A broadly conceived programme of promotional activities (lectures, seminars, etc.) sees to it that information is disseminated not only to the ILO's tripartite constituents, but also to interested parties including universities, foundations, etc. Technical advisory services are also provided upon request.

The ILO's Multinational Enterprises Section maintains the necessary liaison with the UN and other international organizations dealing with multinationals.

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The Bureau for Employers' Activities (ACT/EMP) and Enterprises

ACT/EMP's mission is to develop the rapport of the ILO with employers' organisations, and to help those of them that are weak to strengthen, so as to be able to play an effective part in tripartism. Given that employers' organisations constitute the collective representation of enterprises, and that their raison d'être is to be useful to enterprises, all of ACT/EMP's activities are very closely, if not directly, related to enterprises.

In keeping the internal processes of the ILO informed of employer interests, for instance, ACT/EMP helps the ILO to take account of enterprise objectives at both policy and practical levels. This in turn helps to render enterprises more receptive to the ILO's own message.

When enterprise representatives are directly in contact with the ILO, having been appointed by their employers' organisations to represent the latters' views in tripartite events, ACT/EMP's relations officers have the primary responsibility to facilitate their interaction with the Organisation, and to keep the Office aware of their concerns.

ACT/EMP also runs technical cooperation projects that directly involve entrepreneurs and enterprises. For instance:
· Through a series of DANIDA-funded projects being implemented in Africa (RAF/86/M03/DAN, RAF/91/M05/DAN, etc.) employers' organisations are provided with the know-how to develop small enterprise development programmes. In the exercise, many entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs are provided with Improve Your Business training by the project itself, and many more will benefit when the recipient organisations conduct the programmes on their own.

· The Improve Your Business training package is used in several projects run by ACT/EMP, including one, funded by Norway, aimed at addressing the gender question in South Asia by increasing the participation of women in business activities (RAS/91/M03/NOR).

· In another project funded by Norway (INT/89/M01/NOR), employers' organisations have been provided the capacity to provide enterprises with environmental awareness training and information on cleaner technologies. A project proposal currently being considered envisages developing this further by implementing waste management programmes and audits within the enterprises themselves.

· Some ACT/EMP designed and administered projects already make interventions at the heart of the enterprise. One project, on productivity improvement at the enterprise level (INT/93/M01/DAN), is implemented in selected enterprises that are members of the employers' organisation participating in the project. Project activity starts with an effort to increase awareness of productivity issues at the workplace, and then gets the management and workers to cooperate in order to jointly improve productivity. In making an example of the results obtained, the project promotes ILO values of employer-worker cooperation in the pursuit of their common interests, while developing the capacity of employers' organisations to provide a service in the area of productivity.

· Another project has produced case studies of industrial relations and human resources development in similarly selected enterprises, and will lead to the development of training material and guidelines that employers' organisations will be able to use to develop services for their members (INT/92/M08/NOR). The project thus helps to develop ILO “answers” that relate as closely as possible to enterprise realities.

· A recently approved project with a similar strategy (INT/94/M03/DAN) will focus on the human resources development approach that is available to enterprises in the course of major structural adjustment and re-engineering of their operations.

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The Bureau for Workers' Activities and Enterprises

Entrepreneurs and their representatives and workers and their organizations are natural partners in any productive endeavours. The idea of an "industrial partnership" can develop and bring positive results, provided it is based on a certain number of principles. The following are worth mentioning :
a) Trade unions must be granted full recognition and the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining are to be implemented at all levels;

b) companies must be competitive in a global market and their success is of mutual benefit to employers, workers and shareholders;

c) workers' organizations contribute to the design and implementation of corporate change; they play an important role in favour of innovation.

d) workers' information, consultation and participation mechanisms are to be promoted to create an environment conducive to enterprise development.

"Partnership" does not mean of course that each one of the actors does not have its own specific concerns and interests. Conflicts of interests are settled through negotiation.

Most of the projects carried out under the Major Programme 230 "Workers' Activities" are closely related to enterprise development in the framework of the above-mentioned principles.

Promotion of sound labour-management relations is a concern of employers and workers. When Programme 230 assists constituents strengthen their bargaining skills, their capability to expeditiously settle labour disputes, this promotes also productivity, modern work organization and employment possibilities. It also contributes to the furtherance of the social dimension of enterprises.

Workers' education in the field of developmental issues, general principles of economics, employment policies and the social dimension of trade liberalization help the workers and their organizations to better appreciate the features and functioning of a global market, in the framework of which enterprises are to operate.

Projects in the area of occupational safety and health and environment play an important role for the improvement of working conditions and an active participation of worker representatives in the Safety and Health Committees at enterprise level. Safety, health and environment issues are common concerns of entrepreneurs and workers. Industrial accidents hurt not only workers but the operation and production of enterprises.

Programmes on productivity bargaining enhance workers' participation because they ensure that higher productivity is mutually beneficial to entrepreneurs as well as to working people. A growing number of trade unions, particularly in developing countries, promote workers' interests also through social and economic undertakings. These socio-economic activities, which often take the form of cooperative or cooperative type ventures, provide workers with a direct experience on management issues, and therefore a better understanding of entrepreneurial function.

Training concerning the financial and economic analysis of enterprises put the workers in a better position to correctly assess the situation and put forward well grounded requests and proposals.

Finally, programmes devoted to new forms of work organization and management techniques are designed to promote workers' participation in the decision making process; to foster positive aspects of human resources management (better training, more interesting work, more involvement of workers, etc.) and to fight against negative approaches of HRM meant to weaken the role of trade unions.

As Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the ICFTU, stated: "Change is bound to bring with it fears and uncertainties amongst the workforce. By helping to solve problems before they become confrontations and by giving employees confidence that changes will benefit them as well as the company, unions smooth the way to change".

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Working Conditions and Environment Department (TRAVAIL) and Enterprises

Improving working conditions and the working environment makes a positive contribution to the performance of enterprises. Ensuring that work takes place in a safe and healthy environment, that conditions of work are consistent with workers' well-being and dignity, and that work offers real possibilities for personal achievement, self-fulfilment and service to society, can not only improve operational functioning but also contribute to the longer-term economic and social viability of the enterprise. Demonstrating that the improvement of working conditions and the working environment has the effect of increasing efficiency and is integral to good management and, at the same time, assisting enterprises to make changes, are priorities of the major programme Working Conditions and Environment.

Most of the activities carried out take into account enterprise requirements and the important role of enterprises in developing and implementing policies and programmes. These activities take many forms: information collection and dissemination, research, standard-setting and technical advice on implementation, technical cooperation, and practical assistance. The description below is meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive. It gives examples of the different approaches taken and forms of activities carried out.

Occupational Safety and Health

In the field of preventing major industrial accidents, technical cooperation projects and tripartite training programmes on enterprise level safety and emergency plans and risk assessment are carried out in several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Exposure to hazardous chemicals continues to be a serious threat. Technical guidance notes and training packages are provided to promote safety in the use of chemicals at work in accordance with the provisions of the Chemicals Convention, 1990 (No.170) and the Code of Practice on Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work (1993). In 1996-97, the action programme on safety in the use of chemicals at work aims at implementing national programmes specifically designed to promote environmentally sound management of hazardous chemicals and their waste at enterprise level. Guidelines on chemical risk assessment and occupational hygiene preventive measures for small and medium-sized enterprises will also be produced.

To assist enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in preventing serious occupational health injuries and disorders (such as low back pain or neck and upper limit disorders caused by exertion and awkward postures), ergonomic checkpoints have been developed. These checkpoints focus on low-cost applications of ergonomic principles in designing jobs in enterprises.

Safety and health information services

Most of the subscribers to the International Occupational Safety and Health Centre (CIS) database are enterprises. The information available in the database covers all industries and processes and can be accessed in printed format, on-line or CD-ROMS.

"Ready-to-use" information sheets for immediate preventive action at enterprise level and for training are produced regularly. These include information sheets on technical processes, chemical safety, ergonomics and occupational medicine.

The ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational Safety and Health is a basic reference for preventing work-related accidents and diseases. Volumes I and II of the fourth edition will be completed this biennium and Volumes III and IV in 1996-97.

