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To ensure that all Mozambicans benefit from the economic recovery of the country and have the opportunity to work their way out of poverty, the Mozambican Government in 2006 launched the second Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (Plano de Acção para a Redução da Probreza Absoluta - PARPA II), inspired by the Government’s Five-Year Plan, adopted in May 2005, and the Agenda 2025. To make these policy documents actionable, the Ministry of Labour adopted the Employment and Vocational Training Strategy (EVTS), developed with inputs from UNDP and ILO, and inspired by the ILO Decent Work Agenda.
The ‘Working Out of Poverty’ (WOOP) Dutch TC-RAM programme presented in this document is designed to contribute to the implementation of the EVTS and to operationalize the Decent Work Agenda at the national and local levels. The development objective of the programme is to contribute to poverty reduction in Mozambique by promoting the creation of employment and income-generating opportunities for women and men in the context of the Decent Work Agenda.
The expected direct outcomes of the WOOP programme are: (1) the creation of quality jobs for young people, women and people with disabilities in particular; (2) practical workplace initiatives to mitigate the risk of HIV and AIDS; (3) strengthened capacity of Government, and workers’ and employers’ organizations and national tripartite mechanisms to formulate and implement policies on job creation, gender equality and HIV and AIDS prevention and mitigation, and (4) improved mechanisms for the capturing, analysis and dissemination of labour market information on the WOOP Programme. The proposal details how to achieve these programme objectives.
This Programme was developed following extensive consultations within Mozambique in 2006 and early 2007, and included the close involvement of the Minister and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labour; Deputy Minister, Planning and Development; representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations; the Royal Netherlands Embassy; the UN System; bilateral and multilateral cooperating partners, including international financial institutions; and ILO project staff on the ground. A programme formulation mission was conducted in November 2006 under the leadership of the ILO Lusaka Office, involving ILO colleagues from SRO Harare (including Workers’ Specialist who also represented the Employers’ Specialist; Employment Specialist; Enterprise Specialist; HIV and AIDS Specialist; and Deputy Director); ILO Geneva (representing STEP/Social Security and Local Economic Development and Small Enterprise Development), ILO staff working on HIV and AIDS projects in Mozambique, and ILO Lusaka (Director and Programme Officer-cum-Gender Focal Point). This was followed by consultations with the High Commissioner, Mozambique High Commission in Zambia, and a mission in February 2007.
The “Working Out Of Poverty Programme”, and the accompanying Decent Work Country Programme for Mozambique, should make significant contributions to the promotion of decent employment, greater awareness and application of International Labour Standards, the application of social dialogue to achieve these ends, the greater engagement of youths, women and people with disabilities in the labour market, and ultimately to the reduction of poverty for the Programme’s beneficiaries, their families and their communities.
Development objective
The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to poverty reduction in Mozambique by promoting decent employment and income-generating opportunities for the designated target groups (young women and men; women; and people with disabilities).
Strategies
Appropriate strategies and intervention points have been described in section 2.1 above, and are highlighted with reference to specific groups of activities, as detailed below.
Immediate objectives
The immediate objectives of the programme are as follows:
- 1. The WOOP components of the EVTS are operational and contributing to UNDAF, UNDAF Plus, and PARPA II implementation, with additional support being pledged for EVTS implementation by the cooperating partners (5%);
- 2. Quality jobs have been created in three provinces for youths, women and people with disabilities (the designated target groups) in the context of EVTS implementation. (60%);
- 3. The effects of HIV and AIDS on the designated target groups as workers, job seekers and self-employed/entrepreneurs have been mitigated based on WOOP programme inputs provided with and through participation of the social partners (20%);
- 4. Mechanisms for systematic capturing and disseminating information on aspects of the labour market related to WOOP and its target groups have been improved and are functioning (5%);
- 5. The capacities of the social partners to engage in policy dialogue/formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in relation to job creation, gender equality and HIV and AIDS prevention, mitigation and support have been enhanced (10%).
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