ILO Resolution Concerning Youth Employment Young Workers – Makers of Tomorrow’s Unions December 4, 2006 Evelin Toth Mucciacciaro Programme for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) ITC-ILO

Tripartism: Strength of ILO n “Tripartite System” means: –representatives of workers and employers participate on an equal footing with governments in all discussions and decision-making process. –179 member states of the ILO (2006)

ILOILO Employers ACT/EMP Workers ACTRAV Governments Tripartite structure of ILO

Tripartism: How does it works? Active Interaction in order to seek joint solutions Partners must be willing to reach, and respect, agreements Partners must be committed, competent and active

International Labour Conference n International parliament of labour n Meets every year for 3 weeks in June in Geneva n Each member state is represented by 4-member tripartite delegation: 2 government, 1 employer and 1 worker delegates as well as delegate substitutes and technical advisors

Role of ILC n Establish and adopt minimum international labour standards in the form of Conventions (187) and Recommendations (198) n Supervise application of Conventions and Recommendations at the national level based on reports n Adopt resolutions that provide guidelines for the ILO’s general policy and future activities

ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION CONCERNING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT n ILC, Tripartite Youth Employment Committee – discussion based on report YOUTH: PATHWAYS TO DECENT WORK n Workers’ Group meetings (every member can take the floor) n Employers’ Group meetings n Governments’ Group meetings n Tripartite meetings – Plenary of Committee (T & E have a spokesperson, G can speak individually or by groups of countries) n Tripartite Drafting Committee (work on the text, amendments) n Plenary of International Labour Conference – adoption of agreed text n A part of ILO rights-based campaign for youth

Recognition of the role of youth n Young women and men are among the world’s greatest assets n Young people bring energy, talent and creativity to economies and create the foundations for future development

Facts on Youth Employment n Young women and men are only one quarter of the world’s working population but they make up half of the world’s unemployed n 1 out of 3 youth in the world is either seeking but unable to find work (unemployed), has given up on the job search entirely (discouraged) or is working but is still living below 2$ a day poverty line (working poor)

Facts on Youth Employment n EU has more than 4.3 mil. unemployed young women and men; n 7% of adults compared to more than 18% of the young lack jobs in the European Union n One third of young people were working under temporary contracts in the EU in 2004 compared to 11% of adults

Issues and Challenges n Slowing global employment growth and increasing unemployment, underemployment and disillusionment have hit young people the hardest n Today young people are faced with a growing deficit of decent work opportunities and high levels of economic and social uncertainty n Youth in twilight zone of undeclared work Vulnerable position of youth on the labour market summarised in the 5 th paragraph of the Resolution

Policies and programmes for decent work for young people EMPLOYMENT POLICY n There is an urgent need to prioritize employment in decision-making; n Investment in HRD must be at the heart of national employment strategies with a special emphasis on decent work as our global and national guiding principle ; n National youth policies must specifically contribute to increased employment opportunities for the young and their improved employability n Target sectors with strong potential for youth employment such as IT and services

Transition from Education to Labour Market n Employment is linked to education and quality of skills that have to match labour market needs; n Promote on-the-job training and vocational schools n National education systems must give young people better career guidance and more information about the labour market (quantity and quality of jobs in demand)

ILO plan of action to promote pathways to decent work for youth I. BUILDING KNOWLEDGE II. ADVOCACY AND THE PROMOTION OF DECENT WORK FOR YOUTH III. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE n research, gathering data, country studies, share best-practice experiences; n campaign to promote the Resolution; n working directly with workers and employers in the development of tool kits to assist governments, W and E organisations to promote awareness of their rights and responsibilities for decent work

ILO will 1.Give policy advice to policy makers and social partners 2.Help governments develop and implement strategies that give young people a real chance to find decent and productive work 3.Enhance capacity of employers’ and workers’ organizations to effectively participate in the setting of policies and programmes in favour of youth employment; 4.Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of workers’ and employers’ organizations to reach out and engage young workers and their employers to ensure that their specific needs are taken into account in social dialogue processes, including collective bargaining 5.Emphasize that ILS and rights deriving from labour laws and collective agreements should apply to all young workers 6.Promote expansion of YEN

What can trade unions do? n Reach out to young people and organise them taking into account different factors such as, economic competition, technological change, new form of business organization and employment relationships n Hire young professionals – young talking to young n Give them space in trade union decision-making bodies n Take young workers’ issues on board n Propose innovative changes in trade union work n Co-operate with schools and youth NGOs on awareness-raising about labour rights (freedom of association, right to bargain collectively, ILS)

Suggested readings n n ILO Report: Youth: Pathways to Decent Work, 2005 n n Resolution Concerning Youth Employment, 2005 n n ILO Report: Global Employment Trends for Youth, 2006 n Youth Employment: A Global Goal, a National Challenge

Thank you! Programme for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV)