World Café 1) Why are the two sites we visited good experiences in terms of environmental impact / decent work perspective? 2) Are there areas for improvements in terms of environmental impact / decent work perspective? 3) Transferability: to what extent would these experieinces work in your country, what would be the main challenges, what would need to be done differently? What would be the role of the unions?

GREEN JOBS IN THE WASTE SECTOR AN ILO PERSPECTIVE

“Recycling will become a green activity when it is formalized. In fact, organization of workers can turn waste management and recycling into a very significant opportunity for social inclusion and help improve working conditions, safety and health and earnings. One way to achieve this is for waste-picker cooperatives to be recognized by municipal authorities, as is demonstrated by a number of examples in Latin America”. ILC, Report V, “Sustainable development, decent work and green jobs”

The Brazilian case: green enterprise development through cooperatives In a country such as Brazil, where urban poor engage in waste recycling as an income source, the opportunity to join economic and environmental concerns with social inclusion and job creation has laid the foundation for an integrated approach toward the promotion of sustainable development. Policies and legislation have provided crucial incentives, regulation and enforcement in the promotion of green jobs within the recycling sector. de-lixo-no-brasil-e-importancia/

The ILO and cooperatives The ILO recognises cooperatives as important actors of the world of work because cooperatives, among other reasons: Participate in social dialogue processes Strengthen social actors giving voice to under-represented groups Promote a culture of negotiations and consultations Are more resilient to economic downturns Provide more and decent jobs and Promote the formalization of informal workers

In the Brazilian experience, a related set of incentives have been put in place to encourage recycling waste pickers toward collective organizations and forming cooperatives helps them to become commercially viable enterprises. Nevertheless, cooperatives differ in size, equipment in use, technical know-how, skills training, level of organisation and consequently have different levels of productivity and efficiency. The recognition that a high percentage of waste picker organizations were operating at low or very low levels of efficiency led the federal government to implement a series of policies destined to reverse this situation.

The National Solid Waste Policy Shared responsibility Acceleration in the recycling of recyclable materials Inclusion of recyclers in municipal recycling programmes Promotion of cooperatives Reverse logistical systems

Additional public policy measures from Brazil Programa Pró-Catador Cataforte Projects 1,2 and 3

Chile: Promoting green jobs and inclusion of informal waste pickers through social dialogue Chile’s waste management sector offers great potential for green job creation but is characterised by a lack of decent work conditions. Since 2010 the ILO has provided Chile technical assistance to design a public policy aimed at improving the social, economic and environmental inclusion of waste pickers.

A few facts about the sector… 7 million tons of municipal waste / year Each recycler contributes to 2-10 tons of recyclable materials on a monthly basis Waste recovery rate = 10%, with an 8,6% contribution by informal waste recyclers informal waste recyclers in Chile 60% of informal waste recyclers are women and more than 10% are children “Movimiento Nacional de Recicladores de Chile” brings together 27 associations of informal waste recyclers

Design of an inclusive recycling policy Establishment of an Inter-ministerial consultative group on informal waste recycling to define a national policy for inclusive waste management Policy designed in 2013 and designed again in 2015 after the change of Government. General and direct objectives Achievements and challenges

Questions for discussion Based on the case studies we have reviewed, please discuss at your table the following points: How green and decent are the jobs being created and/or transformed? Based on the case study, what can be applied into your company or country context? What are the policy gaps in this case study?

Scope for Green Jobs in the waste sector The growth of jobs in the waste sector is based upon a recognition that waste has Environmental value Economic value Social value

SOCIAL More decent jobs Improvement of socio-economic and health conditions Better earnings for waste management workers Development of skills Autonomy and self-confidence of waste worker population; empowerment Poverty reduction and human DevelopmentSOCIAL More decent jobs Improvement of socio-economic and health conditions Better earnings for waste management workers Development of skills Autonomy and self-confidence of waste worker population; empowerment Poverty reduction and human Development

ILO’s Objectives More jobs created in waste management and recycling, achieved by reaching consensus among all stakeholders and integrating informal sector workers into the process. The jobs created in this sector must comply with decent work standards to be referred to as green jobs. Existing jobs in waste management and recycling upgraded and improved throgh ILO’ technical assistance and expertise.

ILO’s focus and value added Creation of decent employment opportunities in the waste management and recycling sector Enhance social protection for formal and informal waste workers Social Dialogue Fundamental principles and rights at work Policy coherence