1. ILO Overview ILO – Brunei Consultation 11 May 2011 Brunei
Wolfgang Schiefer
Head, Regional Unit for Partnerships
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Tel: (+66)
Decent Work for All ASIAN DECENT WORK DECADE

2. Content The ILO Decent Work Concept
ILO Asia - Pacific Regional Priorities
ILO Organizational Reform and Field Structure
Decent Work Country Programmes
South-South Partnerships

3. Decent Work – A Definition
Advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of:
freedom,
equity,
security, and
human dignity.

4. DECENT WORK AGENDA
Four inseparable, interrelated and mutually supportive strategic objectives
Employment
Creation and Enterprise Development
Standards and Rights at Work
Governance and Social Dialogue
Social Protection
Gender equality and non-discrimination as cross-cutting issues 4 4

5. Decent Work 1. Employment
Employment policies and economic analysis
> Including youth employment
Job creation and enterprise development
SME policies and programmes
Cooperatives
Microfinance
Corporate social responsibility
Skills and vocational training
> Including disability issues at work

6. Decent Work 2. Social Protection
Extending coverage of social security schemes
> Including protection in the informal economy
Improvement of employment & working conditions
> Including wages and minimum wage issues
Occupational safety and health – safe work
Safe, informed and well managed migration
HIV/AIDS prevention and services at the workplace

7. Decent Work 3. Standards and Rights
System of:
CONVENTIONS (binding once ratified; > 100 active)‏
RECOMMENDATIONS (non-binding guidance) and
CODES of PRACTICE, covering a wide range of labour and employment issues
 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work:
- Freedom of Association & the right to collective bargaining;
- Elimination of child labour;
- Elimination of forced labour;
- Elimination of discrimination in the workplace.

8. Decent Work 4. Social Dialogue
Strengthening tripartite institutions
Strengthening the social partners – workers’ and employers’ organisations
Knowledge sharing & capacity building for better representation and voice in decision making on decent work
Greater representation for trade unions and employers’ organisations in global debate

9. Decent Work and ILO AP Regional Priorities
Asian DW decade 2006 – 2015 priority clusters:
1. Increasing competitiveness, productivity and jobs
2. Improving labour market governance
3. Extending social protection
4. Eliminating child labour, creating opportunities for young people
5. Improved management of labour migration
APRM will review the progress and strategic direction
GJP as a tool for productive recovery and growthproductive centred on investments, employment and social protection 9

10. ILO Organizational Reform Operational Principles
Concentrate on critical mass of technical expertise
Stronger ILO presence in countries
New role of external offices
Streamline regional and HQS roles and HQS technical sectors
Mobilize ILO capacity in a flexible and time-bound manner 10

11. ILO ROAP Organizational Reform New Field Office Structure
Regional Office (BKK)
- Political, strategic and management decisions
- Policies and programmes coordination (including Partnerships)
- Implementation oversight
Country Offices (11 for 33 member States)
- Assist Members and support constituents to develop DWCP and activities
- UNDAF and UN cooperation
Decent Work and Technical Support Teams (BKK, Delhi)
- High-quality technical support to COs, information, analysis
- Implementation support to DWCPs 11

12. ILO Structure and Programme Main Features in AP
More and better DWCPs in the region (18+ countries)
Integrated outcome-based workplanning central in guiding Country Offices and Decent Work Teams
Improved implementation monitoring and targeting
Homogenous distribution across sectors
Improved Capacity to Deliver 12

13. A tool to promote Decent Work for All at the country level
What is a DWCP?
A tool to promote Decent Work for All at the country level
A limited number of results-based decent work Country Programme outcomes
A link between the priorities of:
the constituents,
the national development agenda
(iii) the ILO mandate
This session will cover
What DWCPs are
How they are different from the ILO’s former approach in countries
The six steps in developing a national DWCP
Some considerations as a DWCP takes shape
Along the way, need to underline that beyond the six step structure of a DWCP and some core principles there is no standard model that works identically in every member State
Possible questions – participant discussion points
Is anyone involved with a DWCP process now – or a Regional DWCP Support Group? Encourage them to bring in their own experiences throughout the session – especially to show the range of issues and ways of addressing them
To begin What is a Decent Work Country Programme?
A coherent approach that integrates much of the work of the ILO and partners to further the Decent Work Agenda in a specific country
A strategic plan that will often take place over a 4 to 6 year period
Organized with a focus on results – defined through a limited number of Country Programme priorities and Country Program outcomes
A DWCP expresses the best possible intersection between country characteristics and policies, constituent priorities and ILO objectives.
A DWCP engages the ILO office and national constituents (GB297/TC/1)
DWCP is not a constituent demand-driven exercise – has to centre on how best to focus efforts on decent work goals, including on standards and principles

