1. Pacific Growth & Employment Project Decent Work in the Pacific 16 th South Pacific Nurses Forum Melbourne Australia 19 th – 22 nd November 2012 Nick Blake, International Project Officer, Australian Council of Trade Unions.

2. A bit of history  Millennium Development Goals  Aust govt – ILO Partnership Agreement  Decent Work Agenda  Decent Work Country Programmes

3. Millennium Development Goals Set in 2000 to be met by 2015 1.Eradication of poverty and hunger 2.Universal primary education 3.Gender equality 4.Reducing Child mortality 5.Combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 6.Improving maternal health 7.Environmental sustainability 8.Global partnerships on development

4. Impact of the GFC in the Pacific Impact on Aid Impact on tourism Impact on labour migration/remittances

5. The Decent Work agenda Growing Youth Unemployment In PNG of the 80,000 young people leaving school each year only 10,000 enter the formal labour market In the Solomon's only one in 6 school leavers find formal employment. In 2009 it was estimated that youth unemployment rate was 75% In Vanuatu there are around 3500 young people leaving school each year and only 700 jobs available

6. The Decent Work agenda The Dignity of Decent Work Not just important that people have work, but that it’s decent work. Provides income, paves the way for broader social and economic advancement, strengthens individuals, their families and communities. A source of personal dignity, family stability, peace in the community, economic growth that expands opportunities for productive jobs and enterprise development.

7. The Decent Work agenda Is there decent work in the region? Virtually no collective bargaining outside PNG A number of countries lack national minimum wages and where they do exist they are often irregularly reviewed and poorly enforced High share of formal employment in the public sector and then falls away dramatically Public sector pay & conditions well above the private sector No social safety net – eg aged pension, sickness and accident benefits Often no maternity leave payments Low levels of education / training Old & irrelevant laws

8. The Decent Work agenda Create opportunities to secure decent employment and income Enhance coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all Governance, tripartism and social dialogue Standards and rights at work

9. Decent work programmes in the Pacific Island Countries Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) PNG, SOL, VAN, FIJI, KIR, TUV, SAM, RMI  Content varies from country to country based on their priorities.  Constituents are involved in the development of each DWCPs.

10. Decent work programmes underway Minimum Wages Laws Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands Reform of Labour Laws PNG, Vanuatu, Kiribati & Samoa Social protections eg ARL, Maternity Severance Vanuatu & the Solomon Islands Tackling the worst forms of child labour PNG and Fiji