| GB.267/ESP/1
267th Session November 1996 |
| Committee on Employment and Social Policy | ESP |
FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Progress on country-level follow-up activities
on the Social Summit in the field of employment
1. At its 265th Session (March 1996), the Governing Body considered a document on ILO action on country employment policy reviews(1) which provided details of the scope and purpose of an ILO initiative to undertake employment policy reviews at the country level, as well as the framework and the processes through which such reviews would be conducted. It may be recalled that the proposal to conduct comprehensive country employment policy reviews in a selected sample of countries during each biennium, with the full consent of the governments concerned and in partnership with the ILO's constituents, was raised and strongly supported at the Informal Tripartite Meeting at the Ministerial Level concerning Follow-up on the World Summit for Social Development, held during the International Labour Conference in June 1995.(2) The proposal was further discussed by the Governing Body's Committee on Employment and Social Policy at its 264th Session (November 1995), when it considered various possible activities for ILO follow-up on the Social Summit.(3) At its session in March 1996, the Governing Body called upon the Office to initiate the conduct of country-level employment reviews, and requested an account of current progress in that regard, which would focus on the processes and modalities being followed in respect of the country reviews currently under way, to be submitted to the Committee on Employment and Social Policy at its current session.
2. A concurrent development, with a close bearing on country-level follow-up activities on the Social Summit in the area of employment policy, needs to be noted. In the document presented to the Governing Body at its March 1996 Session, attention was drawn to the fact that, at the World Summit, the ILO was given the responsibility of playing a leading role in the field of employment generation, and was subsequently called upon by the United Nations Secretary-General to act as Coordinator of the ACC Task Force on Full Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods. The ACC Task Force has since held a round of meetings, under the chairmanship of the ILO. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the United Nations system in carrying out the mandate given at Copenhagen, the ACC Task Force decided to pursue a country-level policy review approach. Reviews will assess policies on employment and sustainable livelihoods, provide lessons gained from experience based largely on these reviews, and demonstrate the potential of the United Nations system working together to support an individual country's pursuit of policy alternatives towards full employment and sustainable livelihoods. Thus, not only were the mandate of the ACC Task Force and that of the ILO's own initiative on country-level follow-up on the Social Summit the same, but the framework and modalities of the two initiatives were also broadly similar. These include the full consent of the government of the country concerned; close tripartite consultation and participation of the ILO's constituents; thorough diagnosis of policies towards employment generation and sustainable livelihoods; a national seminar to discuss current and possible alternative policy reforms in respect of the goal of full employment; a consideration of recommendations on how the United Nations system, working together, can effectively render support in the implementation of the various policy reforms that a country may choose.
3. The ACC Task Force has approximately a one-year period within which to pursue the modalities mentioned above and complete selected country reviews. The ILO is thus charged with the responsibility of actively participating in and coordinating the review exercises, as well as with preparing a synthesis report largely based on the reviews. The synthesis report will provide the main lessons from country experiences, as well as innovative approaches and methods of collaboration by the United Nations system as a whole, to support national efforts in the field of employment generation. In consideration of these concurrent developments, and the relatively short time-frame, the Office has proceeded to conduct the country-level policy review exercises, in the first instance, within the framework and programme of the ACC Task Force.
4. The ACC Task Force agreed on a framework paper prepared by the ILO, and decided to carry out employment policy reviews in seven countries representative of countries in different regions, of different sizes and at different levels of development. It was further agreed that, while close collaboration and consultations would be maintained throughout the review exercise, the lead role would be assigned to different agencies. The following are the countries that the Task Force decided to review, with the lead agency responsible shown in parentheses: Chile (ILO); Hungary (ILO); Nepal (ILO); Indonesia (World Bank); Mozambique (UNESCO); Zambia (UNDP/ILO); and Morocco (UNDP). Thus, the ILO, apart from playing an overall coordinating role, also has a lead responsibility to conduct employment policy reviews in three countries, and a joint leadership responsibility in Zambia. The ILO also offered to provide support to the work of other agencies, should they make specific requests for an ILO contribution.
Progress in country employment policy reviews
Current status
5. The country employment policy reviews were initiated following the framework and the modalities set out in the Office paper submitted to the Governing Body at its session in March 1996 and the Framework Paper of the ACC Task Force. The following provides a brief country-by-country account of the progress made to date.