14. DWCP- A country-owned process
The responsibility for achieving the Decent Work goals rests with the country
ILO supports constituents in achieving decent work goals
ILO’s efforts will focus on a small but strategic set of elements with the greatest potential for influence
‘Decent Work’ is an objective that properly belongs to constituents in each country based on the national situation and national commitments under ILO Conventions and standards.
ILO’s role is to help constituents create their own definitions of success, identify priorities and support them in creating strategies to achieve desired decent work outcomes
For example, if India and the constituents in that country agree that better workplace safety and health standards must be an objectives, they are likely to marshal their own (very large) budgets and expertise to achieve this.
That will also mean the use of ILO resources in those places most likely to lead to success
The ILO office director responsible for a country is also the DWCP manager for that country- S/he is accountable to the ILO for achievement of ILO outcomes
Possible questions – participant discussion points
If DWCPs are in place, any examples of improved constituent commitment to getting results to date?

15. DWCP- a tripartite process
Workers’ perspectives
Employers’
perspectives
ILO mandate
and capacity + +
DWCP
Government’s (various ministries)
perspectives
Ideal DWCP
Whose perspectives are in the DWCP?
Ideally the perspectives of all constituents – with all constituents coming together to identify ambitious Country Programme priorities that would move the Decent Work Agenda furthest, given their national situation
Looking for much more than the lowest common denominator
Also necessary to ensure that ILO global commitments are present, which are indicated by the two small boxes with + signs in them
To get to that point, it may be necessary to strengthen constituent capacity and provide support to move the process forward – many ways of proceeding
A consensus on ambitious, results-oriented strategies designed to achieve compelling outcomes is best
However, if a consensus is not possible – no constituent has a veto either
Will come back to the priority-setting process later
Possible questions – participant discussion points
Will come back to this part of the process later

16. DWCP- six steps
So, DWCPs are important in guiding ILO actions and resource use – important in terms of ILO work with the rest of the UN system in a particular country – and an opportunity for constituents to guide ILO and UN system activities in their countries
Now, we will turn to the actual process of preparing a DWCP – as you can see there are six steps
Constituents’ involvement is important at all stages of the process
How a DWCP process begins depends significantly on the situation in a member State.
Sometimes ILO staff raise constituent awareness about DWCPs
Constituents themselves may seek out ILO support for the development of a DWCP.
Employers’ and workers’ relations specialists in ILO are important – can support workers’ and employers’ organizations to gain the capacity to participate effectively.

17. ILO DWCP Lessons Learned
- Sequenced approach
1. Country Analysis on DW situation and gaps
2. DW sensitization: CEB Toolkit on Employment and DW
3. Separate priority setting of constituents
4. Joint priority setting of constituents
5. DW programming
Importance of capacity building: process and RBM
Sound LMI is key
Build partnerships in time for implementation 17

18. Partnerships
Long-term partnerships with Asia-Pacific countries in Asia-Pacific under MOU agreements (AusAID, Japan, Korea)
Institutional Partnerships (ADB, ASEAN, ESCAP, UNDP)
Public private partnerships
South-South and Triangular Cooperation (part of ILO’s strategy to promote cooperation in the region)

19. South-South Cooperation
Can help in institution and capacity building
Exchange of knowledge, skills and technical expertise
Supports intraregional and interregional cooperation
>”Solutions are where the problem are”

20. South-South Cooperation
Asia-Pacific
Key instrument in promoting the Decent Work Agenda in Asia-Pacific
Part of the ILO’s strategy to promote partnerships between countries in the region
Triangular cooperation: cooperation among two or more developing countries, supported by developed countries or an international organization
Conducive environment:
- MICs in the Asia-Pacific region,
- Rapid economic growth in the region,
- integration processes (ASEAN).
Recent Global South-South Development Expo 2010 (hosted by the ILO in Geneva)
The Decent Work Agenda and South-South Cooperation are critical for sustainable and inclusive growth in LDCs and helping them achieve their MDGs 20

21. Thank you For more information, please contact: Wolfgang SCHIEFER
ASIAN DECENT WORK DECADE
Decent Work for All
Thank you
For more information, please contact: Wolfgang SCHIEFER
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Tel: , Fax: 21