MAINSTREAMING DECENT WORK INTO
POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES
presented by
Ladis Columban Komba (Phd)
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth
Development, Tanzania
At the International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty, held at UN
Headquarters, New York, USA 15th – 16th November 2006
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OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
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INTRODUCTION
THE DECENT WORK AGENDA
POVERTY ERADICATION: WHAT IT ENTAILS
THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM: THE
CASE OF TANZANIA
THE CHALLENGES IN MAINSTREAMING DW
INTO POVERTY ERADICATION POLICIES
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
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There is a strong link between the unemployment
problem and poverty levels ( a vicious circle)
Income – market size – investment levels –
employment
Lack of unemployment benefit packages in most
developing countries worsens the situation
Thus: Efforts aimed at poverty eradication must
include employment creation strategies
The principal Route out of poverty is (decent) work
(Juan Somavia – DG ILO, 2003)
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2.0 THE DECENT WORK AGENDA
As advocated by ILO the DWA strives for economic
growth with equity through a coherent blend of social
and economic goals. The Agenda has four elements:
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Employment – the principal route out of poverty is productive
work
Rights – necessary to empower men and women to escape from
poverty
Protection – social protection safeguards against poverty
Dialogue – participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations
in shaping government policy for poverty reduction is key to
success
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3.0 POVERTY ERADICATION:
WHAT IT ENTAILS
Enhancing access to basic needs
a fight against hunger, provision of health services, basic
education and skills, decent shelter and basic utilities (water,
electricity, communication)
Increasing income levels of the people
through increasing opportunities for decent work, access to
financial services and profitable markets
Mainstreaming cross cutting issues
for sustainability, gender, environmental concerns and the
HIV/AIDS must be mainstreamed into poverty eradication
programs
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3.0 Poverty Eradication: what it
entails …..
Improving agricultural productivity
due to the dominance of the sector in most poor countries, a
bigger impact would be realized by focusing on it
Enhancing investments in Industries
as a means of absorbing excess labor force from the agricultural
sector, minimizing the dependence on imports and enhancing the
market for agricultural produce. In any case, due to being more
formal, the sector is more compatible with the decent work
agenda.
Empowering the private sector
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to take the lead as most Governments withdraw from active
production and business undertakings following developmental
reforms
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4.0 THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM:
THE CASE OF TANZANIA
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According to the integrated Labor Force Survey of
2000/01, out of a total population of 32.8 million
people, the labor force was 17.8 million. Of these 2.3
million or 12.9% were unemployed
The rate of unemployment was more among youth with
14.3% and among women with 14.2%, compared to
men with 11.6%
The situation was worse in towns and cities with 32%,
compared to 8% in rural areas. Lower rates in rural
areas are accounted for by Agriculture which employed
82.1% of the labor force.
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4.0 The Unemployment Problem:
The case of Tanzania ……
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Causes of the problem
Major causes mentioned include globalization, technological
improvements, low capacity of the private sector to create
employment, economic growth rate not coping with the
population growth rate (2.9%), (700,000 enter the labor force
annually while formal employment opportunities are 40,000),
economic hardships and low quality of life in rural areas, child
labor and change in roles of women in employment, privatization
process, lack of access to credit facilities, lack of necessary
skills among jobseekers and shortage of entrepreneurial skills
necessary for self employment initiatives
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4.0 The Unemployment Problem:
The case of Tanzania ……
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Impacts of the problem
More significant impacts include increasing income poverty,
rural-urban migration that worsens the problem in towns, youth
being the mostly affected become victims of un-decent work and
potential criminals. Lack of proper education among working
children make them unemployable at later stages. All these may
have a negative impact on investments, and generally on
economic development
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4.0 The Unemployment Problem:
The case of Tanzania ……
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Government efforts in solving the problem
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Commitment at the highest level
Putting the unemployment Agenda (Decent Work) top in its plans in
PRSP and currently in National Strategy for Growth and Reduction
of Poverty (MKUKUTA)
Assisting the small entrepreneurs in accessing financial services
through various schemes of guarantees and direct financial support
Putting emphasis on training and skills development that generate
capacities for self employment especially among Youth
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5.0 THE CHALLENGES IN
MAINSTREAMING DW INTO
POVERTY ERADICATION
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Definition of Decent Work, and the priorities in a country. The
issue is whether what poor people need most is to have decent
work or just jobs that make them earn a living
The difficulty to enforce the Decent Work Agenda, especially
when the workers are willing and accept working standards
below the requirements of decent work
The un-employability of job seekers due to lack of education and
skills, experience, confidence and the required working culture in
most multilateral organizations
The increasing role of the informal sector in economic growth,
most of whose participants are unaware of the decent work
agenda
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5.0 The challenges in mainstreaming
DW into poverty eradication…..
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5.
The private sector, that is supposed to be leading in economic
development is not being very keen on human resource
development, and investments in cross cutting issues whose
benefits are not directly related to short term profits
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Workers’ organizations being weak in dialogue, not only with the
Government in policy formulation processes but also in
negotiations with employers’ organizations. The tripartite
negotiation relationships are in most cases not in favor of
workers.
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6.0 CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Decent Work Agenda is important and very instrumental in
achieving the poverty eradication targets
As advocated by ILO, the application of the Decent Work Agenda
require to be domesticated depending on the level of economic
development a country has and on its priorities
The capacity of the private sector that is supposed to take the lead
in economic development has to be enhanced. Governments
should deliberately have policies aimed at facilitating the private
sector
Joint efforts of all stakeholders (Governments, Workers,
employers, Development Partners, NGOs, International
Organizations) are necessary to succeed in the process of
mainstreaming DW into Poverty Eradication Policies
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6.0 Conclusions and
recommendations …..
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Deliberate efforts should be taken to enhance active participation and
improve the negotiation ability of workers’ organizations, that should play
a role of ensuring Decent Work Agenda is applicable at work places.
Development of cooperative societies, that are based on group
empowerment of its members should be encouraged as a means of
enhancing dialogue, source of credit facilities in rural areas (SACCOS)
and a way of assuring the availability of important agricultural inputs and
access to markets
Youth unemployment problem should be viewed as a Time Bomb in
many developing countries that need special attention. The YEN and YES
require support and their deliberations to be implemented
Gender, HIV/AIDS, Environmental concerns and other Cross Cutting
issues must be taken on board during the mainstreaming process to
ensure sustainability
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Thanks for your kind Attention
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