Social Dialogue for Formalization and Employability in the Southern Neighbourhood Region

SOLIFEM is a regional ILO project funded by the European Commission DG-NEAR that supports the transition from the informal to the formal economy through tripartite social dialogue in countries of the Arab world, with a particular focus on Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Project implementation began on March 1, 2021.

The project pursues its central objective through strengthening the capacity of the ILO’s tripartite constituents – governments, employers and workers – to take action, through social dialogue, on two fronts: first, the development of integrated strategies on formalization and second, the development of national training and skills recognition systems, with a particular focus on youth and women in the informal economy.

The project’s ultimate beneficiaries are workers and enterprises in the informal economy across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a particular focus on youth and women.

They will benefit from increased formal employment opportunities, higher productivity and decent work as a result of nationally-owned strategies, developed through social dialogue, to support formalization and demand-driven skills upgrading programmes.

While SOLIFEM focuses in particular on four countries/territories in the MENA region, beneficiaries from other countries of the region (Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Libya, Syria) will participate in the regional activities to exchange experiences and good practices.

SOLIFEM’s objective is that more workers and enterprises in the MENA region will work and operate in the formal economy. This will contribute to decent work for all, poverty reduction, and more equitable and cohesive societies.

The project’s partners are national tripartite social dialogue institutions, representative employers’ and workers’ organizations (the social partners), ministries of labour and other relevant ministries and institutions (such as social security, skills development; vocational training and planning) as well as membership-based organizations in the informal economy, including cooperatives and other social solidarity economy (SSE) organizations, in the MENA region.

Other partners include: representatives of regional and local authorities, partners at regional level such as the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and regional social partner organizations such as the Arab Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) and BUSINESSMED, the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League as well as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE).