Toolkit for

Mainstreaming
Employment
and Decent Work

Country Level Application

Copyright © International Labour Organization 2008
First edition 2008

Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright
Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition
that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publi-
cations (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The Interna-
tional Labour Office welcomes such applications.
Libraries, institutions and other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90
Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: cla@cla.co.uk], in the United
States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750
4470; email: info@copyright.com] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations,
may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose.

ILO

Toolkit for mainstreaming employment and decent work/United Nations System Chief Executives Board
for Coordination
Geneva, International Labour Office, First edition 2008

ISBN 978-92-2-121540-0 (print)

ISBN 978-92-2-121541-7 (web pdf)

United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination; International Labour Office
guide/decent work/promotion of employment/UN and specialized agencies/interagency cooperation/technical
cooperation. 13.01.1

ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data

The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the
presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Inter-
national Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or con-
cerning the delimitation of its frontiers.
The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their
authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions
expressed in them.
Reference to names of fi rms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the
International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not
a sign of disapproval.
ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct
from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of
new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: pubvente@ilo.org.

Formatted in Switzerland WEI

Printed in Switzerland ATA
 Contents

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Background to the Toolkit and its mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Decent work: Concept and strategic objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Purpose of the Toolkit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Components and structure of the Toolkit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Applying the Toolkit at country level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

COUNTRY LEVEL ASSESSMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Structure of the assessment checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Guidelines for country level assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

COUNTRY LEVEL CHECKLIST

A. EMPLOYMENT CREATION AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT . . . 12

A1. Promoting employment-rich and pro-poor economic growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
A2. Enhancing productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
A3. Promoting an enabling macroeconomic environment for jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
A4. Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A5. Promoting entrepreneurship and an enabling environment for enterprises . . . . . . . . 22
A6. Trade and employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
A7. Sectoral policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A8. Human resources development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
A9. Technology and employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
A10. Local economic development (LED) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A11. Labour market policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
A12. Incomes from employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A13. Youth employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A14. Crisis response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
A15. International migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
A16. Climate change, sustainable development and “green jobs” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
A17. Informal economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
A18. Agriculture and rural employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

B. SOCIAL PROTECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
B1. Social security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
B2. Safety in the workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B3. Health and work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B4. Fair conditions at work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
B5. Pension systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

iii
C. STANDARDS AND RIGHTS AT WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
C1. Fundamental principles and rights at work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
C2. Freedom of association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C3. Abolition of forced labour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
C4. Elimination of child labour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
C5. Non-discrimination and the promotion of equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
C6. Application of international labour standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

D. GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

D1. Promoting good governance: labour law and institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
D2. Strengthening and involving social partners and promoting social dialogue . . . . . . . 84

iv Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Introduction

Background to the Toolkit and its mandate

At the 2005 World Summit of the United Nations General Assembly, heads of State and Govern-
ment of more than 150 countries made a commitment to implement a wide-ranging international
agenda requiring global, regional and national action. In paragraph 47 of the 2005 World Summit
Outcome, they declared:

“We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the goals of full and productive
employment and decent work for all, including women and young people, a central objective
of our relevant national and international policies as well as our national development strat-
egies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part of our efforts to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals.” 1

This commitment was reaffirmed in July 2006 at the high-level segment of the substantive session
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on the theme of “Creating an
environment at the national and international levels conducive to generating full and productive
employment and decent work for all and its impact on sustainable development”. An ECOSOC
Ministerial Declaration 2 recognized the Decent Work Agenda as an important instrument for
achieving the objective of full and productive employment and decent work for all and resolved to
make that objective central to their relevant national and international policies and national devel-
opment strategies, as part of their efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals.
They consequently requested the whole multilateral system, including the Funds, Programmes
and Agencies of the United Nations system, and invited the International Financial Institutions,
including the World Trade Organization (WTO), to support efforts to mainstream the goals of full
and productive employment and decent work for all in their policies, programmes and activities.
In order to assist member agencies in this endeavour, the High Level Committee on Pro-
grammes (HLCP) of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
(CEB) asked the International Labour Organization (ILO) to take the lead in developing a Toolkit
for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work. The ILO, under the guidance of the HLCP
and in collaboration with interested agencies and consultation with all CEB member agencies,
drafted and revised the Toolkit. The CEB adopted the Toolkit at its April 2007 session. It expressed
appreciation for the inclusive approach taken in developing the Toolkit and considered that the
methodology “could usefully be replicated in other areas, as an integral part of the effort to advance
policy coherence within the system and to find practical ways for the system’s support to countries
to derive concrete benefit from such enhanced coherence”.
Further endorsement of the Toolkit came in July 2007 when the coordination segment of
ECOSOC examined the operational implications of its Ministerial Declaration of 2006 and
emphasized that the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all ““require a
multidimensional focus that incorporates Governments, the private sector, civil society organiza-
tions, representatives of employers and workers, international organizations and, in particular, the
agencies of the United Nations system and the international financial institutions”.3 The ECOSOC

1 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/1 of 16 September 2005.

2 Report of the United Nations Economic and Social Council for 2006 (A/61/3).
3 Resolutions 2007/2 The role of the United Nations system in providing full and productive employment and decent
work for all E/2007/INF/2/Add.1

v
Resolution calls on all relevant agencies of the UN “to collaborate in using, adapting and evaluating
the application of the Toolkit”; “to develop, with the assistance of the ILO, mechanisms to share
their pertinent expertise on the employment and decent work agenda and to assess the impact of
relevant policies and programmes on employment and decent work for all, with special attention to
women and youth”; and “promote, in close cooperation with the ILO a greater awareness and under-
standing of, with a view to better implementing the decent work agenda, including its four objec-
tives”. It also calls for each agency to formulate and implement its own action plan and to establish
by the end of 2009 a system-wide action plan for the period 2010-2015 to promote employment
and decent work.
In February 2008, the United Nations Commission for Social Development also adopted a
Resolution on promoting full employment and decent work for all that reaffirmed that “there
is an urgent need to create an environment at the national and international levels that is condu-
cive to the attainment of full and productive employment and decent work for all as a foundation
for sustainable development and that an environment that supports investment, growth and entre-
preneurship is essential to the creation of new job opportunities, and also reaffirms that opportuni-
ties for men and women to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and
human dignity are essential to ensuring the eradication of hunger and poverty, the improvement of
economic and social well-being for all, the achievement of sustained economic growth and sustain-
able development of all nations and a fully inclusive and equitable globalization”.4
That full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young
people, is the most effective route out of poverty has been confi rmed with the adoption of a
new target (1.B) under the Millennium Development Goal 1, which is to halve the propor-
tion of people living on less than US$1 a day by 2015. There are four indicators for this new
target: (i) employment-to-population ratios; (ii) proportion of own-account (self-employed) and
contributing family workers in total employment (vulnerable employment); (iii) proportion of
employed people living below US$1 per day (working poor); and (iv) growth rate of GDP per
person employed (labour productivity). The indicators are meant to be disaggregated by sex and
urban/rural areas.

Decent work: concept and strategic objectives

Decent work is defined by the ILO and endorsed by the international community as productive
work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Decent
work involves opportunities for work that: is productive and delivers a fair income; provides security
in the workplace and social protection for workers and their families; offers prospects for personal
development and encourages social integration; gives people the freedom to express their concerns,
to organize and to participate in decisions that affect their lives; and guarantees equal opportuni-
ties and equal treatment for all.
Work is central to people’s well-being. In addition to providing income, work can pave the
way for broader economic and social advancement, strengthening individuals, their families and
communities. Work is a source of personal dignity, family stability, peace in the community,

4 United Nations Commission for Social Development, E/CN.5/2008/L.8

vi Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
democracies that deliver for people. Decent work is indispensable to efforts to reduce poverty
and a means for achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development in all countries,
developing and developed.
The world needs more and better jobs, especially in societies suffering from widespread poverty,
and these jobs must have the quality of sustainability. Decent work for sustainable development
means that in social terms, such jobs must be open to all equally and the related rewards have to
be equitable. Inequality and discrimination provoke frustration and anger, and they are a recipe for
social dislocation and political instability. Extending opportunities for decent work to more people
is a crucial element in making globalization more inclusive and fair. In economic terms, jobs have to
be productive and able to compete in a competitive market. And environmentally, they must involve
the use of natural resources in ways that conserve the planet for future generations, while being safe
for working women and men and for the community.
Unfortunately, the world is facing a number of decent work “deficits”. Despite an increase
of more than 45 million new jobs, a total of 189.9 million persons worldwide were unemployed in
2007, and five out of ten people are in jobs that leave them vulnerable to poverty and risks such as
low or insecure earnings, dangerous working conditions and lack of health insurance. Some 487
million workers in the world do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the
US$1 a day poverty line and 1.3 billion workers and their families still live on less than US$2 a
day.5 The gender gap persists, with 49.1 per cent of women of working age employed in 2007 as
compared to 74.3 per cent of men. Many workers are denied their fundamental rights, importantly,
freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. They are vulnerable to exploitation
and discrimination, lack representation and voice, and have inadequate protection from income loss
during injury, sickness, disability or old age. Global economic turbulence could mean that these
decent work deficits will become more serious. For 2008, economic turbulence largely due to credit
market turmoil and rising oil and food prices could spur an increase in global unemployment by an
estimated 5 million persons.6
To address these deficits and to place full and productive employment and decent work at the
centre of economic and social policies, the Decent Work Agenda has four equally important stra-
tegic objectives as part of a balanced and integrated approach. The four pillars of the Decent Work
Agenda which are inseparable, interrelated and mutually supportive are:7
䡵 Promoting employment by creating a sustainable institutional and economic environment in
which:
– Individuals can develop and update the necessary capacities and skills they need to enable
them to be productively occupied for their personal fulfi lment and the common well-
being;
– All enterprises, public or private, are sustainable to enable growth and the generation of
greater employment and income opportunities and prospects for all; and
– Societies can achieve their goals of economic development, good living standards and social
progress.

5 ILO, Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM), 5th Edition (Geneva, ILO, 2007).
6 ILO, Global Employment Trends January 2008 (Geneva, ILO, 2008).
7 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, International Labour Conference 97th Session,
Geneva 2008.

Introduction vii
䡵 Developing and enhancing measures of social protection – social security and labour protec-
tion – which are sustainable and adapted to national circumstances, including:
– The extension of social security to all, including measures to provide basic income to all
in need of such protection, and adapting its scope and coverage to meet the new needs
and uncertainties generated by the rapidity of technological, societal, demographic and
economic changes;
– Healthy and safe working conditions; and
– Policies in regard to wages and earnings, hours and other conditions of work, designed to
ensure a just share of the fruits of progress to all and a minimum living wage to all employed
and in need of such protection.
䡵 Promoting social dialogue and tripartism as the most appropriate methods for:
– Adapting the implementation of the strategic objectives to the needs and circumstances of
each country;
– Translating economic development into social progress, and social progress into economic
development;
– Facilitating consensus building on relevant national and international policies that impact
on employment and decent work strategies and programmes; and
– Making labour law and institutions effective, including in respect of the recognition of the
employment relationship, the promotion of good industrial relations and the building of
effective labour inspection systems.
䡵 Respecting, promoting and realizing the fundamental principles and rights at work, which are
of particular significance, as both rights and enabling conditions that are necessary for the full
realization of all the strategic objectives, noting:
– That freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bar-
gaining are particularly important to enable the attainment of the four strategic objectives;
and
– That the violation of fundamental principles and rights at work cannot be invoked or oth-
erwise used as a legitimate comparative advantage and that labour standards should not be
used for protectionist trade purposes.

