The International Labour Organization
1919-2009
ILO Strategic Policy Framework
2010-2015
The International Labour
Organization: Background
• Universal humane conditions of labour as an expression
of social justice and a condition for peace among nations
• Unique tripartite structure
• Mandated to realize the universal values of freedom,
human dignity, security and
non-discrimination in the world of work
• The contemporary expression of
the ILO’s vision and strategy is
the Decent Work Agenda
ILO Decent Work Agenda
• Centred on the organization’s key strategic objectives…
– Employment
• The principal route out of poverty is work
– Rights
• People in poverty need representation, participation and voice
– Protection
• Earning power is suppressed by
marginalization and lack
of support systems
– Dialogue
• The only way to solve
problems peacefully
Support for the Decent Work
Agenda
• The 2005 UN General Assembly
– “We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the
goals of full and productive employment and decent work for
all…a central objective of our relevant national and international
policies…”
Support for the Decent Work
Agenda
• Rising number of ratifications of ILO labour standards
– By the end of 2008 there were 1,306 ratifications of the eight
fundamental ILO Conventions
– Now at 150 short of the total potential ratification of the
fundamental Conventions by 182 member States,
or 89.7 per cent
– The total number of ratifications of all
Conventions reached 7,600 in 2008
Support for the Decent Work
Agenda
• Rise in contributions from donor nations to assist with
implementation of one or several dimensions of the Decent Work
Agenda in target countries
– Doubling of extra-budgetary resources over last seven years
• Increase in demand for ILO services
– Decent Work Country Programmes
– Urgent requests for assistance
that have arrived with the financial
and economic crisis
– UN Development Assistance
Frameworks and joint UN operation in
which ILO services and policies
are frequently referenced
The ILO’s Strategic Policy
Framework 2010-2015
• Envisioning an Organization assisting its constituents to seize, from
the standpoint of the world of work, the opportunities of
globalization and to confront its challenges
• Ensuring that ILO tripartite constituents are able, separately and
together, and as an
Organization, to advance
towards decent work and
humane conditions of labour for all
working women and men
The challenges of globalization
• Many countries and sectors face major income inequality
• Continuing high levels of unemployment and poverty
– Even before the present financial crisis, 2 in 5 workers still trapped in
informal, low-productivity activities yielding poverty incomes
• Vulnerability of economies to external shocks
• The growth of both unprotected
work and the informal economy,
which impacts on the
employment relationship
and the protections it
can offer
ILO Declaration on Social Justice
for a Fair Globalization
• In line with ILO strategic objectives and the Decent Work
Agenda, urges ILO to assist its Members in their efforts
to…
– Promote employment, skills development, sustainable
enterprises and economic growth
– Extend social security and other forms
of social protection
– Promote social dialogue and tripartism
– Respect, promote and realize
the fundamental principles
and rights at work
The Strategic Policy Framework:
Key ILO goals for 2015
• Be recognized as the premier forum for debate and
guidance on policies to bring about decent work
• Be the primary source of guidance for member States to
place full and productive employment and decent work
for all at the centre of economic and social policies
• Be an authoritative source of information, data,
knowledge and advice on decent work policies
in all their dimensions
The Strategic Policy Framework:
Key ILO goals for 2015
• Cooperate actively, directly and through common UN country
programmes with governments and with employers’ and workers’
organizations, assisting them to design and implement decent work
policies
• Cooperate closely with international organizations to achieve
convergence and coherence on major
policy orientations pertaining
to the world of work
• Be recognized for its key
contributions in making the
UN system an effective and
efficient development partner
The SPF by objective
• Strategic objective: Create greater opportunities for women and
men to secure decent employment and income
– More people have access to productive and decent employment
through inclusive job-rich growth
– Skills development increases the
employability of workers,
the competitiveness of enterprises,
and the inclusiveness of growth
– Sustainable enterprises create
productive and decent jobs
The SPF by objective
• Strategic objective: Enhance the coverage and
effectiveness of social protection for all
– More people have access to better managed and more genderequitable social security benefits
– Women and men have better and more equitable working
conditions
– Workers and enterprises benefit from improved
safety and health conditions at work
– More migrant workers are protected and have access to
productive employment and decent work
– The world of work responds effectively
to the HIV/AIDS epidemic
The SPF by objective
• Strategic objective: Strengthen tripartism and social
dialogue
– Employers and workers have strong, independent and
representative organizations
– Labour administrations apply up-to-date labour legislation and
provide effective services
– Tripartism and strengthened labour
market governance contribute
to effective social dialogue
and sound industrial relations
– A sector-specific approach
to decent work is applied
The SPF by objective
• Strategic objective: Promote and realize standards
and fundamental principles and rights at work
– The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is
widely known and exercised
– Child labour, forced labour and discrimination at work are
progressively eliminated
– International labour standards
are ratified and applied
The SPF by objective
• Additional outcome: Mainstreaming decent work
– Member States place an integrated approach to decent work at
the heart of their economic and social policies, supported by key
UN and other multilateral agencies
Strengthening the ILO’s
technical capacities
• Strengthening the knowledge base
– Results-based knowledge strategy to focus on four areas:
statistics, research, knowledge networks, and knowledge
dissemination
– Stronger statistical foundation and an
innovative approach to measuring
the multiple facets of decent work
Strengthening the ILO’s
technical capacities
• Building the capacity of ILO constituents
– Capacity development for workers’ and employers’ organizations
will include training and other capacity-building initiatives based
on needs assessments
– Develop tools and expertise for ministries of
labour or their equivalents to take a
comprehensive and integrated approach to
their main functions, from labour
administration to labour inspection and
employment services
Strengthening the ILO’s
technical capacities
• Building the capacity of ILO constituents
– Work within the context of UN Development Assistance
Framework and joint UN programmes
• Develop capacity in other government institutions
regarding specific economic sectors that play
a key role in delivering on DWCP results
• Strengthen capacity for effective tripartite
participation in UN country programmes
Strengthening the ILO’s
technical capacities
• Promote effective partnerships within the UN and
multilateral systems to strengthen ILO operational
programmes, activities and objectives
• Strengthen ILO technical support to
members by concentrating specialist
technical capacity in fewer
but larger decent work
technical support teams
Strengthening ILO governance,
management and support
• Effective and efficient utilization of all ILO resources
• Effective and efficient governance of the Organization
Summing up the SPF
• Building upon the historic mission of the ILO to promote
freedom, human dignity, security and non-discrimination
in the world of work
• Recognizing the inseparable, interrelated and mutually
supportive nature of the ILO’s key strategic objectives
• Supporting ILO constituents to address the opportunities
of globalization and to confront its challenges
• Revolving around the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda
• Setting forth an integrated approach to achieving results