6. Given the extremely demanding time-frame, the ILO moved swiftly in initiating the review exercise in the three countries for which it was assigned the lead role. In Chile, the MDT based in Santiago approached the Government and received its consent to initiate the review during July. Consultations were subsequently held with ILO's tripartite partners, as well as with several representatives of the national-level United Nations agencies. The ILO's MDT convened two inter-agency meetings to discuss the processes of the review and to finalize the outlines it had prepared. Several agencies volunteered to contribute, in their respective areas of specialization, to the preparation of the review document. The Director and several members of the MDT, three officials from headquarters specializing in wages, special employment and income programmes and environment, as well as local consultants, are actively involved in the preparation of the report. The bulk of the work was expected to be carried out in October and November.
7. In Hungary, the Minister of Labour welcomed the ILO's review initiative in his country, and promised full cooperation in the venture. The MDT based in Budapest prepared an outline of the country employment policy review based on the ACC Task Force Framework Paper. This was presented at a meeting of the Hungarian National Tripartite Council for Reconciliation of Interests (NCRI) in July, with the participation of key members from among the social partners. The NCRI invited the ILO, which was represented by the Director of the Employment and Training Department, and the Director and members of ILO/CEET. Key representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the trade unions and the employers' organizations spoke at the NCRI meeting, fully endorsing and supporting the ILO review. The review then gathered momentum, and several members of the MDT, in collaboration with a number of local and international consultants, began preparation of the report. ILO/CEET is in constant consultation with a tripartite contact group set up by the Hungarian constituents for their guidance and active involvement in the exercise. First contacts were established with the Resident Representatives of the IMF and the World Bank in Hungary, who promised full cooperation. No other United Nations agency, except UNHCR, FAO and IOM, has at present a local representative in Hungary.
8. In Nepal, the Government has expressed keen interest in and support for the ILO's employment policy review. The MDT based in New Delhi (ILO/SAAT) and the Office of the Senior ILO Adviser based in Kathmandu undertook a series of initial consultations with the government ministries and agencies, social partners, researchers and representatives of the United Nations system in Kathmandu. The basic purpose of these consultations was to familiarize them with the purpose and scope of the country review, and to solicit their cooperation and involvement in accomplishing this important task. Further missions have been undertaken to hold technical consultations with the ministries and agencies concerned and to engage local consultants to carry out initial groundwork. This is deemed particularly crucial in view of the paucity of relevant recent statistics on key indicators that are of crucial importance for the country review. The Director and members of the MDT, an international expert and at least one headquarters official are expected to be actively involved in the preparation of the report on Nepal. The United Nations system, at the country level, is fully supportive of the review, and the UNDP has designated one of its officials to liaise closely with the ILO in the exercise.
9. Apart from the three country reviews mentioned above, the ILO is playing a joint leadership role in the country review in Zambia, where the designated lead agency is the UNDP. The Director of the ILO Area Office in Lusaka contacted the Government and the social partners, who supported the activity. The UNDP sent a representative on an exploratory mission in August, joined by the Director of the MDT based in Harare (ILO/SAMAT), to discuss the objectives and nature of the country review and to seek the partnership of the Government, the social partners and representatives of civil bodies in carrying out the review. Local and international experts are being engaged, in consultation with the Government, and several members of ILO/SAMAT are taking part in the preparation of the report. At least one other United Nations agency, UNIDO, is expected to provide contributions to it. Given the lack of data on some essential indicators, the report is expected to involve a series of interviews with policy planners, social partners, representatives of NGOs and other civil bodies, as well as a rapid survey of micro-enterprises. The bulk of the review work was expected to be carried out during October and November.
10. In the other country reviews, the ILO is in close contact with the agencies that have the lead responsibility for carrying out the reviews. Apart from coordination, the ILO is providing necessary support as requested by those agencies. For instance, in Morocco, where UNDP is the lead agency, the Director and two members of the MDT in Dakar (OIT/EMANO) took part in a joint UNDP/ILO mission in early September. The mission sought, and received, the support of the Government and the social partners. The mission held consultations with various ministries, agencies, tripartite groups, researchers and NGOs in order to finalize the scope and framework of the review report. The UNDP requested the ILO to provide substantial input to the preparation of the report, especially with regard to the impact of macroeconomic policies on employment in general, and the informal sector in particular. In the case of Indonesia, where the World Bank is the designated lead agency, the ILO is expected to provide key input in the area of policies towards vulnerable groups in society and to work closely with the World Bank on the national seminars. In Mozambique, UNESCO is the agency with lead responsibility for the employment policy review. UNESCO approached the Government, explaining the terms of reference of the review exercise. It is seeking the full support of the Government, and the exercise is expected to start as soon as such support is received. UNESCO made contact with the local United Nations agencies and the ILO, and has approached the ILO for support in the exercise. The ILO has written to the Ministry of Labour in support of the exercise.