Purpose of the Toolkit

Mandated by and conceived as an integral part of an inter-agency process (through the CEB) and
an inter-governmental process (through ECOSOC), the aims of the Toolkit are to:
䡵 Serve as a “lens” that users can look through to see how their policies, strategies, programmes
and activities are interlinked with employment and decent work outcomes and how they can
enhance these outcomes, including through action plans;
䡵 Promote knowledge management and sharing of tools for mainstreaming employment and
decent work. A Toolkit interactive website enables users to contribute to and make use of
existing knowledge and policy and operational tools, to identify knowledge gaps and to col-
laborate to develop and test new tools to fi ll these gaps;

viii Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
䡵 Raise awareness and develop capacity, including through training, so that multilateral agen-
cies, the international development community, national constituents and civil society better
understand and are able to implement more effectively the Decent Work Agenda; and
䡵 Branch out at country level and assist the UN Country Teams, national constituents and
stakeholders and other development partners to mainstream employment and decent work in
national development frameworks and, thereby, promoting policy coherence and programme
convergence and also contributing to the UN reform goal of “delivering as one”.

Components and structure of the Toolkit

To meet the above objectives, the Toolkit has several main components that are being developed and
implemented through an inclusive, participatory process. As such, the Toolkit can be considered as
a process rather than a finished product. The Toolkit components are:
䡵 A diagnostic and awareness raising checklist of questions for self-assessment. The check-
list is structured in sections to reflect the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda; the sections
are not separate but form part of an integrated approach. The checklist is indicative of the
types of questions that any institutional actor in the economic and social field – in particular a
multilateral agency – may ask itself to assess and optimize the impact of its policies, strategies,
programmes and activities on employment and decent work. The results of the self-assessment
would be useful for developing action plans and having baselines for measuring and reporting
on progress in mainstreaming employment and decent work;
䡵 An interactive website (http://cebtoolkit.ilo.org) for knowledge management and sharing
of the tools for mainstreaming employment and decent work. The platform offers tools
contributed by agencies or national stakeholders. The tools can be how-to tools, knowledge-
based tools and good practices and lessons learned from different countries and regions of the
world. Users are able to post their tools, access the tools of others in the knowledge-sharing
network, provide feedback, identify knowledge gaps and set up e-forums to collaborate with
others to develop and test new tools for specific fields of intended application;
䡵 A capacity building and awareness raising component which will have training and advo-
cacy materials and arrangements to enable multilateral agencies, constituents, the international
development community and civil society to better understand and be able to implement more
effectively the Decent Work Agenda;
䡵 Country level application of the Toolkit. The checklist for self-assessment was first prepared
for institutional use by member agencies of the CEB. This current document presents a check-
list adapted for use at the national level.

Introduction ix
Applying the Toolkit at country level

At country level, the Toolkit approach can be used by:

䡵 The UN Country Team (UNCT), collectively and as individual agencies, to:
– Assess how the development assistance/ programming framework, such as the United
Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
(PRSPs) or One UN Programme, impacts directly or indirectly on employment and decent
work outcomes and how to optimize these outcomes;
– Share knowledge, practical experience and lessons learned for promoting employment and
decent work;
– Determine strategic division of labour and strategic collaboration based on respect for
respective agency mandates and competencies, and promote coherent and mutually sup-
porting multidisciplinary and multisectoral approaches to effectively deliver as One UN on
employment and decent work; and
– Identify and have a practical basis for collaboration with a wide range of economic and
social actors, importantly the key actors in the world of work – Ministries of Labour and
employers’ and workers’ organizations, to achieve the shared and common goal of decent
work.
䡵 National stakeholders – government ministries, employers’ and workers’ organizations
and other development partners – to review the national development framework, such as a
country’s five-year or medium-term development plan, in terms of its impact and implications
for employment and decent work. The Toolkit can be used, for example, to promote coherence
of the policies of the different national actors so that the overall environment is conducive to
full and productive employment and decent work for all. The country’s development priorities
and framework would naturally determine the context and thrust of the work of the UNCT.

Member States at the 2007 ECOSOC session gave particular emphasis to the country level dimen-
sion of the Toolkit. The ECOSOC Resolution specifically:

“requests the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, including non-resi-
dent agencies, and invites the international financial institutions, as appropriate within their
existing mandates, to promote synergies and strategic collaboration, involving relevant stake-
holders, including Governments and representatives of employers and workers, for the formu-
lation and delivery of specific outcomes related to full and productive employment and decent
work goals at the country level in support of national strategies and programmes, including
the decent work country programmes driven by the International Labour Organization”.8

8 E/2007/L.14; http://www.un.org/ecosoc/julyhls/cs2007.shtml

x Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Country Level Assessment

Structure of the assessment checklist

The first step in national level application of the Toolkit is to take stock of how the national develop-
ment/programming framework affects employment and decent work in the country and where and
how improvements could be made. The Toolkit offers a diagnostic and awareness raising checklist
of questions for undertaking such an assessment or stock-taking exercise.
An earlier publication of the Toolkit1 provided a checklist for each agency in the multilateral
system to use at the institutional or global level to systematically determine for itself how its poli-
cies, programmes and activities are interlinked with employment and decent work outcomes. This
present document adapts the checklist specifically for use at the country level.
The checklist is divided into chapters, to reflect the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda, as
defined by the ILO and endorsed globally and by all countries and regions. Each chapter is assigned
a different colour to facilitate its identification (pink for employment creation and enterprise devel-
opment; green for social protection; yellow for standards and rights at work; and orange for gov-
ernance and social dialogue). Under each pillar are a number of sections to reflect the multifaceted,
complex and interlinked nature of employment and decent work goals and the wide range of policy
and programme areas that affect or are affected by employment and decent work.
The length of each chapter is not indicative of the weight given to a pillar of decent work.
Rather, certain key elements – a rights-based approach, social dialogue and the involvement of tri-
partite partners in devising policies and programmes – are mainstreamed into other parts of the
checklist. In the same vein, the checklist stresses not only the quantitative but also the qualitative
dimensions of work, and applies a “gender equality lens” throughout.
In order to raise awareness of the different dimensions of the Decent Work Agenda and to
facilitate the process of identifying the relationship between different policy areas and employment
and decent work, each section of the checklist is preceded by a brief introductory text.
It also includes three types of resource boxes – how-to tools, knowledge-based tools and good
practices and lessons learned from different countries and regions of the world – which can be fi lled
in by contributions from UNCT members and other economic and social actors.

Guidelines for country level assessment

The guidelines presented below are intended to assist the UN Country Team, collectively and as
individual agencies, to apply the Toolkit checklist as usefully and effectively as possible to deliver
on employment and decent work outcomes. Government ministries, employers’ or workers’ organi-
zations, other national stakeholders and development partners also may find the guidelines useful
for applying the checklist to better understand or to assess the direct and indirect impact of their
policies, programmes and activities on employment and decent work.

1 United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination, Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work
(Geneva, ILO, 2007).

1
1. Q&A on the country level assessment

Why should the UNCT apply the Toolkit checklist

to conduct a country level assessment?
So that a UNCT, collectively and as individual member agencies, can systematically take stock of
how to more effectively support a country to achieve national development priorities and meet inter-
national commitments relating to employment and decent work and, thereby, contribute also to the
achievement of the MDGs. Users can apply the Toolkit checklist to assess the joint national devel-
opment/programming framework (UNDAF, PRSP, One UN Programme of the One UN pilot
countries, or a country’s development plan) in terms of the impact on employment and decent work
and how to improve these outcomes; and how the policies, programmes and activities of individual
member agencies (the country programmes of the agencies, such as the Decent Work Country Pro-
gramme of the ILO) contribute to these outcomes.
The application of the Toolkit checklist at country level is not intended to be an external
audit. The aim is to have a truly useful internal exercise and practical approach that should enable
the UNCT member agencies and national constituents to work more efficiently and effectively
towards shared and common goals, including having a solid basis for identifying where there
should be strategic division of labour and where there should be strategic collaboration to achieve
the goals.

What does the country level assessment entail?

Ideally, application of the Toolkit checklist should be done at two levels: at one level, to review
the UNDAF, PRSP, One UN Programme or any other development framework which has been
jointly formulated, agreed to and endorsed by the entire UNCT together with the government
and national constituents; and at another level, to review the policies, programmes and activi-
ties of individual agencies in terms of how they are contributing to employment and decent work
outcomes within the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme and as part of an agency’s country
programme.
To use the Toolkit, the UNCT, collectively and as individual member agencies, or national
constituents may carry out the following steps:
i. Read the entire checklist to understand the integrated nature of the four pillars of the Decent
Work Agenda and the wide range of policy areas under each pillar that affect or are affected
by employment and decent work.
ii. Answer the questions in the Toolkit checklist. To tick Yes or No in the checklist boxes, the
answers should be based on objective criteria – so that the bases on which the assessment is
made are clear and can be used to develop proposals for improvements and to monitor subse-
quent progress. A list of objective elements is provided in the Section 2 below.
iii. Identify the various types of tools (explanations and examples of tools are provided in Section
3) available and that can be shared with others for promoting employment and decent work.
Identify also knowledge gaps and the need for new or better tools in specific fields of intended
application.
iv. Ensure close coordination and communications between the country office and the headquar-
ters of each agency on the Toolkit application, so as to share experiences and the results of the
assessments.

2 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
v. Prepare a report – that not only compiles the answers to the checklist but also provides infor-
mation useful for discussion within the UNCT and with a wider constituency to improve
employment and decent work outcomes.
vi. Identify practical measures for following up on the results of the assessment.

Do all the questions in the checklist need to be answered?

The diagnostic checklist in the Toolkit is broadly organized according to the four pillars of the
Decent Work Agenda, as defined and approved globally and by all countries and regions. Since these
pillars are not separate but integral parts of a coherent approach the checklist is not intended to be a
“pick and choose” option. To achieve the goals of full and productive employment and decent work,
all four pillars are strategic and need to be considered.
Of course, each country has its own priorities, and each agency within the UNCT has its own
mandate and, understandably, may find some sections of the checklist more relevant than others.
However, answering all the questions would enable the UNCT realistically to identify:
䡵 Firstly, the employment and decent work aspects which may be completely outside the UNDAF/
PRSP/One UN Programme and which are the responsibility of national constituents or other
development partners;
䡵 Secondly, the employment and decent work aspects where there are limited components in the
UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme, limited activities or different approaches than indi-
cated in the checklist; and
䡵 Thirdly and importantly, the areas in the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme where there
are opportunities to enrich or refine policies, programmes or activities by integrating employ-
ment and decent work implications and outcomes.

For the individual agencies, answering all the questions in the checklist would enable it to realisti-
cally identify: the areas where it has no mandate or capacity to act; the areas where it has limited
activities or different approaches; and, importantly, the areas where it is already engaged or may be
engaged or where it sees opportunities to strengthen its policies, programmes or activities by main-
streaming employment and decent work.
This should result in a full picture under all the strategic objectives of the Decent Work Agenda,
and should help to identify both opportunities for partnerships and synergies among different agen-
cies in the UNCT and where division of work is a more efficient and natural approach. Importantly
too, this should also help identify the wide range of economic and social actors – government agen-
cies, employers’ and workers’ organizations, researchers, the media, civil society organizations and
other development partners – that the agencies in the UNCT should consult and forge collabora-
tion with to effectively promote employment and decent work.

