© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO1 Impact of the Crisis on Decent Work and ILO Responses Yordanka Tzvetkova ITC of the ILO

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO2 The critical situation before the crisis Uneven development and distribution of wealth has cause-and-effect relationship with enormous decent work deficits before the financial and economic crisis High unemployment, working poor, informal employment, lack or inadequate social protection, fuel and food crisis that affected so many workers, particularly in developing countries The current crisis has further exacerbated the situation in both developing and developed countries

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO3 The jobs crisis is not over The economic outlook is more fragile than many commentators believe A return to the previous levels of unemployment will take a long time Fiscal stimulus should not be withdrawn prematurely Expenditure efforts should go to effective employment and social protection policies

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO4 Some increase in output..

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO5 But Unemployment rate (EU 27) still on the rise…

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO6 The ILO estimates that… Global unemployment could increase by up to 61 million unemployed people since the start of the crisis Vulnerable workers worldwide could increase by up to 108 million 222 million workers worldwide run the risk of slipping into extreme poverty Severe declines in GDP growth have resulted in reduced labour productivity The crisis impact will be particularly severe on youth

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO7 The ILO Global Jobs Pact The Global Jobs Pact is a framework for action and a roadmap to design employment, social protection and labour standard compliance measures and policies, as well as promoting social dialogue processes, based on the Decent Work Agenda, that can shorten the time between economic recovery and employment recovery and mitigate the effects of the crisis on workers and enterprises.

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO8 Why Social Dialogue and GJP matters in times of crisis? S.D: a significant factor in containing negative consequences of crisis Major disagreement: who pays the cost of the crisis The role of the state has been proved to be critical Most countries used Social Dialogue in the form of tripartite institutions, ad-hoc bodies, informal meetings, collective bargaining (various levels) Active tripartite consultation (Bel, NL, Nordic, Sl, Sp) Little or none Social Dialogue at national level (Gr, Ir) Social dialogue but.. what results? (Ro, the Baltics, Hu) Crisis and impact on SD.. Next challenge: Rethink existing measures; preparing for the exit from the crisis Budgets, socio-economic policies appropriate for the times, new sustainable jobs

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO9 G20 Summit – Pittsburgh 2009 Leaders of the G20 have welcomed the ILO Global Jobs Pact and committed “to implementing recovery plans that support decent work, help preserve employment and prioritize job growth.” “The current challenges do not provide an excuse to disregard or weaken internationally recognized labor standards.”

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO10 Employment measures Measures to maintain employment and facilitate job-to-job transitions (e.g. short-time working) Measures for the unemployed: Passive measures (changes to level and coverage of unemployment benefits) and active measures (job search assistance, subsidies for employers) Increased emphasis on training, re-training and up-skilling Training measures are frequently being targeted at vulnerable job seekers (e.g. young people in the UK and in Finland, low-skilled construction workers in Ireland, recent migrants in Norway) Government support: Bulgaria: 150,OOO people to be trained IT (Fund for employment and training) Germany, Federal State 2bill for Sweden: € 960 mill activation measures, including training, UK, “ALL under 25y” strategy BUT also, social benefits and minimum wages

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO11 Employability and collective bargaining Training has been part of a negotiated response to the crisis. For example, in 2007 Austria’s social partners developed a proposal for measures to improve employment opportunities for the unskilled, unemployed and young people. Agreements have been reached at sectoral level (e.g. in the French and Italian chemical sectors). Agreements have also been reached at company level.

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO12 Short-time working/partial unemployment State support for short-time working measures has been accompanied by provisions designed to encourage employers to provide additional training opportunities. In the Netherlands and Slovenia, employers are obliged to enable partially-unemployed workers to participate in training. Austrian employers are entitled to a training subsidy if they provide training courses for workers who are on short-time working. Germany: In cases where short time working is supplemented with training, the PES pays 100% of the social security contributions The Czech ‘Educate Yourself’ project compensates employers who provide training.

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO13 Young people Young people have been disproportionately affected by the crisis. The French government is offering a one-off payment of €1,000 (€2,000 in the case of ‘unskilled’ workers) to people under 26-years of age if they sign a contract to work and train (contrat de professionnalisation) in a small enterprise between April 2009 and June In 2009 the UK government launched a ‘Young Person’s Guarantee’ initiative which will, from January 2010, guarantee all year olds who are still NEET after 10 months a place in employment, education or training. Additional support for apprentices is widespread.

© International Training Centre of the ILO Training Centre of the ILO14 Conclusions The emphasis placed on training and other measures to improve employability has increased Policies have addressed the needs of specific groups (e.g. the young, migrants) There are signs of planning for future skill ‘needs’ Extension of entitlements and introduction of new entitlements.