MALUKU (ILO News): The International Labour Organization (ILO) was launching a Decent Work Profile for Maluku as part of the Decent Work Provincial Programme of Maluku, which assesses progress in the development of labour market conditions and protection for workers in the Maluku Province on Wednesday, 28 November, in Ambon, Maluku. The Profile was officially presented by Peter van Rooij, Country Director of the ILO in Indonesia.

The Profile is developed under the ILO’s Monitoring and Assessing Progress of Decent Work (MAP) Project, funded by the European Union and carried out by ILO in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia and its social partners. Working together with Government agencies, workers’ and employers’ organizations as well as research institutions at both national and provincial levels, the Project aims to strengthen the capacity of developing and transition countries to self-monitor and self-assess progress towards decent work. Indonesia is one of the ten countries globally implementing the MAP project.

Through the Maluku Decent Work Country Profile, it is hoped that relevant actors in Maluku, including the Provincial Government of Maluku, employers’ and workers’ organizations, can take stock of the progress made in Maluku, and identify the remaining challenges and develop required policies and implementation.

The Profile of Maluku includes the following key findings:

• Agriculture still dominates employment but is declining in importance (49.5 per cent of total employment in 2011);
• Industry is a minor player (11.9 per cent of total employment in 2011) and growth has been weak in the post-conflict era;
• Labour productivity –i.e. GDP per person employed- only around a third of the national level (USD 7,249 in 2010, vs USD 21,534 nationally) and has posted negative growth rates in recent years;
• Local government has a strong commitment to education, completion of eight years of school is compulsory and Moluccans receive on average 8.5 years of school;
• Net enrolment rates are among the highest in the country –at all levels. As a result, the shares that are not in school are lower than average and declining;
• Key employment indicators suffered during the conflict: between 1998 and 2005, the employment-to-population ratio (the percentage of the working age population that is employed) fell from 61 per cent to 51 per cent. Meanwhile, official unemployment rose sharply from 3.7 per cent to 15 per cent;
• 84 out of every 100 new jobs created between 2002 and 2010 came in the service sector. A third of these jobs came in trade, restaurants and hotels, while 40 per cent came in social and private services, i.e. public sector jobs;
• Share of children out of school is low, enrolment rates are high. Child labour rates have been declining;
• Women in Maluku are more likely to be found in “prestigious occupations” such as legislators and corporate managers than they are generally in Indonesia; and
• After 2005, the share of healthcare coverage stabilized around 13-16 per cent, indicating improved healthcare delivery corresponding with improvements in social and political stability.

In addition, Maluku Province is one of the targeted provinces for the implementation of the Decent Country Programme for Indonesia, together with Nusa Tenggara Timur and East Java. It is part of the national strategy of Indonesia to make decentralization work by narrowing the development gaps in the regions through policies and programme interventions.

“By developing policies that follow the Decent Work Agenda, the Provincial Government of Maluku can help to ensure that all Moluccans have access to productive work at a fair income, security in their workplaces and social protection that gives them the freedom to participate in the decisions that affect their lives,” said Peter van Rooij, the ILO’s Country Director for Indonesia.

The Decent Work Country Programme for Indonesia was recently launched in Jakarta last September. This Programme is taking into account the priorities of Indonesia’s Government, focus on the ILO’s mandate and focus on its tripartite constituents as an important route out of poverty. Three priorities of the DWCP are:

• Employment creation for inclusive and sustainable growth;
• Sound industrial relations in the context of effective employment governance; and
• Social protection for all.

For further information, contact:

Tauvik Muhamad
Programme Officer of ILO Jakarta
Tel.: +6221 391 3112 ext. 103
Email

Gita Lingga
Media Relations Officer of ILO Jakarta
Tel.: +6221 391 3112 ext. 115
Email