Who should conduct the country level assessment?

To apply the Toolkit checklist to review the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme, there should
be representatives of all agencies in the UNCT, ideally the head of agency together with program-
ming and technical staff covering different components of the programme. To use the checklist to
review its policies, programmes and activities, an agency may decide to form a team for the exercise
involving staff at both country and Headquarters level, which could then continue to spearhead its

Country Level Assessment 3

efforts to maximize employment and decent work outcomes. It is crucial that each agency ensures
proper coordination and communications between the country office and headquarters – so that
they can learn from the experience of conducting the self assessment and the results of the exercises
at institutional and field levels are shared.
It is essential that all those involved in using the Toolkit checklist should be well acquainted
with the Decent Work Agenda and the Toolkit itself. Before carrying out the exercise, an informa-
tion session could be organized with support from the ILO.

Can others use the Toolkit checklist?

The Toolkit checklist is both a self assessment and an awareness raising instrument. It can also be
used by national stakeholders – government agencies, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil
society organizations, parliamentarians, researchers – to better understand what affects the quantity
and quality of jobs in a country and to screen policies, programmes and activities in the economic
and social field or a country’s development plan to see how to promote policy coherence and pro-
gramme convergence towards the common goal of decent work for all.

How can the ILO assist?

In response to the CEB and ECOSOC, an ILO team has been set up to provide support and assist-
ance to agencies and constituents for the exercise. In addition to these guidelines, the ILO team is
ready to visit an agency or country to meet with the responsible staff, introduce the Toolkit, explain
and clarify the components and discuss appropriate forms of assistance or collaboration. The dif-
ferent forms of collaboration could be: (i) the UNCT or national stakeholders conduct the stock-
taking on their own but have access to assigned ILO team members who can be contacted by phone
or email for clarifications, assistance, advice; or (ii) the UNCT or an individual agency, government
ministry, employers’ or workers’ organization identifies which component of the Toolkit application
it would like direct assistance for, and an ILO team member(s) could undertake missions to collab-
orate at country level; or (iii) joint follow-up activities. ILO technical specialists already have many
collaborative activities with other members of the UN family and national constituents to promote
employment and decent work, in particular through the Decent Work Country Programmes.

2. The elements on which to base the country level assessment

The country level Toolkit checklist has a series of questions with Yes/No boxes for answers. To
meaningfully respond to these questions is not a simple question of a person just ticking the boxes.
The elements or criteria for answering have to be clearly identified, so that there are objective data
or indicators for establishing baselines, identifying key gaps and challenges, having realistic infor-
mation to (re)formulate or refine policies, programmes and activities and being able to monitor sub-
sequent progress.
The suggestion is that for each section of the checklist, the basis/criterion for answering “Yes”
to a particular question is specified, explained and the roles and responsibilities for delivering on
the outcomes are clearly identified (the lead agency, collaborating agencies and national partners).
Reasons may also be given for the “No” responses – these may indicate areas outside the UNDAF/
PRSP/One UN Programme or the country’s development plan or areas outside an agency’s man-

4 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
date or may identify areas for future action, including collaboration with national constituents, to
improve employment and decent work.
Possible objective criteria are listed below and brief explanations are provided to help illustrate
how users may determine, justify and explain answers. Some examples are provided of how these
elements could be used to define baselines and indicators for measuring progress in delivering on
employment and decent work outcomes:
䡵 The national development/programming framework: The UNDAF, PRSP, One UN Pro-
gramme or other national development strategy, such as the country’s medium-term devel-
opment plan, that has been formulated on a consultative basis and officially endorsed by the
government and national constituents is the clearest reference basis. The elements for assess-
ment could be specific components of the official framework documents.
䡵 The agency’s mandate: An agency’s constitution, mission statement, standards, declarations,
key policy goals make(s) specific reference to employment and decent work outcomes. The
agency may already be assigned specific responsibility, including within the UNDAF/PRSP/
One UN Programme for delivering on employment and decent work outcomes. The ILO’s
Decent Work Country Programme is an example. An indicator for measuring progress may be
that the agency spells out a clear strategy and implementation plan for achieving the relevant
mandate.
䡵 The programme and budget allocation: The UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme may have
earmarked resources specifically for employment and decent work related activities. An agency
may also have within its own budget made provision to promote employment and decent work –
providing direct funding (loans, grants, microfi nance) or it may be using donor/extra budg-
etary resources for projects or activities explicitly to promote employment and decent work. An
indicator of progress could be an increase in the percentage of resources in the UNDAF/PRSP/
One UN Programme or budgets of individual agencies devoted to employment and decent
work outcomes.
䡵 Directives or guidelines for the formulation, implementation, monitoring or evaluation
of policies, programmes or activities: The UNCT, collectively or as individual agencies, for
example, may have a compulsory directive that a country assessment must include a thorough
review of the labour market situation or that proposals for infrastructure investment projects
must include an assessment of the likely impact on job creation and job destruction or that
agricultural development programmes must guarantee non-use of child labour. An agency may
have a checklist for integrating core labour standards in country poverty analysis or opera-
tional guidelines for using labour-intensive techniques in crisis response or post-conflict situa-
tions. Or it could specify employment and decent work outcomes as conditionality in a bidding
process for projects, or include the impact on the quantity and quality of employment as part
of the evaluation of a policy, programme or activity. The UNCT or the government could also
include employment and decent work indicators in its reporting on progress to achieve the
MDGs. It should be noted that such directives or guidelines would be part of the tools the
agencies or national stakeholders have for promoting employment and decent work.
䡵 Directly targeted policies, programmes or activities: The development/ assistance frame-
work may have components that directly target employment and decent work. An agency may
have, for example, a training programme for staff or constituents on employment and labour
issues, a collaborative activity with employers’ and workers organizations to promote decent

Country Level Assessment 5

 work, or activities to eliminate child labour, facilitate the transition from school-to-work for
young women and men, protect the rights of migrant workers, establish micro and small enter-
prises, implement the code of practice on HIV/AIDS in the world of work. An agency may have
targeted procurement policies or may include labour clauses in public contracting. It may pro-
vide policy advice to the government on trade, foreign direct investments, taxation, etc. that is
employment-friendly.
䡵 Research and knowledge management: The UNCT, collectively or as individual agencies,
may have commissioned/conducted studies, surveys, desk reviews, community of practice or
held workshops, etc. as background for the national development/programming framework or
for improving the knowledge base on the links between policies, programmes and activities and
employment and decent work issues.
䡵 Data and statistics: The UNCT, collectively or as individual agencies, may regularly (specify
how often) collect quantitative and qualitative information on the labour market and employ-
ment and decent work situation in the country. An indicator of progress would be that data
are collected for an increasingly detailed list of decent work aspects and that such data are sys-
tematically used to inform policies, programmes and activities.
䡵 Awareness raising and advocacy: The UNCT, collectively or as individual agencies, may have
activities devoted to raising awareness of employment and decent work concerns, for example,
through flagship publications, media events, seminars, etc.

In applying these elements for the assessment at country level, the UNCT, collectively and as indi-
vidual agencies, or national constituents should take into account a number of important cross-cut-
ting considerations:
䡵 The type and level of application: It would obviously be important to indicate whether the
reference is to a major component of the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme or to only a
minor activity and whether the application is at national or local levels or for specific sectors
or target groups. It would also be important to note the type of policy, programme or activity
(for example, advisory services, loans, grants, training, research, infrastructure development,
etc.); and also to indicate the aspects of employment and decent work affected (for example,
income earned, gender equality promoted, youth unemployment reduced, security of employ-
ment enhanced, occupational safety and health improved, right to organize and bargain col-
lectively respected, etc.).
䡵 The time frame: It is obviously necessary to establish a cut-off time frame. Policies, programmes
and activities carried out by an agency more than five years ago may no longer be relevant or
useful. A time frame no more than the preceding three years and especially activities that are
still ongoing would be more appropriate. If an activity is planned for the future, the expected
starting date should be stated.
䡵 The gender dimensions: Policies, programmes and activities may differentially affect or may
not specifically address the often different needs and concerns of women and men, girls and
boys. Whether and how the UNCT, collectively and as individual agencies, takes into account
the gender dimensions in considering employment and labour issues should be clarified.
䡵 The target groups: The direct and indirect beneficiaries of policies, programmes and activities
should be noted. For example, does the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme target workers

6 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 in the informal economy or other vulnerable groups such as indigenous populations, child
labour, forced labour, youth or the elderly, workers with disabilities, migrant workers, etc.
䡵 Consultations and cooperation: Who was consulted and who is collaborating on the delivery
of components of the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme or the policies, programmes or
activities of an agency relating to employment and decent work – which government agen-
cies, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society organizations, non-UN development
partners, etc.? Which are the specific agencies tasked with responsibility for delivering on an
employment and decent work outcome?

3. Tools for mainstreaming employment and decent work

As a component of the country level assessment, the UNCT, collectively and as individual agencies,
should identify and evaluate the tools it has for improving employment and decent work outcomes
in its fields of competence in order to share these with other countries, agencies and national constit-
uents. The knowledge base will keep expanding over time, with inputs from across the multilateral
system and different countries and regions. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the commu-
nity of practice – to contribute tools and resources they currently have; to identify knowledge gaps
and suggest improvements to better achieve employment and decent work outcomes; and expand,
deepen and tailor the “toolbox” to specific fields of intended application.
There can be several different kinds of tools:
䡵 “How-to” tools: operational manuals, institutional directives, discretionary guidelines, Con-
ventions, Recommendations, Codes of Practice, training materials etc. on how to integrate
employment and decent work outcomes into development assistance frameworks and policies,
programmes and activities of agencies, how to promote entrepreneurship for women and youth,
how to promote employment-intensive local economic development, how to improve social pro-
tection for informal economy workers, how to conduct a gender audit, etc. There can also be
advocacy tools: media messages, promotional videos, educational and awareness raising mate-
rials such as on why mainstreaming employment and decent work is a win-win strategy or why
it is essential to involve ministries of labour and employers’ and workers’ organizations as key
actors in the world of work in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
activities to promote decent work.
䡵 Knowledge-based tools: policy briefs and research fi ndings such as on the impact of free
trade agreements or agricultural subsidies or energy efficiency policies on employment and
decent work; data and statistics on the labour market and indicators of decent work; evaluation
reports of programmes and projects that directly or indirectly impact on more and better jobs;
knowledge-sharing networks among institutions within the country and with other countries
(including a roster of experts and consultants by thematic and geographic specialization), etc.
䡵 Good practices and lessons learned: from policy and practical experience of what works,
what does not work, the factors that make for success or non-success, the scope for replication,
adaptation, scaling-up. “Good” practices can be assessed in terms of their innovation or crea-
tivity and their impact in terms of effectiveness, relevance or sustainability in mainstreaming
employment and decent work for all.
䡵 References and websites: for additional and more detailed information.