Conditions of work and welfare facilities

While small enterprises have an important role in economic growth and employment generation, it is also often in these enterprises that the work is most difficult, accident rates are highest and conditions of work least favourable. A training programme and accompanying manuals, entitled Higher productivity and a better place to work, have been produced. They show owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises how to take simple, effective, low-cost action which raises productivity while improving conditions at the workplace. Technical cooperation activities on work improvements in small enterprises (WISE), including training of entrepreneurs courses in collaboration with employers' organizations, continue in many countries. Training materials tailored for the garment industry, in which a large number of women are employed and which is a major export industry, are being prepared.

The integrated approach of ergonomics and work organization is a powerful means to increase productivity while improving the quality of work within enterprises. The Manual on Ergonomics and Work Organization is directed at medium and large enterprises using relatively sophisticated technology. It aims to assist a company to be a "flexible", "quality-oriented", "participatory", "customer-oriented", "healthy" and "competence-based and committed" enterprise. Task analysis and work design, equipment layout and production flow, flexible work groups and multiskilling, well-planned buildings and premises, and strategic organizational issues (e.g. total quality management, just-in-time manufacturing and information technology applications) are discussed.

The Conditions of Work Digest, a regular major publication of the Branch, has featured examples of enterprise programmes on preventing stress at work, preventing sexual harassment at work, protecting workers' privacy, as well as examples of hours of work and various working time arrangements.

To promote measures which enable workers to reconcile work and family responsibilities, examples of packages of enterprise-level benefits are being collected and will be published. These include a range of measures such as child care and flexible working time arrangements, career breaks, elderly care referral systems, part-time work, job sharing, etc.

In 1996-97, within the sub-programme on "innovative workplace policies and programmes, business efficiency and workers' welfare", a survey of about 50 enterprises in ten countries will be carried out. The survey will consist of examples of how enterprises have combined or balanced the drive for economic growth and competitiveness with corporate social responsibility (such as worker protection and good working conditions).

Environment and the world of work

A particular area of concern in all countries is the environmental effects of the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises, including those in the informal sector. As part of the current interdepartmental project on environment and the world of work (1994-95), particular attention is given to assisting employers' organizations to launch special programmes and training activities to assist small enterprises to improve their environmental performance. In 1996-97, national round-table meetings, training seminars, technical advisory missions will be carried out to enhance capacity of constituents to deal directly with environment issues at the national and enterprise level.

Child labour

Within the framework of the Interdepartmental Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), several activities have been directed at enterprises. Broadly they fall into the following categories: (a) Action Programmes to enhance the capacity of employers to deal with child labour issues in their enterprises; (b) Action Programmes implemented by employers' associations for the protection and education of working children, and (c) Action Programmes implemented by NGOs for the protection and education of children working in specific enterprises. These action programmes usually incorporate the following interventions: they remove child workers from workplaces, usually directing them into education; they improve working conditions and protect child workers from work hazards and the worst forms of exploitation; they create awareness among working children, the parents, the community and the public; they encourage trade union and employer association involvement in the field of child labour; and they provide training, technical assistance, and other institutional development activities.

In 1996-97, the Manual on action planning for the progressive elimination of child labour (MAP) will include elements addressing what employers and their organizations can do to combat child labour.

Reducing or eliminating the demand for child labour requires an understanding of how child labour fits in the production process and how any given industry would be affected by the withdrawal of children. An investigation of the role of child labour within the economic structure in glass bangles and hand-knotted carpet industries in India was carried out and the results are currently being analyzed and processed.

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The Employment Department (EMPLOI) and Enterprises

Within the overall framework of the ILO's basic goals of democratization, combat against unemployment and poverty and the protection of working people, the key objectives of EMPLOI for the current biennium have been defined as the promotion of:

- an achievement of long-term sustainable growth and employment creation;

- the adoption of sectoral and target group policies and programmes to increase employment opportunities for the growing numbers of the poor;

- the achievement of an equitable and efficient functioning of labour markets and the development of appropriate labour market policies to that effect; and

- strengthened protection for especially vulnerable groups, i.a. in the context of migratory processes.

For the biennium 1996-97, these objectives form the basis of the efforts to give, through EMPLOI's activities:

- an enhanced role for the ILO as an institutional partner in the improvement of the world economic and social situation, especially with regard to employment, labour markets and migration; and

- a better capacity of the ILO's tripartite constituency to understand the causes and consequences of unemployment and the dynamics of employment creation in the world economy; and a better capacity to design and implement employment and labour market policies within the context of globalization and market liberalization.

The above gives an indication of the overall focus of EMPLOI's work which traditionally is concerned with the environment within which jobs are created and destroyed (macro framework) and how jobs are matched with the available labour supply (labour market framework). While this, at first sight, may seem distant from the day-to-day concerns of the enterprises, the results of that work are as important for their functioning and viability as any operational activities with the enterprise community that the ILO might undertake.

In addition to the above general approach, over the last few years, EMPLOI's work has focused on the following more specific issues of particular relevance for the enterprises:

- structural adjustment (a range of publications have been issued through the Interdepartmental Project on Structural Adjustment, for which EMPLOI was the lead department) and through direct research work over the EMPLOI R&B;

- privatization (a major publication forthcoming);

- industrial relocation (monograph, Industry on the move, by van Liemt);

- local labour market adjustment strategies (especially in Central and Eastern Europe);

- defence conversion (18 papers published over the last decade);

- finding alternatives to migration, through training, employment creation and micro-enterprise development (the so-called Maghreb Programme);

- examining de facto discrimination of migrant workers in the recruitment process.

The activities in this sample list have often required considerable cross-departmental collaboration.

The last few years have also seen a certain evolution of EMPLOI (and ILO) thinking vis-à-vis macroeconomic and employment policies. This is partly due to the changing international environment (the end of the Cold War, market liberalization and globalization), partly due to deliberate priority choices, partly due to the results of our own work.

The changed approach to "manpower planning" is a case in point. From a belief in a rather mechanistic forecasting of manpower needs which would be matched with manpower resources through strong public intervention, the concept has evolved into much more fine-tuned labour market analysis and the reliance on the interaction of different actors within the market mechanism to achieve desired employment outcomes.

Secondly, labour market information systems (LMI) were previously developed mainly for public policy planning. Now such systems are looked upon from a broader user-friendly perspective, taking into account how clients, such as individuals and enterprises, can make use of LMI to make more informed decisions. E/ALP is developing new indicators with this objective, under the concept of good labour markets (GLAM).

Thirdly, the monitoring and examination of the global economic trends, which will become one of the key activities of the follow-up of the Social Summit, and which will be done through the regular World Employment Report, also reflect shifts in ILO thinking. While many of the messages are certainly controversial for the enterprise community, many others provide support for its thinking of conditions for an enabling environment for the viability and job creation potential of enterprises. Such messages in the first WER include:

- the need for macroeconomic stability;
- realistic exchange rates;
- open trade regimes;
- good governance;
- the need for promotion of private investment;
- the creation of an entrepreneurial climate;
- a decrease in non-wage labour costs (at least at the low-skilled end).

These messages are consistent with the prevailing international messages coming out of a number of recent documents of the World Bank, OECD and the European Commission, with the important difference that the ILO emphasizes the benefits of well functioning industrial relations and efficient institutional arrangements in the promotion of more and better employment. EMPLOI will continue to focus on these issues which are highly relevant for the enterprises.

Finally, EMPLOI will, as one of its priorities during 1995 and the coming biennium, focus more on enterprise-level labour markets and enterprise restructuring. Enterprises are one of the fundamental units of society where jobs are created, human resources developed and workers and employers interact. There is therefore a need to fill the gaps we now have in understanding how labour demand in the enterprises comes about, how internal and external labour markets at the enterprise level function, and how they are affected by external shocks and regulatory changes. This is not only crucial for policy, but can give the ILO a comparative advantage over other international institutions.

EMPLOI has already developed some expertise in this area through the 15 enterprise surveys so far conducted in a number of countries (list attached). Now the methodology will be refined and the surveys extended to new countries. In addition, indicators will be developed on what could be defined as a "Human development enterprise" which meets both efficiency and equity objectives.

An opportunity to discuss the progress EMPLOI has made in this area will be the workshop on enterprise restructuring and labour market policies which E/ALP is organizing in Turin at the end of May. Work which will ensue on the basis of that workshop will feed into, i.a. the Enterprise Forum in 1996.

