The ILO’s tripartite structure is unique within the United Nations system and gives workers’ and employers’ representatives an equal voice with governments in shaping ILO policies and programmes. Social dialogue between these three parties underpins the ILO’s work, and the ILO helps to develop the capacity of these organizations so they can effectively support and represent their members.
Workers’ organizations are independent and democratic trade unions that protect and support workers’ rights and interests at the national and international level. As such, they play a key role in civil society. Trade unions in Pacific face some major challenges, including promoting the right to organize and bargain collectively, lack of protection of migrant workers’ rights, forced, bonded and child labour, gender inequality, balancing the issue of labour flexibility and job security especially for the contract and outsource workers, lack of social security and persistent poverty. The major trade unions in the Pacific are:
- Fiji Trades Union Congress;
- Kiribati Trade Union Congress;
- Papua New Guinea Trade Union Congress;
- Samoa Public Service Association;
- Solomon Islands Council of Trade Unions;
- Tuvalu Overseas Seafarers’ Union;
- Vanuatu Council of Trade Unions; and
- Marshall Islands Teachers Union.
Employers’ organizations represent the collective voices of small, medium and large businesses. They exist to protect and promote the interests of employers as these relate to labour and social policy at national and international levels. They play a crucial role in shaping a supportive environment for competitive, sustainable enterprises, which are essential for economic and social development. They also provide services that improve and guide the individual performance of enterprises including promoting employee management cooperation, link the wages with productivity, and development of women entrepreneurship in the small and medium industries. The major employer organizations in the Pacific are:
- Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation;
- Kiribati Chamber of Commerce & Industry;
- Marshall Islands Chamber of Commerce;
- Employers’ Federation of Papua New Guinea;
- Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
- Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industries;
- Tuvalu Chamber of Commerce; and
- Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The ILO response
Strengthening tripartism and bipartite workplace relations are strategies that the ILO in the Pacific have implemented to strengthen the capacities of its tripartite constituents, in particular workers’ and employers’ organizations, to engage in, and promote, the use of social dialogue to address workplace, as well as local and national socio-economic, concerns.
To strengthen the capacities of employers’ and workers’ organizations in carrying out their mandates and responsibilities, the ILO has organized joint and individual programmes and activities in the formats of workshops, trainings, dialogues and studies. These are conducted at either the national or regional levels and have include knowledge sharing and mentoring programmes; including facilitating support from their counterpart organizations in Australia and New Zealand.