1.1. The context of the report
The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in March 1995 adopted a commitment to the goal of full employment, and policies and programmes to achieve this featured as key elements of the programme of action known as the Copenhagen Declaration. Commitment 3 of this Declaration listed an array of actions to be taken by governments and civil society organizations in support of the goal of expanding productive employment and reducing unemployment. These were grouped into five main areas of action: (i) ensuring the centrality of employment in policy formulation; (ii) education, training and labour policies; (iii) enhancement of quality of work and employment, including safeguarding and promoting respect for basic workers= rights; (iv) enhancement of employment opportunities for groups with specific needs; and (v) promoting a broader recognition and understanding of work and employment.
Commitment 3 of the Copenhagen Declaration constitutes the main point of reference for this report. This Commitment, as needs to be specially mentioned, urges the countries to Apay particular attention to women's access to employment, the protection of their position in the labour market and the promotion of equal treatment of women and men ...@. The Beijing Declaration (adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995), which came in the wake of the Copenhagen Declaration, is also relevant in this context. The Beijing Declaration includes a commitment to Apromote women's economic independence, including employment..@.
Against the backdrop provided by these commitments, this report reviews the progress towards full employment in the Asia-Pacific region both over the long run and particularly since 1995, the year in which both the Copenhagen Declaration and the Beijing Declaration came into existence. The report also reviews the economic and social policies pursued in the countries concerned, which had influenced the pace and pattern of employment growth in an effort to identify the problems which future policies will need to address. Within this overall context, it attempts to define the ILO's future work in support of national policies and programmes in the region and to assess its progress in promoting ratification and application of core labour standards which enshrine the basic principles of employment policy.
As a prelude to these discussions, it is appropriate to state very briefly the ILO's perspective on full employment and the policies needed to achieve it.
1.2 Full employment as an objective
The objective of full employment was laid down in the ILO's Employment Policy Convention No. 122, adopted in 1964. This Convention calls upon member States to Adeclare and pursue, as a major goal, an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment@. It requires the members to Astimulate economic growth and development, raising levels of living, meeting manpower requirements and overcoming unemployment and underemployment@.
The continued belief in full employment as a universal concept which found expression in the Declaration of the World Summit for Social Development was later reaffirmed by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 1996. Elaborating on Commitment 3 in the Copenhagen Declaration, the Resolution concerning employment policies in a global context categorically stated that Athe objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment through higher, sustained economic growth should remain a major goal of economic, social, and employment policies as governments, employers= and workers= organizations adapt to a rapidly changing global market. High and productive levels of employment through enterprise development are fundamental means of combating poverty, of ensuring equity, of meeting people's aspirations for participation in economic and social life, and for preserving social cohesion@.
The conclusions adopted by the ILC (1996) also maintained that Athe definition of full employment as a level of employment where all those available, able and actively seeking work can obtain it remains fundamentally valid@ for all countries, although the concept may have to be interpreted differently in different situations depending upon the structure of employment in a given country. Given the variety of employment situations observed across countries, it was argued that Aprogress towards full employment must be measured by using a combination of indicators. These include the rate of growth in modern sector employment and changes in real average earnings and the degree of open and disguised unemployment and underemployment in the rural and informal sectors@. Viewed in this way, it was further observed, Afull employment provides a notion around which policies can be formulated for raising both the volume and the quality of employment and, thereby, for ensuring that economic growth is equitable and poverty-reducing@.
The ILC (1996) has stressed that full employment remains an achievable goal despite anxieties over the possible job-destroying effects of rapid technological change and intensified international competition. Both technological change and globalization can be harnessed to achieve higher rates of growth in output and productive employment. This requires the creation of an economic environment which provides clear incentives to enterprises for investment and job creation. At the same time, it requires social policies and institutions which facilitate labour market mobility and flexibility, promote systems of worker involvement and collective bargaining, and provide adequate levels of social and contractual protection. Policies to prevent social exclusion and to reintegrate retrenched workers into the labour market are also vital for ensuring the social sustainability of adjustments to the new global economy.