What must be done more generally is to enhance access to and understanding of the enterprise community to the general policy messages of the ILO through an improved dissemination of information and, on the other hand, improve access of EMPLOI staff to enterprise thinking through an organized dialogue with the enterprises.

Training Department (FORM) and Enterprises

The Objectives of the Department

The objectives of the Training Department are to enhance the capacity of the social partners to formulate training policies that take full account of the labour market effects of global economic competition; to organize and manage flexible training systems responsive to changing labour market needs; and to ensure equitable access to training opportunities. The work of the Department is guided by international labour standards on human resource development, vocational rehabilitation and equality of opportunity and treatment, and by the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1987 on measures against drug and alcohol at work.

A New Scenario for Training, Changing Roles of the State and Enterprises: The Path to Strategic Partnerships

The training of human resources is of common concern to both enterprises and the ILO alike which is gaining increasing importance in the context of globalized market economy, rapid technological change and greater competitiveness. Enterprises are driven to seek higher productivity and continuous innovation, to restructure, to relocate production, to redeploy workers which are changing the job content, work processes and organization. In this environment, the human capital is becoming an essential driving force and a major asset. The kind of training needed to develop manpower and create and manage such fundamental changes effectively present both the enterprises and the State with unprecedented challenges in time of economic constraint.

At a time when public spending is being reduced, Governments are faced with the task of improving the following aspects of training:

(a) its relevance in meeting labour market demand;

(b) its effectiveness in producing quality manpower in the quantity required;

(c) its efficiency in making the best use of available resources, and

(d) its equity in making training accessible to all, especially to those who are at a comparative disadvantage.

Enterprises concerned with staying competitive, are confronted with the fact that the short-term objective of cost reduction conflicts with the need to invest in training in order to adapt to change and innovate in the long term business interest. The current search for continuous innovation require that responsibility, growth and learning become vital job components.

The new work environment is increasing not only the need for training but also the role played by enterprises in training and requires new and closer partnerships between the State and enterprises to support each other in areas of strategic importance. The overall responsibility for establishing and maintaining a national training system falls primarily on the State. Previously, the traditional division of responsibility called upon enterprises to train their own workforce, and upon governments to focus on training as a means of increasing access to employment (e.g. training of youth or specific groups for initial entry into employment, training of the unemployed for re-entry into employment, etc.).

Reform of training systems calls for the redefinition of the new and complementary roles of the State and enterprises in training and the ways in which the State can increase and support enterprise initiatives. On the one hand, enterprises, in partnership with the State, have a strategic contribution to make to the process of improving the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency of training systems by bringing them closer to the labour markets, and by increasing the quality, capacity and productivity of training systems. Generally speaking, specific business characteristics, such as market-orientation, flexibility, adaptability and ability to respond rapidly to change are lacking in today's training systems and government bureaucracies. On the other hand, the State has an important contribution to make by creating a supportive policy environment, a broader and longer term perspective and balancing efficiency and equity issues. The establishment of close partnerships can be mutually beneficial to both enterprises and the State in shaping tomorrow's training policies and systems. Ultimately, the aim would be the creation of a learning culture within enterprises and an enterprise culture in training institutions.

The role of enterprises in training is therefore seen in the broader context of combining economic and social objectives, which go beyond merely training their current workforce to meet immediate needs. Enterprises have a key contribution to make to the development of a qualified workforce with internationally recognisable standards of skills and certification. This can be an important asset when countries striving to gain the competitive edge in global markets.

Current Activities of the Training Department

The Department's enterprise activities are conceived within this context at two levels:

- the development of an enabling national policy environment and strategy for greater enterprise participation in training, and the creation of strategic partnerships between enterprises and other social partners to meet the needs of enterprises and the national economy;

- the development of policies, guidelines and measures at the enterprise level to increase the effectiveness of enterprise-based training, and to address issues of equity and access to training and employment.

The activities involve action research, training of social partners, provision of advisory services and technical cooperation, and dissemination of information through publications and networking.

The Training Policies Branch, on behalf of the Training Department, initiated collaboration with the World Business Academy (WBA). An Executive Meeting of the WBA was held at the ILO in Geneva, 1994 to highlight the theme of social responsibility of the enterprise and to promote their involvement in training as an expression of enterprises' economic and social concern. The Training Policies Branch is currently carrying out a large scale inter-regional study on the creation of an enabling policy environment and strategic partnerships between enterprises and the State for greater enterprise involvement in training along the lines described above. An international seminar on this subject is planned in late 1995 which will disseminate the findings of the study. A series of national workshops on this topic are planned. Training Policies Branch acts as the Departmental focal point for enterprise activities.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Branch has published a Guide for Employers' Organizations on Job Creation for Disabled Persons, and is carrying out research in collaboration with its Global Applied Disability Research Network on Employment and Training (GLADNET), into wage subsidies, supported employment and workplace organization. Training and job placement components have been included in a number of technical cooperation projects, in cooperation with employers' organizations and enterprises. Alcohol and drug abuse prevention programmes in the workplace are currently under implementation in collaboration with major enterprises. The ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts on the Management of Drug and Alcohol Problems in the Workplace adopted a Code of Practice (January 1995) which will provide guidance for enterprises which is being brought to the attention of employers worldwide. Under a German funded project for Central and Eastern Europe, collaboration will be sought with selected enterprises to develop enterprise-based inclusion strategies for youth in social difficulty.

The Vocational Systems Management Branch aims at strengthening vocational training for improved productivity and equity in public and private sector enterprises. Efforts are directed on the one hand, to promote flexible methods of competence based training for use in training institutions and enterprises, and on the other hand, alternating training between enterprises and training institutions. A recent publication reviews the role of employers in the financing of training.

Currently, guidelines to strengthen enterprise based training is under preparation. The resulting document will be based on studies of enterprises that have a commitment to training as their corporate philosophy. It will also draw on operational experience of projects which are involved in training for improved enterprise performance such as in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Madagascar, Namibia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, the Russian Federation and Thailand. In addition, the guidelines will incorporate the findings of a seminar on the role of private proprietary training institutions in national skills development and collaboration between them and enterprises (Japan, July 1995).

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Activities of the Industrial Relations and Labour Administration Department (RELPROF) in relation to Enterprises

Labour law, labour relations and labour administration are all central to the ILO's fundamental principles of tripartism, social protection and the promotion of employment. The activities of RELPROF have, accordingly, always been designed in such a way as to assist our constituents in developing tripartite mechanisms and industrial relations systems through which strong and independent workers' and employers' organizations can actively participate in free collective bargaining, settle labour disputes and play an active role in the formulation of economic and social policies. In pursuing its objectives of the enhancement of tripartism, labour law and labour relations systems which seek a balance between adequate worker protection and economic efficiency, and the improved capacity of labour ministries to provide services such as labour inspection and employment services, it may be said that practically all the work undertaken under this programme has an important impact, either directly or indirectly, on the life of enterprises, whether big or small, public or private.

It is clear that labour law is intended, or should be intended, to provide the framework within which industrial relations, or the interaction between workers and employers, can effectively take place. It should lay down the general "rules of the game" and provide for the kind of mechanisms and procedures that will ensure that collective bargaining on all relevant issues and the settlement of any labour disputes can take place. Labour law should also be as free as possible of rigidities that could impede the economic efficiency of the enterprise, but at the same time it should also guarantee that workers enjoy the full protection accorded to them under international labour standards.

As regards labour relations, the activities of the Department will continue to concentrate on the strengthening of trade union and employer organizations, improving the workings of collective bargaining (including at the enterprise level), strengthening disputes settlement procedures, and generally promoting more cooperative approaches to problem-solving and disputes settlement.

Another main avenue for industrial relations to influence the labour market and employment is through their impact on wage levels and pay structures and systems. The programme will, accordingly, again promote systems that seek to ensure an appropriate balance between the efficiency needs of the economy and the enterprise and the need to avoid socially unacceptable inequality. Pay systems should also seek to enhance motivation and productivity as well as ensuring standards of fairness in pay determination. It will also be important, from an ILO perspective, that human resource management approaches be developed in harmony with collective industrial relations institutions, so as to ensure both enterprise competitiveness and the protection of worker interests.