Country Level Assessment 7

4. Follow-up to the country level assessment:

Since the assessment is aimed at assisting the multilateral system to more effectively and efficiently
support countries to achieve employment and decent work goals, it is important to identify the
follow-up measures:
Reporting on the assessment: The UNCT, collectively and as individual agencies, may wish
to prepare a report of the assessment which could have the following information:
䡵 Background information: explaining how the country level assessment was conducted – how
did the UNCT organize itself, who (level of responsibility) was involved, the time frame, the
problems encountered and lessons learned.
䡵 The completed assessment checklist: It would be useful to report by sections for each of the
four chapters reflecting the four strategic pillars of the Decent Work Agenda, following the
structure of the Toolkit. For each section, analyze and summarize the results:
– Where the Yes boxes have been ticked, indicate the objective elements used for determining
that, for example, employment-rich and pro-poor employment growth has been promoted.
A number of criteria may be relevant and should all be explained;
– Make sure to include the cross-cutting information; for example, was gender mainstreamed,
were the social partners consulted;
– Where the No boxes have been ticked, identify the reasons why the development frame-
work or the policies, programmes or activities of an agency have not, for example, promoted
safety at the workplace or provided health benefits for informal economy workers. It is as
important to identify problems, gaps and challenges as it is to report successes – since these
should be the focus of action to improve employment and decent work outcomes. Similarly,
it is critical to identify the areas outside the mandate or capacity of an agency – since these
could help to define the division of work and possible collaboration with other agencies in
the UNCT and also with other national and international partners.
䡵 Annexes/additional information: It is also essential to have as part of the report:
– The completed checklist with all the Yes/No boxes ticked;
– A list of tools the UNCT may wish to post on the Toolkit interactive website;
– Documentation, website addresses, project codes and details, etc. to support the criteria used
in the assessment.

Follow-up measures: The UNCT, collectively and as individual agencies, may fruitfully use the
assessment to identify and follow up with a number of concrete measures:
䡵 Review, adjust or refi ne the UNDAF/PRSP/One UN Programme strategy, particularly in
terms of being able to take into account how policies, programmes or activities directly or
indirectly impact on employment and decent work outcomes;
䡵 Use the results to dialogue with the government, employers’ and workers’ organizations and
other national stakeholders on how to more effectively promote employment and decent work;
䡵 Clarify the division of responsibilities among agencies for more effectively delivering as one,
including identifying potentials for realistic collaboration among agencies and with national
constituents and other development partners;

8 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
䡵 Share results of the assessment with staff of each agency at country and headquarters levels and
discuss how best to be results-based and to work more effectively within the UNCT to support
the country to achieve its goals;
䡵 Identify knowledge gaps and tools and resources needed to meet specific application needs and
make suggestions for developing the tools and expanding the knowledge base;
䡵 Identify capacity building and advocacy needs relating to employment and decent work and
propose how to meet these needs.

Country Level Assessment 9

Country Level Checklist
 Employment Creation
and Enterprise Development

W ithout productive, decent and freely chosen employment the goals of decent living
standards, social and economic development and personal fulfi lment remain illu-
sory. Productive and decent employment is also the most effective route to poverty
eradication.
The critical problem in most countries is that employment creation has not kept pace
with economic growth. Employment elasticities (the percentage increase in employment
associated with a 1 percentage point increase in GDP growth) have been low. In recent
years, performance in economic growth has not been matched by performance in job
creation, and in the current context with economic growth rates falling and the financial
crisis and rising oil prices pushing the world into recession, the challenge of employment
creation is even greater.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the jobs deficit is its impact on young people;
without decent jobs we are in grave danger of letting down the Millennium generation. A
young person’s risk of being unemployed is at least three times higher than that of adults.
And it is still harder for young women to enter, compete and do well in the labour market,
even though they are often doing better than young men in the education system.
Open unemployment is only the “tip of the iceberg”. The more serious problem in
many countries is that of underemployment, which manifests itself in different forms
including workers involuntarily working less than full-time or taking jobs below their
educational qualifications or skills. Growing numbers of workers not able to gain access
to formal employment are ending up in the informal economy where work is done beyond
the reach of formal laws and enforcement mechanisms and which is of low productivity,
insecure, poorly remunerated and lacking social protection. The search for jobs has also
resulted in millions of workers, a growing proportion of whom are women, being on the
move – from rural to urban areas and across national borders. When people cannot find
work at home in their communities and societies, they look elsewhere. Labour migration
easily becomes a source of economic, social and political tensions, not to mention human
trafficking. Even when people have jobs today, their level of insecurity and uncertainty
has increased; they worry about being employed and able to feed their families tomorrow.
Without effective social protection schemes and social safety nets, most people cannot
afford to be openly unemployed. They have to work, and work very hard and long hours,
but in low-productivity and precarious jobs where they do not earn enough to support
themselves and their families – they are the “working poor”.
Unfortunately, many policy prescriptions do not view job creation as an explicit
objective of economic and social policies, but rather as a residual or hoped-for result of
these policies. What is needed is to abandon this practice of seeing full and productive

12 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
employment as an afterthought and, instead, to incorporate more explicitly employment
concerns and social dimensions in the policy formulation stage and in the evaluation of
policy choices.
A more holistic approach to policy coherence to promote more and better jobs should
also give specific attention to enterprise development and the promotion of sustainable
enterprises. Particularly in today’s context of financial crisis, a strategy for the promo-
tion of sustainable enterprises would help to ensure that private investment, especially by
smaller businesses, can play an important role in averting recession or stimulating a rapid
recovery if it occurs. Though large corporations have a major influence on employment,
in most countries it is small and medium-sized enterprises, including cooperatives that
account for a large and growing share of job creation. Measures to unlock the potential
of enterprises to create more and better jobs are, therefore, essential. Improved policies,
regulations, business training, access to fi nance and technologies, market development
and organization building would all support enterprise development and promote sus-
tainable enterprises. A policy, legal, judicial and financial framework that lowers the costs
of establishing and operating a business, including simplified registration and licensing
procedures, appropriate rules and regulations including for securing property rights, and
reasonable and fair taxation will help new entrepreneurs to start in the formal economy
and existing informal businesses to enter it. An environment conducive to the growth
or transformation of enterprises on a sustainable basis should combine the legitimate
quest for profit – a key driver of economic growth – with the need for development that
respects human dignity, environmental sustainability and decent work.

More information and tools can be found at:

http://cebtoolkit.ilo.org/themes/employment-creation-and-enterprise-development

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 13

A1. Promoting employment-rich
and pro-poor economic growth

All international agencies, even those that do not deal directly with economic
and fi nancial issues, are expected to contribute, or at least not to undermine, a
country’s economic growth. The problem many countries face is that economic
growth does not necessarily translate into more and better jobs, especially for the
poor and excluded.
Indicators that measure the ability of an economy to generate sufficient
employment opportunities for its population can provide valuable insights into
the economy’s overall development performance. These indicators include unem-
ployment rates, employment-to-population ratios, labour force participation rates,
and the employment intensity of growth or elasticity of employment with respect
to output – this last indicator measures how much employment growth is associ-
ated with 1 percentage point of economic growth. The decline in the employment
content of growth is a matter of policy concern.
The adoption of target 1.B under the Millennium Development Goal 1 con-
firms that achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all,
including women and young people, is the sustainable route out of poverty. The
“employment route to poverty reduction” has become central to and is influencing
the development debate and development cooperation. Explicitly integrating
employment and decent work into economic growth and poverty reduction poli-
cies helps to maximize the benefits for people and to ensure that growth is sus-
tainable and inclusive.
The situation of the “working poor” should be a matter of particular atten-
tion – especially in countries where the formal economy is small, many women
and men are working, often arduously and for long hours, but are simply unable
to earn enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

14 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

1.1 Explicitly aim to promote economic growth in the country? □ □

Explicitly consider the impact of such growth on employment creation for different groups
1.2 □ □
of women and men?

Put deliberate emphasis on “job-rich” growth i.e. a pattern of economic growth that
1.3 □ □
generates more and better jobs?

Put deliberate emphasis on “pro-poor” growth i.e. a pattern of economic growth that
1.4 □ □
targets poor women and men in rural and urban areas?

Emphasize the creation of more and better jobs as the strategy for eradicating poverty
1.5 □ □
and achieving the MDGs?

1.6 Make employment a central goal of national development strategies? □ □

Explicitly consider not just the number but also the quality of jobs created (wage or
1.7 □ □
income level, working conditions, social security coverage, rights of workers)?

Give particular attention to the “working poor” i.e. those unable to earn enough to lift
1.8 □ □
themselves and their family members above the US$1 or US$2 a day poverty line?
1.8.1 If so, collect statistics on the number/characteristics of the working poor? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 15

A2. Enhancing productivity

Developing and developed countries are concerned with improving productivity

because productivity growth is the ultimate source of growth in living standards,
the sustainable route out of working poverty and the basis of competitiveness in
global markets.
The poor are poor normally not because they have no work (so unemploy-
ment is not a good indicator of poverty) but because of the low productivity and
low remuneration of their work. Raising productivity – and ensuring that produc-
tivity gains are equitably distributed between profits to business owners and inves-
tors and higher incomes and better working conditions to workers – is, therefore,
of critical importance in efforts to reduce poverty. The virtuous circle of produc-
tivity, employment and development is also fed through the investment side of the
economy when some productivity gains are reinvested by a firm into product and
process innovations, plant and equipment improvements and measures to expand
into new markets, which spur further output growth and productivity.
Productivity refers to how efficiently resources are used. Productivity can be
measured in terms of all factors of production combined (total factor produc-
tivity) or in terms of labour productivity, which is defi ned as output or value
added divided by the amount of labour used to generate the output. Labour pro-
ductivity increases when value added rises through the better use, coordination,
etc. of all factors of production. Value added may increase when labour is working
smarter, harder, faster or with better skills, but it also increases with the use of
more or better machinery, reduced waste of input materials, or with the introduc-
tion of technological innovations.
The employment-displacing effects of productivity growth cannot be avoided
in some instances. However, in the longer term and at the aggregate level there
is no necessary trade-off between productivity growth and employment growth
in a country. Productivity gains can work their way through the macro economy
so that job losses in one location or sector may be compensated by job gains in
another area or sector.
The activities of multilateral agencies can directly or indirectly impact on
labour productivity. They can, for example, improve education and training
of the workforce or they can provide advice on the links between productivity,
growth, and employment.

16 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

2.1 Explicitly address the impact on productivity and measure that impact? □ □

2.2 Explicitly consider how productivity growth may create or destroy jobs for women and men? □ □
Address the issue of how productivity gains are distributed and
2.3 □ □
who they benefit – only employers/capitalists or also workers?

2.4 Aim to improve labour productivity in rural areas? □ □

2.5 Aim to improve labour productivity in the informal economy? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 17

A3. Promoting an enabling macroeconomic
environment for jobs

The principal instruments of macroeconomic policies are monetary policy to

manage interest rates and money supply in a country; fiscal policy to manage tax-
ation and public spending; and trade and exchange rate policies to manage the
integration into world markets. Macroeconomic stability and sound management
of the economy are key determinants of the investment climate and economic
growth. But macroeconomic policies also affect employment creation, enterprise
development and decent work – not only through investments and economic
growth, but also through reducing insecurity due to economic instability or infla-
tion, helping to reduce poverty and inequality, and supporting the resourcing of
social policy in general.
Even though macroeconomic policies are mainly the purview of governments
and central banks, international organizations can play a role in analyzing cur-
rent economic prescriptions and institutional frameworks, alerting policy-makers,
workers and employers to the implications of their choices, including avoiding
biases against rural areas where the bulk of the population in developing countries
lives. International organizations can provide advice on measures, based on expe-
rience and research in different countries, to promote a sound macroeconomic
environment conducive to employment growth, sustainable enterprise develop-
ment and decent working conditions.