ILO Conventions have emphasized that the attainment of full employment should not come at any price but should recognize the need for adequate pay and working conditions. Full employment is more than mere absence of unemployment. The objective must be Amore and better jobs@, or, in other words, more jobs that respect labour standards. There must be the fullest possible opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and to use his or her skills and endowments, in a job for which he or she is well suited, irrespective of race, colour, gender, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.
1.3 Towards a policy framework
The ILC (1996) also provided broad guidelines for employment policy. It suggested that a policy framework for full employment must include several essential components: creating an enabling global environment; pursuing macro policies for sustained growth; enhancing the adaptability of the labour market through structural policies and the efficient use of human resources; targeting policies to improve the situation of vulnerable groups; and strengthening social dialogue at the national and international levels.
Full employment can be achieved only in a stable political, economic and social environment and through international cooperation. This requires a number of enabling factors. These include appropriate policies to achieve economic and financial stability, and hence the absence of excessive price inflation and abrupt exchange rate movements. Exchange rate volatility makes it very difficult for employers to stabilize production and thereby jobs, and for unions to bargain rationally. At the international level, it is important that all countries commit themselves to adhere to common rules in maintaining open economic and trade policies, and refrain from policies that confer on them unfair competitive advantage. However, effective arrangements to overcome problems associated with the increasing globalization of international markets, such as the rapid increase of volatile short-term financial flows which destabilize economic growth and employment, are required.
Countries at all levels of development should set clear priorities to create and expand employment, and improve its quality, including conditions of work. Labour market and human resource policies are essential tools to that end. There is a need to provide universal access to basic education, opportunities for further education, vocational training, skill development and opportunities for lifelong education. In order to encourage job creation, the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises should be assisted by facilitating their access to capital markets and credit. Special policies and programmes should be designed to enhance the employability of vulnerable groups, reintegrate the long-term unemployed as active members of the labour force and provide equal employment opportunities for women and men. Measures should be established to allow workers to adjust to the changing pattern of international production and trade and promote their employability. Employment security and flexibility in the utilization of labour can be combined through, among other means, labour-management cooperation at the enterprise level, collective bargaining and investment in appropriate skills.
In view of the increasing interdependence of national economies, complex labour markets and widespread disillusionment with policies on unemployment, the success of any strategy to promote employment and growth, and combat social exclusion, depends on the ability of the government to secure broad support for the chosen policy package. The achievement of a genuine consensus on the appropriate components of an employment strategy is highly desirable, and a precondition for its acceptability and successful implementation. This can also have beneficial effects on investor confidence and volatile capital markets.
1.4 Structure of the report
Given the perspective outlined above, Chapter 2 empirically assesses progress towards full employment in the Asia-Pacific region. Progress is viewed both in terms of quantity and quality of employment generated. Chapter 3 reviews national policies and global developments which shaped the employment and labour market trends observed in the countries concerned. Particular attention is given to the recent financial crisis in East and Southeast Asian countries and the structural weaknesses that the crisis has brought into focus. Chapter 4 extracts, from the observations and findings presented in the two preceding chapters, some major policy issues for the future and, in this context, highlights areas of future ILO action. A discussion of past and current ILO activities in support of national efforts to achieve full employment is presented in an annex to the main report.
It should be stated here that the report does not attempt to be comprehensive in its coverage of topics. It would be unrealistic to try to discuss in depth all dimensions of employment and labour market problems in a single report. The focus, therefore, has been on the central issues confronting policy makers in Asia-Pacific countries at this juncture. Many other relevant issues have been touched upon but have not been discussed at length. Prominent among these are issues relating to child labour, informal sector employment, youth unemployment and international labour migration. The ILO has carried out substantive work in these areas, and continues to do so.
Relevant observations on these problems are made at several points in this report. Eliminating child labour is viewed as part of the goal of full employment. It is recognized that the informal sector has been a major provider of jobs in many countries and will remain so for a long time to come, and that there is a need for concern about the quality of informal sector employment. The report points out that the really significant aspect of youth unemployment is that most unemployed youth are educated, even in countries where the average level of education is very low. It is noted that, although international migration is a natural outcome of uneven development across countries, the absence of a well-established framework not only leaves migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation but also adds to the vulnerability of labour-sending countries in times of economic difficulty. Elaborate discussions of these issues, however, are not attempted in the report.
