MAINSTREAMING DECENT WORK INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES

1. MAINSTREAMING DECENT WORK INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES presented by Ladis Columban Komba (Phd) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development, Tanzania At the International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty, held at UN Headquarters, New York, USA 15th– 16th November 2006

2. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION • INTRODUCTION • THE DECENT WORK AGENDA • POVERTY ERADICATION: WHAT IT ENTAILS • THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM: THE CASE OF TANZANIA • THE CHALLENGES IN MAINSTREAMING DW INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

3. 1.0 INTRODUCTION • There is a strong link between the unemployment problem and poverty levels ( a vicious circle) • Income – market size – investment levels – employment • Lack of unemployment benefit packages in most developing countries worsens the situation • Thus: Efforts aimed at poverty eradication must include employment creation strategies • The principal Route out of poverty is (decent) work (Juan Somavia – DG ILO, 2003)

4. 2.0 THE DECENT WORK AGENDA As advocated by ILO the DWA strives for economic growth with equity through a coherent blend of social and economic goals. The Agenda has four elements: • Employment– the principal route out of poverty is productive work • Rights– necessary to empower men and women to escape from poverty • Protection– social protection safeguards against poverty • Dialogue– participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in shaping government policy for poverty reduction is key to success

5. 3.0 POVERTY ERADICATION: WHAT IT ENTAILS Enhancing access to basic needs a fight against hunger, provision of health services, basic education and skills, decent shelter and basic utilities (water, electricity, communication) Increasing income levels of the peoplethrough increasing opportunities for decent work, access to financial services and profitable markets Mainstreaming cross cutting issues for sustainability, gender, environmental concerns and the HIV/AIDS must be mainstreamed into poverty eradication programs

6. 3.0 Poverty Eradication: what it entails ….. Improving agricultural productivity due to the dominance of the sector in most poor countries, a bigger impact would be realized by focusing on it Enhancing investments in Industries as a means of absorbing excess labor force from the agricultural sector, minimizing the dependence on imports and enhancing the market for agricultural produce. In any case, due to being more formal, the sector is more compatible with the decent work agenda. Empowering the private sector to take the lead as most Governments withdraw from active production and business undertakings following developmental reforms

7. 4.0 THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM: THE CASE OF TANZANIA • According to the integrated Labor Force Survey of 2000/01, out of a total population of 32.8 million people, the labor force was 17.8 million. Of these 2.3 million or 12.9% were unemployed • The rate of unemployment was more among youth with 14.3% and among women with 14.2%, compared to men with 11.6% • The situation was worse in towns and cities with 32%, compared to 8% in rural areas. Lower rates in rural areas are accounted for by Agriculture which employed 82.1% of the labor force.

8. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania …… • Causes of the problem Major causes mentioned include globalization, technological improvements, low capacity of the private sector to create employment, economic growth rate not coping with the population growth rate (2.9%), (700,000 enter the labor force annually while formal employment opportunities are 40,000), economic hardships and low quality of life in rural areas, child labor and change in roles of women in employment, privatization process, lack of access to credit facilities, lack of necessary skills among jobseekers and shortage of entrepreneurial skills necessary for self employment initiatives

9. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania …… • Impacts of the problem More significant impacts include increasing income poverty, rural-urban migration that worsens the problem in towns, youth being the mostly affected become victims of un-decent work and potential criminals. Lack of proper education among working children make them unemployable at later stages. All these may have a negative impact on investments, and generally on economic development

10. 4.0 The Unemployment Problem: The case of Tanzania …… • Government efforts in solving the problem • Commitment at the highest level • Putting the unemployment Agenda (Decent Work) top in its plans in PRSP and currently in National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA) • Assisting the small entrepreneurs in accessing financial services through various schemes of guarantees and direct financial support • Putting emphasis on training and skills development that generate capacities for self employment especially among Youth

11. 5.0 THE CHALLENGES IN MAINSTREAMING DW INTO POVERTY ERADICATION • Definition of Decent Work, and the priorities in a country. The issue is whether what poor people need most is to have decent work or just jobs that make them earn a living • The difficulty to enforce the Decent Work Agenda, especially when the workers are willing and accept working standards below the requirements of decent work • The un-employability of job seekers due to lack of education and skills, experience, confidence and the required working culture in most multilateral organizations • The increasing role of the informal sector in economic growth, most of whose participants are unaware of the decent work agenda

12. 5.0 The challenges in mainstreaming DW into poverty eradication….. • The private sector, that is supposed to be leading in economic development is not being very keen on human resource development, and investments in cross cutting issues whose benefits are not directly related to short term profits • Workers’ organizations being weak in dialogue, not only with the Government in policy formulation processes but also in negotiations with employers’ organizations. The tripartite negotiation relationships are in most cases not in favor of workers.

13. 6.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS • Decent Work Agenda is important and very instrumental in achieving the poverty eradication targets • As advocated by ILO, the application of the Decent Work Agenda require to be domesticated depending on the level of economic development a country has and on its priorities • The capacity of the private sector that is supposed to take the lead in economic development has to be enhanced. Governments should deliberately have policies aimed at facilitating the private sector • Joint efforts of all stakeholders (Governments, Workers, employers, Development Partners, NGOs, International Organizations) are necessary to succeed in the process of mainstreaming DW into Poverty Eradication Policies

14. 6.0 Conclusions and recommendations ….. • Deliberate efforts should be taken to enhance active participation and improve the negotiation ability of workers’ organizations, that should play a role of ensuring Decent Work Agenda is applicable at work places. • Development of cooperative societies, that are based on group empowerment of its members should be encouraged as a means of enhancing dialogue, source of credit facilities in rural areas (SACCOS) and a way of assuring the availability of important agricultural inputs and access to markets • Youth unemployment problem should be viewed as a Time Bomb in many developing countries that need special attention. The YEN and YES require support and their deliberations to be implemented • Gender, HIV/AIDS, Environmental concerns and other Cross Cutting issues must be taken on board during the mainstreaming process to ensure sustainability

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