11. In initiating the review exercise in the countries for which it has been assigned the lead role, the ILO has undertaken to coordinate and articulate the activities at three levels. First and foremost, it has sought and received the consent of the governments concerned, which pledged full support and cooperation for the exercise. Consultations with representatives of workers' and employers' groups, various civil bodies, ministries and agencies of the government have been (and are continuously being) conducted in order to seek their support and cooperation in the review process. Secondly, the ILO has initiated the country reviews within the framework of its Active Partnership Policy. The involvement of the ILO's tripartite constituents is being articulated through the field structure -- the regional and area offices concerned -- and the multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), with active participation from headquarters. Primary responsibility for preparing the country review lies with the MDTs covering the respective countries. Finally, coordination at the inter-agency level is being conducted through regular meetings of the ACC Task Force, as well as through discussions, cooperation and active collaboration at the country level. The Task Force has already met four times this year.
Addressing the goal of full employment
12. In the country employment policy reviews mentioned above, the outline that was drawn up and discussed with the governments and the social partners was based on a common framework, prepared by the ILO and agreed upon by the members of the ACC Task Force. It may be recalled that the mandate of the exercise derives essentially from the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, in particular from the commitments made by the Heads of State with regard to promoting "the goal of full employment as a basic priority of our economic and social policies, and to enabling all men and women to attain secure and sustainable livelihoods through freely chosen productive employment and work". The Social Summit also recognized the need to encourage tripartite dialogue in policy-making, and called upon governments to safeguard and respect basic workers' rights, including the prohibition of forced and child labour, freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and non-discrimination in employment. The country outlines prepared underscores the significance of assessing a country's employment policies in the light of the commitment made at the Social Summit to the goal of full employment, with full respect for basic workers' rights. These dimensions will be duly integrated in the review exercise.
13. The employment policy reviews, as reflected in the outlines, are intended to be essentially country-specific, incorporating the policy priorities of individual countries towards the goal of full employment. Nevertheless, a set of common issues, whose relevance cuts across countries, are indicated in the review outlines. These include the need to assess:
- the current employment situation and the manner in which the objective of promoting employment is integrated in policy-making at the macroeconomic and sectoral levels;
- existing labour market policies and institutions and how far these are operating according to agreed rules and regulations to provide a stable framework for employment creation;
- the nature and effectiveness of social dialogue and the involvement of civil society in providing the basis for social stability and democratic policy-making;
- current measures, and the possible need for effective policies and measures to raise job quality, reduce discrimination and provide special support to the most vulnerable groups.
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14. The country reports, which are expected to be ready by November and early December, would contain a detailed treatment of the issues mentioned above, and recommendations concerning possible policy alternatives with regard to the goal of full employment. The drafts are also expected to contain recommendations on how the United Nations system can coordinate their support in the implementation of the policy choices adopted by the individual countries.
15. National tripartite seminars will be held in the countries being reviewed to discuss the issues and recommendations and achieve consensus on possible changes in the framework for employment policy. The seminars are expected to be attended, among others, by senior government policy-makers and representatives of workers and employers, national research institutions and international organizations. Firm dates for the seminars are yet to be agreed upon by the governments, but they are generally foreseen in December this year and January 1997. The country review reports will be finalized after incorporating the reactions and responses received at the national seminars.
16. A synthesis report will be prepared by the coordinating agency of the Task Force (ILO), drawing largely on the individual country reviews in order to provide the main lessons from country experiences and "best practices" to be followed in pursuing the objectives of full employment and sustainable livelihoods. It will also show how the United Nations system, acting together, can provide innovative approaches to working at the country level and supporting national efforts for the attainment of the objectives of full employment and sustainable livelihoods. The synthesis report is expected to be submitted to the ACC in April 1997.
17. The Committee will be kept duly informed of progress and developments in respect of the country employment policy reviews, and of the major conclusions emerging from these reviews.
Geneva, 8 October 1996.