Decent work - An alliance for the future: ILO public-private partnerships in the spotlight

Background

Cooperation between the ILO and the private sector has steadily increased, spreading through most of the ILO’s areas of work. In 2008, PPPs focused on five areas of the ILO’s programme and budget: skills development, entrepreneurship, social dialogue, better work and child labour. By January 2016 they had expanded to 17 different areas, with a particular increase in PPPs addressing international labour standards, social dialogue, industrial relations, and wages and governance issues in supply chains. PPPs have also contributed to development cooperation activities in contexts where it is challenging to raise multi-bilateral development aid.

The ILO has collaborated with private actors since its foundation. In 2008 the ILO Governing Body approved a set of guiding principles to ensure coherence between the Decent Work Agenda and PPP objectives and modalities.

Since 2008, the ILO has engaged in a total of 251 PPPs. Approvals under PPPs reached USD 27,536,293 in 2014-15, representing 6 per cent of all extra-budgetary resources (XBTC), compared to USD 17,840,862 in 2012-13 (3.5 per cent). This made PPPs the fifth largest contributors to ILO extra-budgetary funding in 2014-15.

However, Public-Private Partnerships are not only about funding: partnering also means sharing other kinds of resources, such as the exchange and pooling of knowledge and information, publication and research projects, campaigning and advocacy, meetings and other events, capacity building and training, temporary placement of personnel, and other kinds of resources. All PPPs are linked to the ILO’s programming instruments (Strategic Policy Framework, Programme and Budget, regional agendas, sectoral strategies, etc.).

Partners

While the highest concentration of activities covered by PPPs remains in Africa (12.4 per cent of partnerships and 16.8 per cent of funding), there is a steadily growing trend in Asia, both in terms of PPP numbers (12 per cent of partnerships) and volume of funding (10.9 per cent). This is due to the increased number of PPPs on social dialogue and industrial relations in the region, and to new projects addressing fundamental principles and rights at work. Europe and Central Asia account for 4.4 per cent of partnerships and 9.8 per cent of funding. The Americas follow in terms of numbers (9.6 per cent) and funding (4.6 per cent), followed by the Arab States (5.6 per cent of all PPPs, 3.4 per cent of funding).

Strategic Objective	PPP funding (%)
Employment (employment promotion, skills development, youth employment, SMEs and sustainable enterprises, and to social finance and the promotion of disability inclusion)	45.9
International labour standards (mostly child labour and fundamental principles at work)	26
Social dialogue (Better Work; new projects on industrial relations and wages; joint workers’ and employers’ initiatives in the construction, electronics and agricultural sectors)	23.4
Social protection (mainly social security systems, HIV and AIDS, occupational safety and health)	4.6
Policy coherence, cross-cutting themes	0.1

Until 2011, foundations were the largest partners – both in terms of numbers and funding. Today, PPPs with companies are by far the most significant, accounting for 143 out of 251 PPPs, providing 53% of funding under the portfolio.

More than half of PPPs (56 per cent) are shaped through global agreements. Funding (52.4 per cent) is mostly redistributed to decentralized interventions, mainly focusing on employment promotion and youth employment. The Global Disability Network, the Better Work Buyers Agreement, and the Child Labour Platform fall into this category.

Capacity building of constituents

The ILO partners with private and non-state actors in joint activities of mutual interest to promote the Decent Work Agenda. Capacity building of constituents is an overarching objective and a key modality for the ILO, and PPPs provide fertile ground for work in this area.

Most PPPs are with companies and focus on standards, social dialogue and employment. Companies have indicated that they are mostly interested in the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable growth, and that one element of the added value of partnering with the ILO is its ability to facilitate cooperation with governments and social partners.

PPPs have hence enabled the Office to enhance both technical assistance to governments and capacity building activities for social partners. One example is the ILO’s partnership agreement with Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), signed in 2014, which establishes a comprehensive approach focusing on industrial relations and wages. Collaboration began in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and expanded to Ethiopia in 2015. Efforts to further expand it to Myanmar are under way. All country-based interventions include a technical assistance component for governments and specific capacity building activities for social partners, as a basis for longer-term results.

Similarly, PPPs focused on the elimination of child labour have been developed in a variety of sectors such as cocoa, hazelnut growing and tobacco, in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Pakistan and Turkey. The intervention model is based on policy support and technical assistance to governments, as well as capacity development of social partners. Such PPPs are implemented in the framework of Decent Work Country Programmes, and knowledge development and dissemination of data also contribute to capacity development at sectoral, national and global levels.

In 2014 the ILO provided technical assistance to the Government of Pakistan to develop a programme on international labour standards, compliance and reporting in the textile industry. A new PPP established with the Pakistan Textile Exporters’ Association (PTEA) is currently being implemented as part of this wider programme. The PPP has provided further means to contribute to capacity development and provide technical assistance on legislation and practice.

PPPs strengthen the capacity of constituents, which in turn promotes their participation in processes of change. Social partners should therefore play a more pro-active role in promoting PPPs that respond to their needs. This requires constant coordination and engagement with the ILO's Bureaux for Employers' and Workers' Activities, and support to HQ and field units to ensure that the guiding principles are followed throughout and that opportunities for joint work within the Office are consolidated.

Looking to the future

PPPs are an expanding area of work that responds to both the demands and needs of the labour market and involves all technical areas and regions of the ILO. The development of PPPs over the past few years has only been possible thanks to sustained efforts in accompanying and supporting initiatives by different ILO units, and facilitating and coordinating the involvement of the social partners.

Partnerships with companies make up the majority of PPPs and provide most resources. In most cases, companies start with smaller or pilot interventions which then grow. In many cases, partnerships that were started in one country have been or are extended to other countries and regions. Building the space and time to adopt strategic partnerships can take time, but has added value.

Innovative PPPs have been developed to address systemic issues in different sectors, both through agreements with individual actors in the private sector and through alliances and pooled initiatives.

PPP tools and modalities developed so far can provide a good basis for future initiatives. A sectoral approach has facilitated such initiatives.

Where social partners have been involved in implementation, this has resulted in their increased participation. There is potential for further enhancing such participation, not only in the design and implementation of initiatives, but also in giving a more pro-active role to national and international organizations of workers and employers for the promotion of PPPs.

The ILO has been able to build a critical body of evidence on the impact of PPPs across different areas of work. Using the lessons learned and leveraging the experience acquired is important to better direct PPPs in the future and to effectively contribute to the international debate on the involvement of the private sector in development cooperation.

One expanded PPP area is work with think tanks, academia, universities, and research institutes, which are a key element of the ILO’s role as a global centre for technical excellence and knowledge in the world of work.

Another emerging area is South-South cooperation-related partnerships, or those that involve private actors in developing countries where they are based.