The objective of strengthening labour inspection services, whose tasks are becoming increasingly complex and varied, will be further pursued. These services fulfil an important function in providing to enterprises, and to workers, advice concerning compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Specific attention will be paid to the problems of children in the workplace and the question of equality of rights of women in the enterprise.

The promotion of employment will be pursued through the continued development of public employment services, assisting them, in particular, to diversify and expand their functions, improve their efficiency and strengthen their cooperation with employers and workers. The relationship between public and private employment services will continue to be examined.

In the 1996/97 biennium special attention will be given to labour and social issues in export processing zones. The aim will be to promote labour relations systems and conditions of work in these zones that are compatible with international labour standards, and ensure that these zones operate in such a way as to contribute to the achievement of positive results for all those involved directly or indirectly with EPZs.

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Sectoral Activities Department (SECTOR) and Enterprises

The objective of the Sectoral Activities Programme is to facilitate the exchange of information among governments and employers' and workers' organizations on labour and social developments in particular economic sectors. This is supplemented by practical activities aimed at promoting the application of ILO objectives in enterprises and other organizations working in specific economic sectors.

A structure of regular, tripartite sectoral meetings, which has existed since the 1940s and has recently been updated, is an important instrument of action. Twenty-four sectors encompassing the entire formal economy - natural resources, manufacturing, services, and infrastructure - get periodic attention in meetings which bring together a cross-section of the main players in each sector. Employers are typically represented by senior managers from leading firms or employer federations, and the IOE plays a major role in the programme. Economic branches that are predominantly in the public sector - such education, health, telecommunications - were traditionally dealt with in "bipartite" meetings, i.e. governments (acting also as employers) and workers; but with increasing privatization, tripartite representation, with full participation of independent employers, is increasingly the norm. Each meeting examines a particular labour-related issue - such as changing skill requirements, training, industrial relations or occupational safety - for that sector, and agrees on guidelines for action at national and international level. About eight meetings a year are held, with an average of twenty to thirty representatives from each of the three groups, plus numerous expert advisers and observers from interested organizations. The aim is to have a beneficial impact at the level of workplaces - "on the shopfloor" - in terms of employment, productivity and working conditions.

Activities to supplement the programme of meetings vary from sector to sector. Maritime activities, especially shipping and port management, get considerable attention in view of the international character of the activity and the prominent role that international labour standards play in that sector. Direct guidance for these activities is provided by the Joint Maritime Commission, a bipartite body composed of shipowners and seafarers. About one-fifth of all instruments adopted by ILO concern seafarers' working and living conditions, and this department analyzes, promotes and monitors the application of these instruments. Help has been given in the establishment and strengthening of training centres for port workers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and a special programme exists on training related to container operations in ports.

As regards service sectors, some of the subjects dealt with recently in meetings or in research reports include productivity and employment in commerce and offices, social effects of structural and technological change in banking, technological change and collective bargaining in telecommunications services, the emergence of software services and data entry jobs in developing countries, skills and training requirements to match new occupational profiles in commerce and offices, and privatization of public services and public utilities. The department analyzes and monitors international labour standards relating to hours of work, weekly rest, and night work for young persons in commerce and offices and the nursing personnel standards. Moreover, assistance has been provided to developing countries and countries in transition on human resource management and labour relations in the public service, as well as on decentralization, in the economic restructuring process. Hotels, catering and tourism, major sources of employment generation in many countries, are branches in which an extensive programme of technical cooperation has been carried out. In Madagascar, Kenya and Nepal, help in establishing hotel training institutions, or other assistance, has been provided to small and medium sized enterprises in these sectors. Similar activities have been carried out in Bulgaria, Turkey and elsewhere.

In Fiji, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe assistance has been provided to the forestry sector which has benefited enterprises in or related to that sector through the establishment of logging training institutions; training programmes in work study, ergonomics and tool development; and assistance to micro-enterprises formed by women dependent on forest resources. In Indonesia, assistance was provided to public sector enterprises in the mining and energy sectors, aimed at the modernization of their personnel management systems, and the establishment of a programme for productivity improvement. The updating of the sectoral meeting system, now being completed, puts emphasis on strengthening the follow-up of these meetings with practical activities of benefit to constituents. As a result, it may be expected that activities related to enterprises will be even more characteristic of this programme in the future than they have been in the past.

Social Security Department (SEC/SOC) and Enterprises

The Social Security Department is currently engaged in a wide variety of activities in developed, developing and countries in transition which touch upon and in some cases directly affect enterprises. These activities are building on the long history that the Department has in the development of social protection and, in particular, social insurance which has a strong element of tripartism. In recent years, increasing attention has focused on the role of social protection in underpinning structural adjustment programmes and aiding economic growth in periods of transition. It is also important in creating and maintaining social cohesion between all of the actors - employers, employees, the state and the socially excluded.

Key issues and problems

The key issues and problems in social security which impinge on enterprises either directly or indirectly are:

Issues

- reform of social security systems in the light of structural adjustment; - unemployment compensation and social security nets;

- social protection of migrant workers;

- good governance.

Problems

- the lack of progress in extending coverage beyond the formal sector;

- poor compliance;

- investment income in real terms is frequently lower than it should be and is sometimes negative;

- high administrative costs;

- poor administration - absence of efficient record keeping and processing of claims, which means benefits are not paid on time and/or for the wrong amounts;

- absence of planning, supervision and allocation of resources, particularly in health care;

- poor quality of health care services; and

- the degree of cost containment necessary arising from high inflation and consequent rapid rises in health care and pension costs

which can lead to higher than necessary financial and, in some instances, administrative burdens on enterprises which may effect their competitiveness.

Activities

The main components of the Department's work are targeted on the main problems and issues set out above. They involve promoting and monitoring the application of International Labour Standards. The promotion of tripartism as it effects the management and control and development of social security programmes with particular reference to countries in transition. The undertaking of research in the field of pensions and unemployment. The holding of training activities for social security personnel from social security institutions in developing and countries in transition. The provision of technical assistance including actuarial advice (including training), and financial planning and management and assistance in drafting legislation. The undertaking of large-scale technical assistance which can involve the redesign of whole systems of social protection arising in some cases from structural adjustment with particular emphasis on active labour market policies. The development, in conjunction with ISSA, of a social security information system which will provide employers, as well as workers, government agencies, practitioners and researchers with up-to-date information on legislation, multi-national and bilateral agreements, statistics, etc.

The Department is placing a high priority on the work it is undertaking on governance. This involves promoting and writing a practice guide on governance in social security which will address the roles and responsibilities of employers and their organizations. It is being becoming increasingly clear that there is international agreement that good governance is essential for the effective and efficient management of social security schemes. The Department is looking at the financing of social protection with particular emphasis on pensions given changing work practices, aging populations, growth in small and medium-sized enterprises and the financial crises that countries in transition are facing.

Thus, the role and participation of enterprises and their representative organizations in the promotion and sustainability of social security are integral parts of the work of the Social Security Department.

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Development and Technical Cooperation Department (DEVCOTEC) and Enterprises

The Work of the Development Policies Branch (POL/DEV)
in relation to Enterprises

The work programme of POL/DEV includes working with and through enterprises in several different ways. POL/DEV works closely with the interdepartmental project on the informal sector in the development of pilot franchising activities between formal and informal sector units and in the field of subcontracting, especially as concerns local or community-based works.

In the area of population and labour activities, POL/DEV works to develop a tripartite approach to population and family welfare education which puts the accent on the social responsibility of both employers and workers, through their respective organizations, with benefits resulting for the enterprise in the form of increased productivity and more harmonious labour relations.

On the gender front, POL/DEV's enterprise related work is focused on poor women in their roles as (a) micro-entrepreneurs and (b) precarious and often exploited employees. Small and micro-enterprise development is one of the means used to increase the productivity and profitability of income-generating activities of poor women working either individually or in small groups. This development process also leads them to economic empowerment. These efforts have naturally led to work aimed at strengthening women's organizations, at the enterprise level as well as the local and national political levels.

The development of efficient and well managed construction enterprises which utilize labour intensive methods has been for some years a central objective of POL/DEV's Employment-intensive Infrastructure Programme (EIP). This has included both changing technological approaches from capital-intensive to employment-intensive and "privatizing" the actual construction activities by re-orienting the methods and approaches of the public works authorities towards the efficient use of the private sector. This involves a wide range of firms, from the very small unit to enterprises employing several hundred workers on a continuous basis. The subprogramme develops construction enterprises while working with technical line Ministries on creating a more favourable and enabling environment within which these enterprises operate. This two-pronged approach is applied at both the local and national levels.