18 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

3.1 Specifically attempt to promote an enabling macroeconomic environment for jobs? □ □

Have methodologies in place to measure the employment impacts of fiscal, monetary
3.2 □ □
or exchange rate policies?

Analyze the composition of public budgets in terms of the proportion devoted

3.3 □ □
to the promotion of employment and decent work?

3.4 Promote or support a wage and income policy? □ □

3.5 Address the impact of inflation on jobs and enterprise development? □ □

3.6 Address the impact of exchange rate regimes on jobs and enterprise development? □ □

3.7 Address the impact of interest rate regimes on jobs and enterprise development? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 19

A4. Investment

Investments are carried out by the government and the private sector – both for-
eign direct investments (FDIs) and local private sector investments. Investments
by the government in physical infrastructure, such as roads, energy, water, ports
and telecommunications, together with investments in human capital such as in
basic health and education, are vital for economic growth and development, the
well-being of the population in general, the growth and viability of enterprises,
and therefore the number and quality of jobs created in a country. The climate
for private sector investments is a key determinant of the growth of enterprises
and the creation of jobs (see A5 below). The choice of technology in new invest-
ments determines not only productivity but also the number of jobs created or
destroyed. Very importantly too, the choice of technology impacts on environ-
mental sustainability – a clean model of investment should conserve energy use.
According to the World Bank, spending on infrastructure represents about
20 per cent of total investment in developing countries, and about 40 to 60 per
cent of public investment. Policies on infrastructure investment can ensure that
technically viable and cost-effective employment-intensive options are used to
generate productive and decent jobs and speed up the reduction of poverty.
The challenge, though, is to develop the appropriate mix of capital and
labour-intensive investment techniques according to each country’s needs and
resources. The employment-creating and poverty-reducing impacts of employ-
ment-intensive infrastructure investment depend to a great extent on the design
of the programmes and local conditions. A distinction needs to be made between
employment-based safety nets, sometimes termed “workfare” and used as an emer-
gency mechanism such as to counteract food shortages in a crisis situation, and
labour-based productive and cost-effective infrastructure programmes aimed at
offering decent work.
The experience from such labour-based infrastructure programmes carried
out in many countries shows that they are between 10 and 20 per cent less costly
in financial terms than more equipment-intensive techniques; they reduce foreign
exchange requirements by between 50 and 60 per cent; and they create between
three and five times as much employment for the same investment.
The programmes of the multilateral agencies in a country can also involve
major investment decisions – whether in terms of direct or indirect funding pro-
vided for new infrastructure, or the advice agencies provide to national constit-
uents on which sectors of the economy to invest in or what technology to use
in carrying out the investment, etc. The potential of investment can be maxi-
mized in terms of employment and decent work outcomes if these outcomes are
an explicit consideration in investment decisions. Before large investment projects
are approved and implemented, impact assessments are often required – these
should include the impact on the quantity and quality of job creation and also on
environmental sustainability.

20 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

4.1 Give specific consideration to the choice of technology in investment? □ □

If so, how?

4.2 Place emphasis on choosing employment-intensive technologies? □ □

4.3 Explicitly consider the impact of investments on the number of jobs created? □ □

4.4 Explicitly consider the impact of investments on the quality of jobs created? □ □

4.5 Explicitly consider the impact of investments on environmental sustainability? □ □

4.6 Carry out employment impact assessments of infrastructure investments? □ □

Link incentive structures for foreign direct investments to the number
4.7 □ □
and quality of jobs created?

Link incentive structures for foreign direct investments to skills upgrading

4.8 □ □
of the local labour force?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 21

A5. Promoting entrepreneurship and
an enabling environment for enterprises

Entrepreneurship is the driving force for initiating business ideas, mobilizing

human, financial and physical resources, establishing and expanding enterprises,
and creating jobs. The vast majority of jobs in all countries are generated by small
and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector, including cooperatives; all
these businesses contribute significantly to providing new employment for young
people, women and other traditionally disadvantaged groups. Small enterprises,
which range from small-scale modern fi rms in the formal economy to micro-
enterprises and self-employment in the informal economy, also account for a high
proportion of existing jobs.
The approaches to the promotion of enterprise development have evolved
over the years. Three basic paradigms can be identified. The first aims at building
the capacity of individual enterprises through business development services
(BDS) and financial services (it is impossible to build an enterprise without
access to credit. Microfinance activities go hand-in-hand with entrepreneur-
ship, and are particularly important for enabling the poor to borrow for produc-
tive purposes, save and build their assets). The second paradigm emphasizes not
only enterprise level interventions but also the business enabling environment
(including the legal and regulatory framework, the rule of law and secure prop-
erty and land rights). The third paradigm is concerned ultimately with national
competitiveness and covers also improvements to the investment climate (focused
largely on enhancing the opportunities, incentives and conditions for attracting
investment and promoting the growth of formal, often larger enterprises) and
with bottom-up approaches concerned with making markets work particularly in
terms of ensuring that opportunities reach down to the poor, including through
the growth of sustainable value chains.
The concept of “sustainable enterprises” is related to the three pillars of sus-
tainable development – economic, social and environmental. An environment
conducive to sustainable enterprises includes the following basic conditions: good
governance and social dialogue (effective and efficient civil and political insti-
tutions and processes); macroeconomic stability and sound management of the
economy; society and culture supportive of enterprise; physical infrastructure;
information and communication technologies; education, training and learning
for a skilled workforce; equity and economic and social inclusion; and responsible
stewardship of the environment. The policies, programmes and activities of most
multilateral agencies impact on these basic conditions.

22 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Explicitly promote enterprise development (which could include the development of farms,
5.1 multinational enterprises, small and medium size enterprises, cooperatives and economic □ □
units in the informal economy)?

Give specific consideration to the quantity and quality of employment creation associated
5.2 □ □
with such enterprise development?

Specifically aim to improve the business environment (for example, by reducing the
regulatory cost or burden of doing business, promoting respect for the rule of law and
5.3 □ □
property rights, including intellectual property and land rights, and improving institutions
including for dispute resolution and for enforcing contracts)?

Specifically enhance the capacity of enterprises, particularly small and medium enterprises,
5.4 cooperatives and those in the informal economy, to take advantage of new market □ □
opportunities, including in export markets?

Identify and support sectors, industries or clusters of enterprises with high potential for
5.5 □ □
upgrading their position within national and global production chains?

5.6 Promote financial services for small enterprises? □ □

5.7 Provide training to enhance the capacity of entrepreneurs? □ □

5.8 Give particular attention to the needs of women entrepreneurs? □ □

5.9 Give particular attention to developing entrepreneurship among young women and men? □ □

5.10 Promote corporate social responsibility? □ □

Encourage and support enterprises to be environmentally sustainable (such as using natural
5.11 resources in ways that conserve the planet for future generations and providing safe and □ □
healthy working conditions for working women and men)?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 23

A6. Trade and employment

The size of the market is an essential determinant of opportunities for a country

to have a more diversified, more competitive and higher-productivity economy, for
enterprises to grow and take advantage of economies of scale, and, therefore, for
creating productive employment and decent work and achieving higher standards
of living. Trade policies affect the size of the market by opening up an economy to
world markets. Making it easier to trade by increasing market access, improving
trade rules, encouraging the growth of sustainable value chains and strength-
ening ethical and fair-trade principles and practices in trading relationships are
all important trade-related dimensions of promoting sustainable enterprises and
decent work.
However, not all patterns of integration into the world economy have the
same effect on growth and jobs. Although globalization has the potential to yield
long-term welfare gains, in the short term there may be adjustment costs. Effi-
ciency gains caused by trade integration can lead to positive employment effects
either in terms of quantity or quality of jobs or a combination of both. How-
ever, trade integration can also lead to job dislocation, increased informality and
growing income inequality.
Trade liberalization is associated with both job destruction and job cre-
ation. In the short term, the net employment effects may be positive or nega-
tive, depending on country-specific factors such as the functioning of labour and
product markets and the fairness of trade rules. In the long term, however, and
with a level playing field, the efficiency gains resulting from trade liberalization
are likely to lead to positive overall employment effects in terms of the quantity of
jobs and/or wages earned. But there may be growing income inequalities among
different categories of workers in different locations, which should be addressed
through appropriate labour and social policies. Above all, fair trading rules are the
best guarantee that the negative effects will be contained.
It is, therefore, critical to assess and address the employment and decent work
impact of trade policies. Coherence in trade and employment policies is essential,
in particular to help workers and labour markets adjust to changing patterns of
global trade. International organizations can provide reliable information and
advice to assist countries to plan social and employment policies that will maxi-
mize the benefits of trade, reduce informality and support the progression of the
most vulnerable workers into decent jobs in global markets.

24 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Address the impact of trade on the labour market and employment in the country
6.1 □ □
(the creation and destruction of jobs and the quality of jobs)?

Address the issue of how global production systems are affecting the relocation
6.2 □ □
and de-localization of enterprises and jobs?

Address the impact of trade liberalization on specific sectors of economic activity

6.3 □ □
in the country?

Address the impact of trade liberalization on different categories of workers, such as women
6.4 in export processing zones, farmers or rural workers, skilled and unskilled workers, informal □ □
or casual workers?

Encourage the growth of sustainable value chains that provide opportunities for those along
6.5 □ □
an entire chain to have improved market access and incomes?

6.6 Promote ethical or fair trade? □ □

6.7 Trace the employment effects of ethical or fair trade? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 25

A7. Sectoral policies

The employment and decent work outcomes of international development assist-

ance are most visible, tangible and precise at the level of specific sectors of the
economy in a country. Most agencies work in a particular sector and therefore
the impact of their policies, programmes and activities is critical to maximize the
potential of the sector in terms of employment generation and quality of jobs.
Agencies may also be advising the government or other national stakeholders on
investments in specific sectors or on policy initiatives, such as industrial policy
initiatives, which would have important implications for the employment content
of the sector. Such activities of the agencies should fully incorporate economic,
social and environmental objectives, taking into account the whole of the value
chain and ensuring the promotion of decent work for all.
In the world today, the service sector contributes to more jobs than agricul-
ture. The service sector, however, spans an entire spectrum of wages and working
conditions from domestic service, wholesale and retail trade, tourism, transport to
business and financial services. Despite the falling share of the agricultural sector
in total employment, the bulk of the labour force in many poor countries remains
dependent on agriculture. Increases in agricultural productivity must be acceler-
ated to bring down the current level of food insecurity and meet the food, job-
creation and income needs of the population. Higher agricultural productivity is
a precondition for achieving the goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
The countries that have experienced an increase in the share of employment in the
manufacturing sector tend to be those engaged in global production systems.

26 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

7.1 Focus on specific sectors of economic activity (which ones)? □ □

7.2 Explicitly address the employment creation potential of the sector? □ □

7.3 Take into account the whole of the value chain in the sector? □ □
Explicitly take into account the impact of technological changes in the sector on the
7.4 □ □
quantity and quality of employment?

Promote the complementarities between different sectors (such as agricultural

7.5 □ □
and non-farm sectors) for added value?

Assess sectors of the economy in terms of their conditions of work (wages, occupational
7.6 safety and health hazards, security of employment, right to organize and bargain □ □
collectively, etc.)?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 27

A8. Human resources development

Education, vocational and skills training and lifelong learning are key to making
people employable, thereby allowing them to gain access to decent work and to
escape poverty. The policies, programmes or activities of international organiza-
tions directly promote education and training or indirectly impact on the quality
of human resources in a country.
Education is a well-recognized fundamental human right. Free, compulsory
and quality primary or basic education would ensure achievement of MDG2,
and is essential for the eradication of poverty and child labour. Equitable access
to schooling is crucial – the barriers that prevent the attendance of girls, children
with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups including children from ethnic
minorities need to be specifically addressed. Incentives for poor children to attend
and remain in school also need to be put in place. Gender-sensitive complemen-
tary measures such as career counselling and guidance, work experience schemes,
employment services and training services would all help to ease the transition
from school to work for young women and men.
Skills development is high on the priority list of countries for all least three
main reasons:
䡵 To better forecast and match the provision of skills, both in terms of rele-
vance and quality, with labour market needs;
䡵 To adjust to technological and market changes by making it easier for
workers and enterprises to move from declining or low-productivity activi-
ties and sectors into growing and higher-productivity activities and sectors
and to capitalize on new technologies. Re-skilling, skills upgrading and life-
long learning help workers to maintain their employability and enterprises
to adjust and remain competitive;
䡵 To build up capabilities and knowledge systems within the economy and
society which induce and maintain a sustainable process of economic and
social development.

Effective skills development requires a holistic approach with a number of fea-

tures including continuous and seamless pathways of learning; development of
core skills and learning ability; development of higher level professional, technical
and human resource skills; portability of skills; and employability. To compete in
today’s “knowledge economy”, workers and employers need to be especially well
trained in information and communication technology, new forms of business
organization and the workings of the international market.

28 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

8.1 Explicitly promote access to education? □ □

If so, how?
8.1.1 Promote access to universal primary education? □ □
8.1.2 Promote access to secondary and technical education? □ □
8.1.3 Promote access to higher education? □ □
8.1.4 Promote access to vocational training? □ □
8.1.5 Promote access to special education for particular groups in the population (which groups)? □ □
8.2 Explicitly link education to the elimination of child labour? □ □
8.3 Explicitly link education to increasing women’s participation in the labour market? □ □
8.4 Explicitly link education to increasing employment for young women and men? □ □
In promoting education, give specific consideration to:
8.5 Supporting teachers’ rights? □ □
8.6 Promoting conditions conducive to the provision of quality education? □ □
Providing decent work for parents in poor families so that they are able to send their
8.7 □ □
children to school?
Addressing the barriers that prevent girls (or other disadvantage groups – which groups)
8.8 □ □
from attending school?
Including measures such as career counselling and guidance and employment services
8.9 □ □
to facilitate the transition from school to work for young women and men?
Ensuring that there is a better match between the supply of human resources and the
8.10 demand in the labour market? □ □

If so, how?

8.10.1 Provide career information and guidance to prepare students for the world of work, □ □
including self-employment?
8.10.2 Involve employers’ and workers’ organizations in the design and delivery of training
□ □
programmes?
8.10.3 Promote lifelong learning and employability? □ □
8.10.4 Target disadvantaged or marginalized groups (informal workers, rural populations,
older workers, persons with disabilities, etc.) so as to enhance their employability □ □
and income earning capacity?
8.10.5 Deliver skills training to those in the informal economy or in rural areas through
innovative approaches (such as community-based training, distance learning using □ □
ICT, mobile training)?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 29

A9. Technology and employment

Technological changes are occurring in many sectors – health, postal services,

banks, tourism, communications, etc. – and have major implications for the labour
market. The choice of technology, for example in investments in new physical
infrastructure, or when promoting energy-efficient or low-carbon production or
when building back after a natural disaster, etc. will definitely influence employ-
ment and decent work. Labour-based or employment-intensive technologies have
a greater impact on the number of jobs created as compared to capital- or equip-
ment-intensive technologies (see A4 above), but, of course, the impact on produc-
tivity and the quality of jobs created will also need to be taken into account.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is a key enabler of
globalization, making possible the efficient and cost-effective flow of informa-
tion, products, people and capital across national and regional boundaries. The
impacts and implications are all pervasive and disruptive. ICT has changed com-
parative advantage among countries and groups – notably by making knowledge
a key factor of production and raising the stakes on investments in education,
training and the diff usion of knowledge, and by bringing about a tradability rev-
olution in services and generating substantial IT-related employment. The non-
economic effects of ICT are equally important. With the spread of the internet,
email, mobile phones, electronic conferencing, etc. the world has become more
interconnected. ICT can accelerate both economic and social development. The
problem, however, is that although all countries, even the poorest, are increasing
their access to ICT, the rate of increase is much faster among the developed, rather
than the developing, countries and the digital divide has been widening.
The national development framework should assess the wide array of tech-
nology options that are available, particularly in terms of the employment and
decent work potential and also in terms of access by the poor. Multilateral agen-
cies can promote the spread of ICT and its effective use in a country and help to
reduce the digital divide.

30 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote technology policies (information communication technology, agricultural

9.1 technology, low-carbon technology, etc.), including providing advice to national □ □
constituents in this regard?

If so, how?

9.1.1 Support technology innovation and its dissemination as a means

□ □
of creating quality jobs?
9.1.2 Make employment creation potential a key criterion for technology choice? □ □

9.2 Incorporate technology aspects into pro-poor policies in rural and urban areas? □ □
When deciding how best to incorporate new technologies, consider the impact on the
9.3 □ □
quantity and quality of jobs created or destroyed?

Explicitly address the need to train workers in new technologies for improving productivity
9.4 □ □
and employment?

9.5 Encourage or support efforts to reduce the “digital” divide between groups in a country? □ □
Have special activities, such as the use of information and communications technology,
9.6 to improve access to training for disadvantaged groups including women, youth or rural □ □
communities?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 31

A10. Local economic development (LED)

The potential of area-based development strategies has been increasingly empha-

sized as a response to the challenges posed by globalization, the trend towards
decentralization of government administration and the calls for more responsive
government at all levels.
Local development or local economic development (LED) or community
development takes place within a specific territory or area. The size of the targeted
localities can vary from a town or village to a much larger region or province,
involving a whole range of local actors. The “local” aspect of LED implies that
development is inspired, owned and managed by actors within a given locality
through the identification and mobilization of local resources. LED promotes
participation in the process of policy making to shape development that has a
direct impact upon the lives of the people concerned.
LED has a strategic focus on economic potentials and builds on competi-
tive advantages of the territory. The “economic” in LED therefore refers to the
focus on economic growth, employment generation and enterprise development.
LED strategies often involve a wide range of initiatives which complement each
other and which can go from skills upgrading, employment-intensive investment
and social protection to local employment strategies and labour market reform
and improvement of the quality of life for local residents. To realize the poten-
tial of a territory or area, the economic radius is not limited to local markets and
resources. LED takes advantage of outside growth opportunities and links the
local economy to national and global value chains and markets.
The “development” in LED involves a broad representation of local actors to
reach these outcomes. Development in the LED sense is a participatory process
that: empowers local societies and generates local dialogue so that local people
have greater control over their own future; strengthens social cohesion through
local public-private partnerships; helps to make local institutions more trans-
parent and accountable; focuses on local competitive advantages and provides
communities with the means to identify new opportunities to create jobs and
income; and contributes to a general improvement in the quality of jobs as a result
of the involvement of local stakeholders and of the rooting of economic activity
in a locality.
In short, LED provides a way of packaging the different elements of the
Decent Work Agenda into a sustainable programme for economic and social
development and can, therefore, be a powerful means to promote employment
and decent work for all at sub-national levels. In operating at the sub-national
level in a specific territory or area, international agencies should explicitly con-
sider how to make the most of LED approaches to make local economies more
dynamic, promote sustainable enterprises and empower local people through pro-
ductive employment and decent work.

32 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Explicitly focus on local economic and social development (at the city, municipality,
10.1 provincial or community level, etc.)? □ □

If so, how?

10.1.1 Generate local employment and income? □ □

10.1.2 Promote social protection and income security? □ □
10.1.3 Target poor and vulnerable groups? □ □
10.1.4 Engage local governments in the design, implementation, monitoring
□ □
and evaluation?
10.1.5 Engage local workers’ organizations in the design, implementation, monitoring
□ □
and evaluation?
10.1.6 Engage local employers’ organizations in the design, implementation, monitoring
□ □
and evaluation?
10.1.7 Promote a participatory development process, including through public-private
□ □
partnerships?
10.1.8 Produce or have access to adequate data and statistics disaggregated by sex
□ □
at the local level for effective implementation?

10.2 Make specific efforts to link action at the local level to global opportunities? □ □
Consider how subnational business development policies and legal or regulatory factors
10.3 affect local economic development? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 33

A11. Labour market policies

Unemployment and job insecurity are not only a source of instability and failure
in a country but also place a significant personal burden on individuals. To tackle
these problems, governments often seek advice and support from international
agencies on both active and passive labour market policies. The challenge for agen-
cies is to provide sound policy advice and also help establish a sound legal frame-
work and strong labour market institutions.
Labour market policies can actively support restructuring in the economy.
More than from isolated policy actions, labour market success seems to result
from an efficient combination of policies, which leads to both flexibility for firms
and security for workers. At the macroeconomic level, relatively tight monetary
policy, fiscal policy allowing for certain fiscal stimuli in the economy against a
general background of fiscal consolidation, and wage moderation policies can
accommodate each other and facilitate employment growth and reduction of
unemployment – particularly when these accommodating policies are accompa-
nied by active and passive labour market policies and social dialogue.
Active labour market policies are purposive, selective interventions by the
government in the pursuit of efficiency and/or equity objectives, acting indirectly
or directly to provide work to, or increase the employability of people with certain
disadvantages in the labour market. The following categories are normally included
as active labour market policies: public employment services; public works pro-
grammes; labour market training for unemployed and retrenched adults; youth
measures; subsidised employment (e.g. wage subsidies and direct job creation);
and measures for the disabled. The objective of these measures is primarily eco-
nomic – to increase the probability that the unemployed will find jobs or that
the underemployed will increase their productivity and earnings. However, more
recently the case for active labour market policies has also been linked to the
potential social benefits in the form of the inclusion and participation that comes
from productive employment.
Active programs are meant to directly increase unemployed workers’ access
to the workplace. On the other hand, passive programmes, such as unemploy-
ment insurance or social transfers to unemployed workers and their families,
mitigate the financial needs of the unemployed but are not designed to improve
employability.

34 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Does your agency:
YES NO

11.1 Address labour market policies at the national or local levels? □ □

Explicitly examine the causal links between these policies and the quantity
11.2 and quality of employment? □ □

11.3 Provide advice or fund active labour market policies or programmes? □ □

11.4 Provide advice or fund passive labour market policies or programmes? □ □

11.5 Hold consultations with business and trade unions on labour market policies? □ □

11.6 Measure the impact of implemented labour market policies? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 35

A12. Incomes from employment

Wages and incomes are relevant to most areas within the national development
framework. Being able to guarantee fair wages for employees and fair returns for
the self-employed in both rural and urban areas is crucial for economic, social and
equity reasons and essential for the legitimacy and long-term sustainability of the
policies, programmes and activities of international agencies.
There is growing evidence in the world today of a shift towards returns on
capital and away from labour, together with increasing income inequality. The
labour share in national income is declining while that of profits is rising in many
countries. The current patterns of growth tend to favour the better-off more than
the poor. Pay gaps have been increasing. In some countries, there has been a sharp
rise in earnings of the highest paid; in other countries, skilled workers in high
demand in the labour market have received wage premiums. On the other hand,
labour market reforms designed to promote flexibility and lower labour costs, cuts
to welfare benefits, less progressive tax policies, weaker collective bargaining and
social dialogue, and the neglect of minimum wages, have all contributed to weak-
ening the position of the lower 50 per cent of income earners in most countries.
International agencies need to give attention not only to efforts to address
absolute poverty but also to reduce income inequalities within and between coun-
tries. Less inequality would make faster poverty reduction possible, because a
larger share of the benefits of growth would reach the poor. In addition, social
cohesion is seriously undermined by extreme income inequalities.