The EIP has become one of ILO's major technical cooperation programmes, responding to the deteriorating employment situation in developing countries. From the mid-1980's, a prominent part of the EIP has focused on the development and establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out employment-intensive infrastructure development and maintenance works. By the end of 1994, 34 EIP country programmes were operational, mainly in Africa and Asia, representing some 130 different projects. An increasing number of these projects help to establish domestic construction industry capacities, particularly in the road sector.

Through developing contract documentation with appropriate clauses regarding minimum age, minimum wage, non-discrimination and work insurance, EIP projects are used as an instrument to introduce on an incremental basis, a number of ILO's fundamental standards. The link of the EIP to employers' organizations is established through the involvement and development of small enterprises in programme implementation. ILO-supported small contractor training programmes in Ghana and in Lesotho have resulted in the creation of associations of labour-based contractors.

Collaboration with ENTERPRISE concerns primarily the development of small contractor training materials. In the framework of the "Improve Your Business" (IYB) training packages, a sectoral adaptation "Improve Your Construction Business" was developed by ENTERPRISE. POL/DEV subsequently took over this work and is currently finalizing a road sector related supplement to the IYCB materials. The IYCB approach is now systematically being promoted in EIP technical cooperation projects with a component of private sector development.

Privatization and small contractor development will be a major work item of the EIP during the current and the next biennium. In general, the programme will address the issues of (i) how to efficiently introduce labour-based options among the core criteria for awarding public contracts to the private sector; (ii) how to eliminate procedural and administrative constraints to private sector execution of public works, and (iii) how to introduce transparency in contract execution, from the point of view of both State or entrepreneurs' interests (employment-intensity, costs, quality control, productivity) and interests of the workforce (conditions of work, enforcement of labour- and other relevant social legislation).

Specifically, a number of activities will be undertaken leading to the development of guidelines and sub-sector specific (roads, irrigation) training materials and methodologies. The latter will be used for small contractor training and capacity building among central and local level technical support services in this field, and will supplement the Improve Your Construction Business materials. With support from funding and technical cooperation agencies, these general guidelines and training materials will be adapted to country-specific needs, and further developed in national contexts on the basis of research and policy- and action-oriented analysis.

Studies will be undertaken to compare public and private sector performance in respect of employment-intensive infrastructure works. These studies would examine the comparative performance not only in terms of costs, quality of the works but also in respect of employment creation and application of relevant labour standards.

Other studies will examine the performance of EIP and World Bank-supported contractor development projects in the field of employment-intensive infrastructure works. Constraints experienced by contractors and clients in terms of client organization, funding, access to credit for equipment and materials, contractual procedures and documentation, continued work load, labour issues and training will be analyzed.

Based on these studies, guidelines will be formulated for: (a) the development of small and medium-sized enterprises able to undertake employment-intensive infrastructure development and maintenance works; (b) the development of a client capacity to supervise and control such works; (c) the modification of the business environment to one in which small and medium-sized enterprises are enabled to function effectively. This will include the development of appropriate administrative and payment procedures, and model contract documentation.

Country projects will be used to demonstrate how to revise public regulations and procedures if the objectives of employment-based growth and private sector development are to be reached simultaneously.

Educational and training courses for small and medium-sized enterprises and client supervisors working on employment-intensive road sector works will be developed and supported in the framework of national and regional EIP projects.

EIP collaboration with the World Bank on small contractor training in French-speaking West Africa will be continued. This work will primarily concern capacity building of small-scale enterprises contracted through large scale World Bank-supported "social funds".

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Current and Planned Institute (INST) Activities in Relation to Enterprises

Since the mid-1980s, the Institute has done considerable work on issues directly touching upon enterprises mainly through its New Industrial Organization Programme (NIO).

Initially, research concerns were situated within the then widespread discussion on the role of small firms in employment creation. NIO's contribution to this debate was largely two-fold. First, evidence was gathered to show that although the rate of new job creation in small firms was greater than in large firms, the quality of employment in terms of employment security, the segmentation of jobs, the wages paid, was generally inferior to the "older" model of production reflected in large internal labour markets. Second, the rediscovering of the Marshallian notion of "industrial districts", i.e. local agglomerations of small firms characterized by craftsmanship, innovation, interfirm cooperation, active support by local institutions, and competition based on product-market innovation rather than lowering labour standards. In this latter respect, the NIO endeavoured to create an international network of researchers, to broadly document this particular form of production organization, to investigate its "transferability", and to begin to develop an "economics of labour standards" where standards were not seen only in terms of social justice, but in efficiency terms as well.

Subsequently, the programme took on board the topic of globalization. An explicit microeconomic and micro-organizational approach was adopted. Research efforts centred on the evolution of corporate strategies and structures under the pressures of intensified global competition and rapid technological change. These efforts crystallized into a series of Forum Meetings on Labour in the Changing World Economy, consecutively covering the unprecedented expansion of interfirm networks and cross-border strategic alliances, the emergence of new models of production organization of a "no-waste" type, the geographical dispersion of production, and the implications of the cross-border activities of firms for the integration and interdependence of labour markets at the regional level. It is worth noting that a main feature of these exercises was the direct involvement of senior practitioners from the ranks of trade unions and firms, including such large firms as General Motors, Nestlé, Philips and Volkswagen.

Planned activities

Planned activities in the area of enterprises are organically related to the NIO research trajectory -- as far as the major drive is the concern for the social policy implications of the evolution in the international organization of production. They also reflect the growing interest of the Institute in a deeper understanding of the enterprise, the far-reaching changes in its strategy and behaviour in the current global business environment and the implications of these changes for traditional areas of concern to the ILO such as employment generation, working conditions, training and industrial relations.

A major research effort will concentrate on developing a new approach to analyze the changing geographical organization of production. In this regard, the concept of "international commodity chains" will be utilized as a main unifying framework. A commodity chain is a sequence of firms encompassing suppliers, manufacturers and distributors clustered around a given end product or service. In the most dynamic industries, these chains increasingly cut across national borders and variously link geographically dispersed but economically interdependent economic activities. The "chain" perspective is a concrete way to look at the employment and policy consequences of industrial restructuring in any one country for other countries. It may provide a richer understanding of the commercial linkages between developed and developing countries, as mediated by the strategies of firms at all locations in the chain. It may also provide a strategic framework for firms and policy-makers in countries planning to increase their participation in international markets.

An expected outcome of this research effort is to improve knowledge of how that participation can occur with the best possible consequences for employment generation through the diffusion of "high performance" human resource practices, transfer of technology and organizational skills and the upgrading of local economies.

The chain approach will be elaborated in a pivotal study of the global restructuring of commodity chains in the textiles and apparel industry. The latter industry is a major example of the so-called "buyer-driven" commodity chains. Studies of "buyer-driven" and "producer-driven" chains in industries such as electronics, food and telecommunications may follow.

A parallel line of research will focus on the evolving world of corporate strategies. Attention will be given to the major concerns of managers in the formulation and implementation of their competitive, organizational and employment strategies. These concerns are not specific to any given industry. A preliminary examination suggests that they may listed as follow: 1) to identify and develop firm-specific core competencies and capabilities which provide the flexibility in a turbulent environment to embark in new directions; 2) to create an infrastructure that cuts across different business units and functions and ensures efficiency of operations throughout the firm's value chain; 3) to manage intra- and inter-firm structures where functional, organizational and geographical boundaries are constantly being crossed; and 4) to break organizations out of the confines of national borders while striving to achieve a balance between global integration and local responsiveness of activities dispersed worldwide.

To respond to these challenges seems likely to require a new attention by managers to human components in the organizational engineering and governance of the firm. In this framework, key issues for research by the Institute would appear to be: the "human resource management" revolution; the issue of "employability" and how traditional employment security is being affected by new demands for internal and external labour market mobility; the conflict between the search of workforce flexibility and the need to ensure workers' commitment and motivation; and the labour market implications of the growing reliance on outsourcing of production and support service activities. Some of these topics will be at the centre of the Institute's contribution to the World Labour Report 1996.