36 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote the attainment of fair wages and income from work, including work
12.1 in the informal economy and rural areas? □ □

12.2 Refer to/make use of legislation on minimum wages? □ □

Involve employers’ and workers’ organizations in discussions or action concerning wages
12.3 or incomes from employment? □ □

12.4 Promote pay equity? □ □

12.5 Promote collective bargaining on wages and other conditions of work? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 37

A13. Youth employment

From a life-cycle perspective, of course, all ages are important. But developing
countries are especially concerned about youth. Quite apart from the their demo-
graphic importance (representing more than 40 per cent of the world’s popula-
tion) is the fact that what young women and men do – as workers, entrepreneurs,
innovators, agents of change, citizens, leaders, and mothers and fathers – will
shape future economic, social, political and technological developments. Yet, the
current generation of young women and men – the most educated in human his-
tory – are failing to gain entry into the workforce or are in jobs that are low-paid,
insecure or with few prospects for advancement.
The cost of youth unemployment to economic and social development is
extremely high. It perpetuates the inter-generational cycle of poverty and is asso-
ciated with high levels of crime, violence, substance abuse and the rise of political
extremism.
The youth employment challenge is, on the one hand, closely related to the
more general issues, not related to age, concerning the quantity and quality of
employment in a country. Unless productive employment is at the heart of macr-
oeconomic and social policies and the aggregate demand for labour is expanding,
it is not possible to have successful programmes to integrate disadvantaged young
people into the labour market. On the other hand, the youth labour market has
its own particular and problematic dimensions. It is not just that young workers
experience the adverse effects felt by all workers when the labour market is tight:
their share of these effects is disproportionately large – and is particularly large
for young women who tend to face greater barriers than young men in fi nding
decent work.
The age-specific difficulties that young women and men face in making the
transition from the education and training system into the labour market include:
lack of employment experience; “insider-outsider” effects (adults already in the
labour market have an advantage over young people trying to enter it) related to
strict labour market regulations; mismatch between youth aspirations and labour
market realities; constraints on self-employment and entrepreneurship develop-
ment; and lack of organization and voice so that they may have few channels
through which to make their concerns or needs heard.
It is, therefore, critical that the national development framework has a com-
prehensive approach to the issues of young people, especially related to productive
and decent employment. Sound educational and training systems, gender-sensi-
tive programmes to ease the school-to-work transition; labour market policies
that are sensitive to the constraints and needs of young women and men, meas-
ures to ensure that young people have access to better health care, a voice in deci-
sions that affect them, etc. are all important for agencies to promote.

38 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Explicitly address employment of young women and men (for example, through targeted
13.1 skills training, entrepreneurship development, business development services, microfinance □ □
and labour market services)?

Ensure non-discrimination and equal access for young women and men
13.2 in different activities or programmes? □ □

Include specific provisions such as career guidance, employment services and

13.3 placement opportunities, to assist young women and men in making the transition □ □
from school to work?

13.4 Include specific provisions targeting disadvantaged young women and men? □ □
Address decent employment for young women and men as a means to deal with issues
13.5 such as drug abuse, crime, HIV/AIDS, illiteracy and population policies? □ □

Involve young people in identifying their needs and developing solutions

13.6 to address these needs? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 39

A14. Crisis response

Coordinating the efforts of all international agencies in crisis situations is not only desirable
but essential. When armed conflicts, natural disasters, economic and financial downturns or
abrupt social and political transitions occur, there must be a coherent system-wide response
by all agencies. The multiple direct and indirect effects of a crisis could include: a changed
population base (because of the death toll or massive population movements); partial or total
destruction of local infrastructure; loss of jobs and livelihoods and massive unemployment;
growing informal economy; lack or shortage of goods and services; distortion of markets and
prices; increase of illegal activities; changing social capital, lack of trust and information; lack
of skilled human resources; shifting gender roles; lack/disruption of social safety nets; low
consumer purchasing power; and lack of credit and investment capital.
Employment and decent work must be part of the strategies throughout all phases of
crisis response, from relief, humanitarian and early recovery to subsequent rehabilitation,
reconstruction and development phases. Strategies for local economic development (LED)
(see A10 above) and local economic recovery (LER) approaches have demonstrated their
effectiveness in creating much-needed job opportunities and reviving local economies. LED
and LER approaches set in motion a participatory, bottom-up process in which actors at
the local, national and international levels come together to find the right formula for local
economic and social development and help the affected community to build back from
“inside- out”. The coordination and partnerships in these approaches deter local, national or
international stakeholders from do-it-alone and isolated interventions while supporting the
legitimacy of recovery and development processes.
In the early recovery phase after a crisis strikes, attention should be given to:
䡵 Emergency employment creation through measures such as cash/food for work projects,
emergency public employment services and short-cycle skills training;
䡵 Targeted emergency and livelihood start-up grants such as cash grants, start-up packages
and food aid; and
䡵 Protection of those made even more vulnerable by the crisis, including orphans, female
heads of households, helpless elderly, disabled persons, internally displaced persons.

In the transition phase of rehabilitation and reconstruction or of peace reconciliation and re-
integration in post-war contexts, the multilateral agencies should work together for:
䡵 Local capacity building, including measures for strengthening local governance, capacity
for business development services, restoring labour market institutions and strength-
ening socio-economic actors;
䡵 Community driven recovery for community infrastructure reconstruction based on
labour-intensive approaches; and
䡵 Local economic recovery through measures such as microfinance, labour market infor-
mation, employability and skills training and support for business recovery.

In the longer-term development phase or as part of a peace building process, there must
be emphasis on sustainable employment creation and decent work, which would require
measures to promote the enabling policy environment for jobs and enterprise development,
measures to strengthen private sector development and measures to promote labour market
mechanisms and institutions.

40 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Address employment creation as an immediate and central concern in responding

14.1 to a crisis situation, whether an armed conflict, natural disaster, financial or economic crisis □ □
or difficult socio-political transition?

14.2 Address employment creation as an integral part of immediate humanitarian relief? □ □

Address job creation and income generation as an integral part of an early recovery
14.3 and reconstruction response after a crisis? □ □

Give priority to labour-intensive technology in early recovery and reconstruction efforts

14.4 after a crisis? □ □

14.5 Promote employment creation as a means to avoid/mitigate future crisis situations? □ □

Give special consideration to the needs of particularly vulnerable groups after a crisis,
14.6 such as orphans, female heads of households, the elderly, internally displaced persons? □ □

Support local economic recovery (LER) and/or local economic development (LED)
14.7 approaches in crisis response? □ □

Promote LER and LED approaches for turning crisis into opportunity
14.8 and for building back better after a crisis? □ □

Actively ensure coordinated efforts among multilateral agencies and the involvement
14.9 of local stakeholders in crisis response? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 41

A15. International migration

International migration involving a search for employment, job-related educa-

tion or better conditions of life has emerged very high on international, regional
and national agendas. Migrant workers constitute a growing share of the world’s
workforce. Women are independently migrating for work in considerably larger
numbers than in the past and now comprise about half of all migrant workers.
There are two major categories of migrant workers: the highly skilled who are
much sought-after and usually able to obtain the necessary papers to live and work
in the host country; and the unskilled who often are as much in demand but for
low-status, low-paid jobs that few nationals want to do. The unskilled often have
difficulty obtaining visas and work permits.
Demographic trends and uneven patterns of development within and
between countries suggest that labour migration will not only continue but will
grow, posing immense challenges as well as opportunities for all countries and
populations. Labour migration can have many beneficial elements for those coun-
tries which send or receive migrant workers, as well as for the workers themselves.
Labour migration can assist both origin and destination countries in economic
growth and development. Yet the migration process also poses serious challenges.
For example, several sending countries are increasingly concerned about the “brain
drain” of valuable human resources. For migrant workers themselves, many, espe-
cially low skilled workers, experience serious abuse and exploitation. In the face
of rising barriers to cross border labour mobility, the growth of irregular migra-
tion, and trafficking and smuggling of human beings constitute major challenges
to the protection of human and labour rights.
While acknowledging the sovereign right of States to develop their own
labour and migration policies, it is important to direct attention to the need to
adopt a multilateral approach for the management of labour migration to ben-
efit both sending and receiving countries, to promote decent work for migrant
workers and to prevent human trafficking. Special attention should be given to
the multiple disadvantages and discrimination often faced by migrant workers on
the basis of gender, race and migrant status. Further, issues related to the move-
ment of workers across national borders cannot be effectively addressed when
countries act in isolation; hence international cooperation in managing labour
migration can be valuable in addressing national interests.

42 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

15.1 Address international migration issues? □ □

If so, how?

15.1.1 Assist a country to conduct a realistic assessment of its labour migration needs,
□ □
for example through demographic or labour market or economic projections?
15.1.2 Promote the management of labour migration? □ □
15.1.3 Promote the integration of migrant workers in workplaces and societies
□ □
where they live and work?
15.1.4 Protect migrant workers from being trafficked or subjected to forced labour? □ □

15.2 In countries of destination, promote non-discrimination against migrant workers? □ □

In countries of origin, prepare potential migrants for working and living abroad
15.3 (such as through training/orientation programmes)? □ □

In countries of origin, address the negative impact of migration on development,

15.4 for example because of the brain drain? □ □

In countries of origin, aim to maximize the positive impact of migration, for example
15.5 through promoting the productive use of remittances and acquired skills? □ □

Make use of any framework or normative instruments, such as the ILO Migration for
Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No.97) and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary
Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No.143) or the UN International Convention on the
15.6 □ □
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990,
to devise measures aimed at optimizing the impact of labour migration on employment
and development and at protecting migrant workers?

Tailor measures to address the problems and particular abuses women often face
15.7 in the migration process? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 43

A16. Climate change, sustainable development
and “green jobs”

Climate change is the major sustainable development challenge of the 21st cen-
tury. The inconvenient truth is that “business as usual” based on a “grow first,
clean up later” development path is just not sustainable, economically, socially nor
environmentally. The Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change
considers global warming the biggest threat to the achievement of the MDGs.
Climate change itself; adaptation to these changes by the locations, eco-
nomic sectors and social groups most affected; and the mitigation measures to
slow or limit the extent of climate change and move towards low-carbon econo-
mies – have far-reaching implications for economic and social development, for
production and consumption patterns and therefore for employment, incomes
and poverty. They will alter the structure of employment, creating new jobs,
making some jobs redundant and changing the content of virtually all forms of
work. They entail a long term transition in how enterprises organize work and
what they produce. Social dialogue between management and union representa-
tives is an essential mechanism for developing strategies for such transitions that
are both efficient and equitable. The sooner major efforts are started to conserve
energy use, shift to renewable sources and adapt production, consumption and
employment patterns the better, both from the perspective of ecological damage
control and the need to manage significant structural change.
International agencies, governments, business, labour unions, environmental
groups, civil society organizations are all increasingly aware of the importance of
working more closely together to address these implications and find a sustainable
development path, which should have at least two key elements. One is a dynamic,
productive, innovative balance between the democratic voice of society, the regu-
latory function of the State, and the productive function of the market. A second
element should be a progressively clean model of investment and growth that has
a double dividend: protecting the environment on the one hand and improving
social well-being and creating more and better opportunities to earn a living in
decent jobs, on the other.
Several organizations are already collaborating to develop a UN system-wide
strategy on climate change. For example, the ILO, UNEP and the International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) together with others have already set in
motion a “Green Jobs Initiative” to promote and identify the many technological
innovations, investment opportunities, enterprise and quality job creation poten-
tials of a sustainable development path, and also to address the adaptation and
social protection needs of enterprises and workers affected by the production and
consumption shifts involved in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“Green jobs” can be described as jobs in agricultural, manufacturing, R&D,
administrative and service activities aimed at alleviating the myriad environ-
mental threats faced by humanity. Th is includes jobs that help to protect and
restore ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce energy, materials and water con-
sumption through high efficiency and avoidance strategies, de-carbonize the
economy, and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and
pollution.