Finally, some attention will also be given to a review of the current debate on corporate governance and the evolving relationships between enterprises and their shareholders/stakeholders. The interest of the debate lies in the implications that corporate governance has for the strategic conduct of business, in particular as it exerts an influence on firms' investment decisions in areas such as R&D, employment, training and industrial relations. A comparative examination of how patterns of governance interact with institutional and regulatory regimes in framing business behaviour, may provide insights to explain why enterprises in different countries are organized, governed and respond to society's needs, in very different ways.

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ILO Turin Centre (TURIN) activities in support of Enterprises

For over 30 years, the ILO TURIN CENTRE has been a focal point for the development of human resources to promote the social progress of the member States of the ILO, in particular developing countries and economies in transition. In l994, over 2,300 professionals from more than 100 countries benefitted from the training and related activities of the Centre, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to date to some 50,000.

Most of the Centre's activities, in response to the priority concerns and requests of ILO member States, are directed increasingly towards the strengthening of national capacity in enterprise promotion and support. In this context, TURIN works with ILO constituents (governments, workers' and employers' organizations) as well as a host of other intermediaries concerned with enterprise promotion to ensure replication and sustainability. Examples of the latter - which may operate at international, regional, national or local levels - include management development institutions, training centres, membership associations, informal sector groups, small enterprise development organizations, co-operative development agencies, NGOs and credit/lending institutions.

In support of enterprises, in harmony with the aforementioned objective of national capacity building and also self-reliance, TURIN offers a range of interlocking services. These fall into four main means of action, viz.:

(1) Training
(2) Consultancy
(3) Research
(4) Development and publication
of training materials.

(1) Training: A genuine commitment to the principle, that the most efficient form of technical cooperation and best investment for sustainable progress lies in human resource development, leads TURIN to put a premium on training. Training is provided to groups of individuals either in Turin or in the requesting country/region or in a third country. Besides the wide spectrum of regular courses, TURIN also organizes customized programmes as well as individual training fellowships.

The following areas are indicative of the Centre's training interventions at present in the field of enterprise promotion and development:

- policies and strategies for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development

- design and management of SME support institutions and services

- training of trainers and advisers for enterprise creation and development

- entrepreneurship education in vocational and technical training

- credit schemes for new and growing businesses

- management of co-operative enterprises

- promotion and development of membership organizations and co- operatives

- promotion of self-employment and the informal sector

- modern enterprise management and international business

- privatization and private sector development

- human resource management in the public and private sectors

- economic and financial analysis for collective bargaining

- organizational management within trade unions

- assistance to employers' organizations

- dispute resolution and conflict management in the work place.

A notable feature of many TURIN activities is training programmes specifically addressed to women.

(2) Consultancy: To complement the training and other human resource development activities of the Centre, TURIN provides consultancy to assist enterprises, governments and other institutions in identifying needs and problem areas, applying concepts learned and assessing the effectiveness and impact of training. The areas of intervention revolve generally around the themes mentioned above. One example of a current assignment for a member State is a training needs assessment for enterprise promotion for their ministry of industry and commerce.

(3) Research: Another complementary activity is applied research mostly to design innovative training projects, select appropriate methods and media, evaluate and field test these for relevance and impact.

(4) Development and publication of training materials: A much-demanded service provided by TURIN for its own courses as well as for collaborating institutions is publication of multi-media training materials in several languages. In addition, TURIN is also active in developing new training materials. In the field of enterprises, an example of the latter currently in progress is entrepreneurship education in vocational and technical training; of the former, TURIN is currently designing and producing the "Start Your Business" basic management materials for ILO Geneva in collaboration with ENT/MAN.

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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS

ILO Caribbean Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, PORT OF SPAIN (ILO/CAMAT)

Background

The countries of the Caribbean were firstly classified as having plantation economies. The former, mainly British colonies, produced sugar, banana, coffee, cocoa and citrus for export to the United Kingdom. A peasantry existed alongside the plantations, earning cash wages from the plantations, while producing food for home consumption on small farms. As "King Sugar" declined in economic importance, viable sectors emerged in petroleum and natural gas, bauxite, alumina and tourism. The emergence of industrial development corporations in the l950s gave birth to organized manufacturing and commercial sectors.

The economies registered positive rates of economic growth in the l960s but have been in constant crisis since the mid l970s. The Caribbean sub-region in l995 is characterized by:

(i) low to negative rates of economic growth;

(ii) high rates of unemployment and under-employment;

(iii) low rates of savings;

(iv) a significant increase in the number of persons in the micro/small business sectors.

The CARICOM Secretariat has estimated that small-scale enterprises, variously defined:

(i) Account for about 45 per cent of the jobs created in member States;

(ii) Account, in agriculture, for over 70 per cent of the main export crops and an even higher proportion of domestic food crops;

(iii) Play a leading role in the marketing of agricultural products;

(iv) Generally provide the urban transportation for commuters and the ground transportation for tourists;

(v) Are leaders in some manufacturing sub-sectors like wood products, garments and sewn goods, handicraft items;

(vi) Play a lead role in construction, equipment repairs and maintenance, technical service activities and in the retail trade.

Activities

The enterprise-oriented activities of the Caribbean Multidisciplinary Team have been in the areas of:

(i) Small enterprise development;

(ii) Cooperatives;

(iii) Collaboration with the Caribbean Employers' Confederation and national employers' federations;

(iv) Initiatives are being taken in the current biennium (l994-95) in collaboration with national training boards in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to develop enterprise-based technical and vocational education and training programmes.

Some specific activities are the following:

(i)(i) Grenada - Small scale enterprise development

This project started in l988 and finished in l994. Plans are now being developed to conduct a final evaluation. The project was financed by UNDP and executed by the ILO.

A small enterprise development unit is now institutionalized in the Grenada Development Bank, with a staff of four technical officers. The unit (SEDU) is financed by the Government. The unit provides technical assistance to existing and new enterprises. Credit made available by the Government is disbursed by established financial institutions, namely: National Development Foundation, Grenada Development Bank and the Grenada Bank of Commerce. Operational linkages have been developed with the Grenada National College and other relevant organizations through the establishment of the Small Enterprise Development Unit Advisory Committee (SEDUAC).

(ii) Small scale enterprise and entrepreneurial Development in the Eastern Caribbean

The Grenada SEDU described above is regarded as a success. It therefore provided the basis for the extension of the project to five other OECs countries, namely: Anguilla, Antigua / Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts/Nevis and St. Lucia. The project is for two years, January l994 to December l995. It is financed by UNDP and executed by ILO. The project will establish a Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU), in each country and facilitate the development of existing and new micro/small enterprises. The project is also intended to create employment opportunities through self-employment.

(iii) TSS1 Study on small business

A TSS1 study entitled: Small Business - Key Ingredients and Constraints to their Success in the Caribbean, is being conducted in Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The study which should be completed by June l995, will provide guidelines in the areas of policy, legislation and operational issues, for example, credit, management and technical skills training.

(iv) Training in cooperative management for Caribbean Cooperatives with export/import potential

This project started in November l992 and will expire in December l995. It is financed by the NGO Window of the European Union and a Belgian NGO, World Solidarity. The project seeks to develop a core of trainers through regional workshops, which trainers will in turn conduct training at the national level for members and staff of cooperatives. The major subject matter areas are management, marketing and training methodology.

(v) Pilot project for industrial cooperative development in the Caribbean

The project is intended to assist with the development of selected production cooperatives, thus contributing to employment and income generation. Implementation commenced in June l993 and the project will terminate in May l997. It is financed by the Belgian Administration for Development Cooperation and a Belgian NGO, World Solidarity. The project is being executed through a bilateral agreement between World Solidarity and the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions. Technical advisory services are provided by CAMAT. Four cooperatives are involved in Phase I of the project; another four will be included in Phase II in l995.

(vi) Collaboration with the Caribbean Employers' Confederation and National Employers' Federation

ENT/MAN, in consultation with CAMAT, has prepared a project document adapting ENT/MAN's modules on "Improve Your Business" and "Start Your Business" to reflect Caribbean circumstances. The project document is being discussed with the Caribbean Employers' Confederation and individual Caribbean national employers' organizations. Another project document has been prepared for a regional enterprise-based productivity improvement programme, aimed at promoting effective cooperation between the management of enterprises, trade unions representatives and employees within the workplace on matters connected with the improvement of productivity and competitiveness. This document is also being discussed with the Caribbean Employers' Confederation. In the current biennium l994/95, CAMAT will assist employers' federations in Jamaica and the Bahamas in conducting seminars aimed at improving productivity within enterprises.

(vii) Enterprise-based technical and vocational education and training

Through the COR/COS mechanism and in collaboration with national training boards, CAMAT will initiate in the current biennium l994/95 and will follow-up in the l996/97 biennium with enterprise based TVET programmes in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica.

(viii) Occupational Safety and Health

An OSH project is being executed in Barbados, with the support of the Ministry of Labour, Community Development and Sport, Barbados Employers' Confederation and the Barbados Workers' Union. The project operates on the basis that there should be a functioning Joint Safety and Health Committee in an enterprise. The committee has representatives from the categories of worker, supervisor and management, and the committee should unanimously agree to participate in the project. Once such a decision is reached, an OSH audit is conducted at the workplace.

The report from the audit forms the basis of a two-day workshop. The output of the workshop is an OSH policy and plan of action. The project seeks to improve occupational safety and health standards at the workplace at the level of enterprises.

(ix) Productivity-related activities

A Caribbean regional Tripartite Symposium on Productivity was conducted in Barbados during the period 16-18 November l993. The objective of the Symposium was to promote a better understanding of productivity concepts and their practical application as an important instrument of economic growth and poverty alleviation.

The Symposium was attended by some forty persons representing governments, employers and workers. Some of the issues discussed were:

(a) Company productivity strategies

(b) Management development and productivity

(c) Motivation for higher productivity.

The Regional Symposium was followed by an external collaboration contract to Mr. L. Nurse in March l994. Mr. Nurse was contracted to provide advisory services in the field of productivity to the Barbados Workers' Union as well as to be a lecturer at seminars and other training events organized by the Union. A final report has not been received from Mr. Nurse.

ILO Central and West Africa Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, ABIDJAN (OIT/EMACO)

The EMACO activities related to Enterprises can be divided into current and future activities and can be summarized as shown below. Many activities are being implemented in association with the technical departments, the regional office, the area offices and other MDTS.

Current activities

- EMACO has been the lead unit in a few important TSS1 studies in the field of private sector and/or informal sector development, in for example, Congo and Niger;

- EMACO has participated in the execution of Country Objective Reviews, taking into account that the market economy has become the universally accepted standard, in for example, the Central African Republic, Ghana and Madagascar;

- Specialists of the EMACO have rendered advisory services to employers' organizations in the sub-region;

- Members of EMACO have attended national conferences and workshops concerning job creation in the private sector in the countries concerned;

- EMACO has supported NGOs which operate in the field of enterprise creation by young entrepreneurs;

- Several projects in the field of "micro enterprises" are executed in the countries of the EMACO region. Examples are Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria;

- In some countries of the EMACO region, there are projects which are focused on the development of managerial capacities in enterprises and in (semi)-governmental institutions;

- EMACO follows ILO and non-ILO credit programmes and projects for starting and existing enterprises;

- Regional and inter-regional projects and programmes that support small enterprise development have components in countries of the EMACO region.

Future activities

- Participation in TSS1 in the African sub-region of the Indian Ocean concerning private and informal sector development on Madagascar and the Comores Islands;

- EMACO will participate in the execution of Country Objective Reviews in countries which are trying to reinforce private sector development (Ivory Coast, Niger, Benin and also Burkina Faso and Togo);

- EMACO will participate in the extension of the "Improve Your Business/Start Your Business" Programme in some francophone countries in West Africa, which is directed towards the development and improvement of small and medium-sized enterprises;

- Elaborate policies and strategies to promote informal sector development as a follow-up of already executed TSS1 missions in Benin and Congo.

- EMACO will have a focal point for the support of micro-enterprise and informal sector development in West Africa;

- EMACO will extend its support to NGOs that are actively supporting starting entrepreneurs;

- EMACO will contribute to the reinforcement of the relations between formal education institutions and enterprises;

- Stimulating the links between informal sector enterprise organizations and small and medium-sized enterprise organizations;

- Assisting enterprises in developing their labour and manpower statistics that can be used as component of a labour market information system;

- Intensification of the relations with organizations that represent entrepreneurs and enterprises which are not (yet) linked to the formal and recognized employers' organizations, especially concerning the possibilities of linking these entrepreneurs to the formal education system (management training);

- Support of creation of small enterprises in the field of "Employment Intensive Works";

EMACO's Specialist on Gender Issues will, in collaboration with the other members, take care of a gender-balanced approach of the enterprise-oriented activities of the team;

- In accordance with the Active Partnership Policy, EMACO will intensify its participation in the initiation, execution and management of development projects, also in the field of enterprise development.

ILO East Africa Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, ADDIS ABABA (ILO/EAMAT)

Macroeconomic policy environment for enterprise growth

Macroeconomic policy is fundamental to enterprise success and development. Macroeconomic policy analysis and advice remain central in all ILO/EAMAT coordinated employment missions. Recent missions to Eritrea and Uganda accorded considerable attention to macroeconomic policy environment for sustainable development and employment creation.

Strengthening employers' organizations

Assistance to employers' organizations seeks to strengthen their capacity to enhance or improve the effectiveness of enterprises which constitute their membership and to effectively represent their interests.

Capacity building in management training which can help enterprises direct the process of change in a way which is profitable to them is currently a major ILO activity. Employers' organizations in Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda are being assisted in developing such a capacity for the benefit of their members.

Safe working environment (WISE)

Introducing the ILO training programme for owners and managers of small and medium-sized industrial enterprises has become a highly valued activity. The programme aims at increasing productivity by creating a better and safer place to work. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have so far benefitted from this activity. Attention is also being given to the OSH of workers in informal and formal enterprises.

Promoting tripartism

Promoting tripartism and social dialogue through tripartite meetings, advisory missions etc. help create respect for employer and to enhance industrial peace which is an important prerequisite for increased enterprise performance and productivity.

Cooperatives

These are enterprises with unique and complex ownership and management structures. Training for their development and advice on their appropriate organizations structures and support services features prominently in all ILO/EAMAT employment missions. Eritrea and Uganda are recent examples.

Promotion of SME's

Small enterprise formulation exercises include advising governments and providing them with guidelines and framework for policy formulation on small enterprise development. Wherever necessary, review existing policies in order for them to provide a regulatory environment for small enterprise development.

Through direct interventions, ILO/EAMAT provides both technical and business advisory services to small entrepreneurs through establishment of small business advisory centres.

Training and training materials development

Training in all areas of enterprise development and materials development. At the moment, materials for pre-start-ups developed in Kenya by the ILO vocational and entrepreneurship education project are being reviewed and finalized in collaboration with the Turin Centre.

ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, BANGKOK (ILO/EASTMAT)

Many activities under "employers' activities" are directed not only at strengthening employers' organizations but also target their member enterprises because some of the subjects covered can only be implemented at enterprise level. A few examples are:

(i) The ILO Improve Your Business (IYB) programme over the last decade has been directed to small enterprises and potential small entrepreneurs.

(ii) The current on-going programme on "Performance & Skill Based Pay Systems" already conducted in 6 countries is designed to provide enterprises with the requisite knowledge/information and guidelines if they intend to introduce an element of performance/skill based pay. So far, about 500 individuals from enterprises have participated in this programme.

(iii) The numerous industrial relations and human resource management programmes (both training and seminars) have been designed to promote the implementation of sound labour relations and human resource management practices at enterprise level. These programmes include ones designed to facilitate productivity enhancement.

Here are some examples of enterprise and management development activities directed towards enterprises:

(i) Small enterprise development through non-governmental organization

In Cambodia, the Small Enterprise and Informal Sector Promotion Project has strengthened a locally established NGO in providing assistance to small and micro enterprises through implementation of business opportunity identification, basic management training, and follow-up consultancy services complemented by provision of credit.

(ii) Small enterprise development under government initiative

In Indonesia, ILO has assisted the government in providing assistance to micro-enterprises using the NGOs on the one hand and local training institutions on the other. The participating NGOs and institutions have been provided with advice on the development of business training programmes, monitoring systems of the clients and other services.

(iii) Small enterprise development in a transitional economy

In Vietnam, ILO assisted a national institute in building capacities to provide management training for entrepreneurs who are required to operate under a new market-oriented economic environment.

(iv) Productivity improvement for small and medium enterprises at enterprise level

In the Philippines, ILO has provided assistance to small and medium enterprises in the food processing sector which formed an association in order to improve their productivity. The enterprises which participated in the project has adopted the "5S" method, improved production facilities, harmonized manufacturing and marketing, improved data management, enhanced production process and technology, and improved human resource management.

ILO Central and Eastern Europe
Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, BUDAPEST (ILO/CEET)

ILO/CEET carries out several projects concerning enterprise development and enterprise behaviour. These projects are of two types:

(i) structural adjustment strategies for regions hard it by economic recession and transformation;

(ii) the so-called labour flexibility surveys analysing reactions of enterprises on economic and systemic changes.

The first type of project has so far been conducted in Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Ivanovo (Russia) and another is planned for Slovakia in April l995. The same methodology is followed. The team works together with regional authorities, large enterprises, regional associations of entrepreneurs, trade unions, labour offices, educational institutions and other relevant organizations with the aim to promote their active cooperation on future economic development in the region. Although many organizations have good and sound ideas about their future development they often fail in their implementation because of lack of capital or experience or due to some technical or organizational matter. Such difficulties can be overcome when all key players agree on a realistic strategy of regional economic and social development and clarify their roles and contributions in its implementation. Where such a constructive dialogue on a major development strategy, existing problem and the ways how to solve them is still missing and ILO/CEET is trying to facilitate this communication and promote further collaboration of all involved institutions.

The second type of project consists in labour flexibility surveys among enterprises in the manufacturing sector. Various surveys have been carried out in Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine at the beginning of l995, and now also in all Albanian industrial establishments. These surveys are completed through comprehensive interviews with managers and with two questionnaire which are distributed in each country to a few hundred industrial establishments. These questionnaires include several questions on labour market flexibility, employment, training, wages and on the general enterprise policy. In the transition period, these surveys contribute to shed some light on the different ways the restructuring process is carried out at the enterprise level.

In the transition period, these surveys show some ways the restructuring process is carried out at the enterprise level. In several countries (Bulgaria and Ukraine) they emphasized, for instance, the number of workers put on unpaid leave. They also showed, in Russia, a massive phenomenon of non-payment of wages. In the course of the privatization process, they help to identify the differences between State-owned enterprises, leasehold enterprises, small private firms or open and closed joint-stock companies in terms of employment and restructuring, wage levels and structure etc Of particular relevance is the impact of foreign investment on local employment, wage levels and access to external markets. Other surveys will be conducted in the near future.

ILO North-West Africa Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, DAKAR (OIT/EMANO)

1. To develop a more concise framework within which a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to advisory services can be enhanced and to contribute to regional economic integration through the dissemination of information on private sector development, EMANO has started to set up a data-base covering on-going and planned strategies, policies and programmes related to enterprise development in the sub-region and their eventual impact. Two related reports will be published this year:

(i) "La promotion de l'emploi productif dans un contexte d'ajustement structurel: leçon de l'Afrique du Nord-Ouest"

(ii) "Le développement de l'entreprise dans le cadre du développement décentralisé".

2. To enhance the education and training system capability to promote entrepreneurship development, EMANO is planning (l995) a series of feasibility studies to develop a strategy for the promotion of entrepreneurship education in tertiary, secondary and technical education and vocational training institutions.

3. To create an enabling environment:

- design of training programmes to enhance regional/local capacity for endogenous economic development which is critical to enterprise development and employment creation. To create an enabling environment, EMANO is planning (l995) to undertake a comprehensive review of enterprise development strategies and programmes as components of the decentralization process initiated in most countries in the sub-region.

- Capacity building for direct support to micro and small enterprises. In collaboration with ENT/MAN, EMANO is planning (l995) to develop a strategy for launching IYB regional programme for francophone Africa. EMANO has also been assisting Malian and Mauritanian employers' organizations in building their delivery capacity related to management training and advisory services.

- Contribution to policy formulation for small enterprise/industries development. EMANO has been requested to assist Guinea in defining the major components of a SED policy.

- Institutional capacity building for programme development, implementation monitoring and evaluation in respect of micro enterprises development. EMANO will assist Cap Verde to formulate a national programme for the promotion of micro-enterprises as well as a monitoring and evaluation system to assess its impact.

- Support to constituents to review macro policy(ies) impact on enterprise development.

EMANO will provide assistance to Moroccan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organize a national seminar on the social aspects of structural adjustment and their impact on enterprise performance. EMANO will organize a national seminar on the role of employers' organizations in the liberalization of economies (Cape Verde) and assist employers in the organisation of a seminar to assess the impact of the CFA Franc and regional integration perspectives on enterprise development.

3. High Productivity and performance improvement:

(i) To enhance the quality, efficiency and responsiveness of vocational training and apprenticeship schemes to informal sector operator's needs through TSS-1 study, EMANO will assist Senegal to assess training needs of informal sector operators and suggest ways and means of reorienting the training systems to meet those needs.

(ii) To enhance workers' participation in the improvement of enterprise performance, EMANO will provide assistance to workers' organizations in the design and implementation of training programmes related to enterprise development (Cape Verde).

EMANO will collaborate with F/POL in undertaking a study entitled: Enterprise and State seek strategic training partnerships".

4. A well-trained workforce: Increasing the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of training systems to meet the needs of enterprises. EMANO is preparing an assistance programme for Cape Verde and Mali with regard to the linkage between employment requirements and training system responsiveness. Through TSS-1 study, EMANO will assist Guinea/Conakry to design a programme aimed at enhancing the performance of its apprenticeship scheme.

ILO Arab States Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, GENEVA (ILO/ARMAT)

The slowdown of the economic growth of the Arab countries, and in fact the economic recession prevailing at present in many countries, produced tremendous adverse effects on the employment situation. Not only fewer employment opportunities are generated but also the structural demand for labour is also changing. While high rates of population and labour force growth did not abate, the structure of the educational and training flows is less and less in conformity with the demand of the labour market and the development objectives. In addition, the economic reform and structural adjustment programmes, under implementation in a number of countries, have had tremendous adverse implications on the social netting of the workers and the poorest of the Arab society. The result is a rise of open unemployment as well as of under-employment, diminishing social protection and an increasing waste of resources. However, self-employment and micro and small scale enterprises are increasingly becoming the major providers of income and employment opportunities. In particular, these modalities can provide employment for disadvantaged groups such as returning refugees, returning migrants, women and the youth, who - for various reasons - have limited access to the traditional employment opportunities.

Subcontracting arrangements from large firms to small enterprises and to homeworkers have expanded as enterprises seek greater production flexibility, lower production and labour costs and utilization of local comparative advantages.

Though small enterprises play these vital roles they continue to face internal weaknesses such as low overall productivity, lack of skills and technology, severely hampered access to credit and poor product quality.

At the institutional level there are considerable constraints as well. The institutional framework for providing assistance and support to the micro and small enterprises is often very fragile. The involvement of NGO's and private sector institutions, such as employers' organizations and chambers of commerce in the delivery of support services, have been neglected. If services are provided on credit, marketing, training and technology, they are often favouring the medium and large scale enterprises. The efficiency of the provided services and their linkages to actual needs are generally questionable.

At the policy level, the lack of clear, consistent and comprehensive policies for the sector is evident. Though several activities to assist the self-employed and the micro and small enterprise sector have been implemented, these attempts have not been components of a comprehensive programme for the development of the sector.

Further, these countries are taking steps for improving management capabilities. Various training techniques are being introduced, the private sector initiatives are encouraged and in general a more market driven approach is adopted. With the introduction of liberalized policies, globalization and the increased openness also the management techniques are undergoing adjustment and changes to match this development.

Objectives

The overall objective of the work in the technical area of small enterprise and management development will be to assist the member states in the promotion of small enterprise development and to assist in the establishment and efficient operation of the enterprises with a view to increasing employment opportunities and improving the overall productivity of these industrial units. In particular, the objectives will be the following:

a) Employment promotion for domestic labour force;

b) formulate suitable macro and sectoral policies for the development of small enterprises and self-employment (with particular emphasis on youth, women and returned migrants);

c) strengthening the institutional framework for the delivery of support services to small enterprises involving relevant NGOs and private sector associations such as the Employers Associations; <