44 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Explicitly take into account the impact on the environment (or explicitly promote
16.1 the “greening” of the national development/programming framework)? □ □

If so, how?

16.1.1 Take into account the impact on energy consumption? □ □

16.1.2 Take into account the “greenhouse effect” of carbon dioxide emissions? □ □
16.1.3 Take into account the impact on natural resources? □ □
16.1.4 Take into account the impact on the workplace environment,
□ □
including occupational safety and health conditions?

Conduct environmental impact assessments, for example when deciding

16.2 on a new investment or evaluating a programme? □ □

16.3 Explicitly assist the country/affected groups/communities/ businesses to adapt to climate change? □ □
If so, how?

16.3.1 Assist them to identify and address job losses, including through
□ □
social protection measures?
16.3.2 Assist them to identify and promote “green jobs”? □ □

16.4 Explicitly promote mitigation measures? □ □

If so, how?

16.4.1 Take into account the job destruction and job creation potentials of these measures? □ □
16.4.2 Emphasize the potential of “green jobs”? □ □
Promote “sustainable enterprises”, that is enterprises that respect the values of decent work,
16.5 human dignity and environmental sustainability? □ □

16.6 Promote production patterns that are environmentally sustainable and employment- friendly? □ □
16.7 Promote consumption patterns that are environmentally sustainable and employment-friendly? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 45

A17. Informal economy

Efforts to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all, to
achieve the MDGs and to promote a fair globalization cannot succeed without
addressing the informal economy. The larger part of the world’s working popu-
lation continues to earn its livelihood in the informal economy; women, youth,
older people, minorities, migrant workers, indigenous and tribal peoples are dis-
proportionately represented. In many parts of the world, the greater part of new
jobs created is informal. Informality does not necessarily recede as countries grow;
several countries are experiencing growing informalization in spite of good eco-
nomic performance.
The term “informal economy”, as defined in the 2002 International Labour
Conference resolution and conclusions, covers “all economic activities that are,
in law or practice, not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements”.
The informal economy includes wage workers and own-account workers, contrib-
uting family workers and those moving from one such situation to another. It also
includes some of those who are engaged in new flexible work arrangements and
who are themselves at the periphery of the core enterprise or at the lowest end of
the production chain.
Work in the informal economy is often characterized by small or undefined
work places, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low levels of skills and
productivity, low or irregular incomes, long working hours and lack of access to
information, markets, finance, training and technology. Workers in the informal
economy are not recognized, registered, regulated or protected under labour leg-
islation and social protection. Informal workers and economic units are generally
marked by poverty, leading to powerlessness, exclusion and vulnerability; they do
not enjoy secure property rights and have difficulty accessing the legal and judi-
cial system to enforce contracts.
To promote decent work, there needs to be a comprehensive and integrated
strategy cutting across a range of policy areas and involving a range of institutional
and civil society actors that eliminates the negative aspects of informality, while

46 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
preserving the significant job creation and income generation potential of the
informal economy, and that promotes the protection and incorporation of workers
and economic units in the informal economy into the mainstream economy.
Strategies to promote decent work and enable the transition to formalization
should cover a number of interconnected areas:
䡵 Increasing the employment content of economic growth, both in terms of
quantity and quality – the lack of formal jobs and the increasing reliance on
flexible work arrangements are important reasons why the informal economy
has been growing;
䡵 Improving the regulatory environment, including removing biases against
micro and small businesses and facilitating compliance;
䡵 Improving the legal framework to secure rights to property, title assets and
financial capital;
䡵 Enhancing the organization and representation of informal economy actors,
and ensuring that they can be heard in policy-making;
䡵 Promoting gender equality – the percentage of working women in the
informal economy tends to be greater than that of working men but women
are concentrated in the lower end where decent work deficits are greatest;
䡵 Supporting entrepreneurship development, business services and access to
finance and markets, including value-chain upgrading;
䡵 Enhancing productivity and working conditions;
䡵 Improving access to social protection.

Experience has shown that integrated local development (LED) strategies have
significant potential for upgrading the informal economy. The decentralized local
government structures in rural and urban areas are useful for bringing together
the spatial, social and economic dimensions of the informal economy.

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 47

 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Have statistics and information on the workers and economic units in the informal
17.1 economy? □ □

17.2 Target the informal economy in poverty reduction efforts? □ □

17.3 Address informal economy issues in non-agriculture? □ □

17.4 Address informal economy issues in agriculture? □ □

Address decent work deficits in the informal economy and promote the transition
17.5 to formalization? □ □

If so, how?

17.5.1 Improve the regulatory framework so that businesses can operate more easily
□ □
in the formal economy?
17.5.2 Improve the legal framework to secure rights to property, title assets or financial capital? □ □
17.5.3 Extend labour legislation to cover workers in the informal economy? □ □
17.5.4 Assist those in the informal economy to organize and have representation and voice? □ □
17.5.5 Promote entrepreneurship development for those in the informal economy? □ □
17.5.6 Promote the upgrading of value chains to benefit those at the informal end
□ □
of the chains?
17.5.7 Extend social protection to cover those in the informal economy? □ □

17.6 Give specific attention to particularly disadvantaged groups in the informal economy? □ □

17.7 Adopt LED approaches to promote decent work in the informal economy? □ □

48 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices
● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 49

A18. Agriculture and rural employment

The rural economy is high on national and global agendas because of factors such
as the persistence of poverty in rural areas, rural-urban migration, the impact of
globalization and also of climate change, and most recently, the food crisis, food
shortages and rapidly increasing food prices. The MDG on the eradication of
extreme poverty and hunger and the global goal of achieving decent work for all
cannot be achieved unless rural poverty is reduced. Three-quarters of the world’s
poorest people live in rural areas of developing countries and are directly or indi-
rectly dependent on earnings from agriculture.
Decent work deficits are typically severe in rural areas. Rural labour markets
are often dysfunctional. Labour market institutions, organization and represen-
tation of rural workers tend to be weak. Underemployment is widespread and
incomes are generally low. Access to social protection is extremely limited. Rural
workers are often not fully covered by national labour law and their rights are
often not realized or enforced. A large share of economic activity in rural areas
tends to be informal.
In some societies, there has been a “feminization” of rural agricultural work
due to the higher propensity of men to migrate out of rural areas and to shift to
non-farm activities. Women are typically the mainstay of the agricultural food
sector, labour force and food systems. But women tend to operate at a significant
disadvantage – insecure or incomplete property rights, weak fi nancial services,
poor infrastructure and lack of access to information and training tend to have a
particularly adverse impact on women as compared to men.
Agriculture and rural development are key to promotion of rural employ-
ment. Agriculture is usually the mainstay of rural economies and increased per
capita agricultural output and value added tend to have a more than proportional
positive impact on the incomes of the poorest. Agriculture also has strong link-
ages with non-farm activities. Increasing diversification and agricultural produc-
tivity through technical progress and investment is central to poverty reduction.

50 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
Agricultural support services need to be tailored to serve the needs of small-scale
farms that engage the bulk of the rural population and account for most food
production in developing countries – especially in the current context of the food
crisis, such measures are important.
The introduction of new technologies and work processes in agriculture
should be accompanied by appropriate skills training for rural workers. Applica-
tion of technologies in agriculture may be labour displacing or labour augmenting
and would also have different implications for environmental sustainability.
Hence, the employment and environmental impacts and implications of various
approaches to increasing agricultural productivity need to be considered.
Investment in rural infrastructure is crucial for employment and growth.
Transport and IT infrastructure, for instance, is crucial to link rural producers
and businesses to markets. A wide variety of infrastructure projects can directly
support agricultural productivity and lend themselves to implementation of
labour-intensive methods. Social infrastructure such as schools, health, portable
water and other basic facilities are also essential to stimulate shared and sustain-
able rural development.
Policies to promote non-farm employment and enterprise creation in rural
areas are essential if development is to be sustainable. Small and medium-sized
enterprises, including cooperatives or other community-based organizations, pro-
vide a major source of rural employment. Rural non-farm activities are especially
critical as they offer the rural poor economic alternatives to traditional activities.
Entrepreneurship development in rural areas will help create the conditions for
innovation, the uptake of new technologies, participation in expanding markets
and opportunities for more and better jobs. Labour-intensive subsectors as well as
those with high growth potential should be targeted, with the aim of effectively
integrating farmers and rural enterprises into national and global production sys-
tems, creating more and better jobs and conserving natural resources.

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 51

 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

18.1 Give specific attention to the rural economy? □ □

If so, how?

18.1.1 Focus on the rural economy for reducing poverty in the country? □ □
18.1.2 Focus on the rural economy for addressing the food crisis or improving food
□ □
security in the country?
18.1.3 Focus on rural development for addressing rural-urban migration problems? □ □
18.1.4 Support investments in rural infrastructure? □ □
18.1.5 Give specific attention to strengthening the integration of the rural economy
□ □
into national and global markets?

18.2 Give specific attention to raising agricultural productivity? □ □

If so, how?

18.2.1 Promote the access of farmers to appropriate training? □ □

18.2.2 Promote the access of farmers to new technologies and work processes? □ □
18.2.3 Promote other agricultural support services, such as access to credit? □ □
18.2.4 Take into account the impact of agricultural technologies on job creation
□ □
or destruction?
18.2.5 Take into account the impact of agricultural technologies on environmental
□ □
sustainability?
18.2.6 Focus on agricultural production for global markets? □ □
18.2.7 Focus on production of food for local consumption? □ □

18.3 Give specific attention to promoting rural non-farm activities? □ □

If so, how?

18.3.1 Promote mutually beneficial linkages between agricultural and non-farm activities? □ □
18.3.2 Promote enterprise development in rural areas? □ □
18.3.3 Promote cooperatives? □ □

18.4 Give specific attention to addressing the problems of rural women workers? □ □

52 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices
● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | A. Employment Creation and Enterprise Development 53

 Social Protection

A ccess to an adequate level of social protection is a basic right of all individuals. Article 22 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states: “everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security”.
But almost sixty years later, that right remains a dream for 80 per cent of the global population. To many
people a basic set of benefits through social transfers could make the difference between a miserable and a
decent life, or simply the difference between life and death. But in many countries, a large proportion, some-
times a majority, of men and women workers and their families have no or very limited means to cope with
life risks, such as lost or reduced income due to illness, old age, unemployment, invalidity, loss of the bread-
winner in the family.
The terms “social security” and “social protection” are sometimes used interchangeably, but it is possible
to make a distinction. “Social security” encompasses all measures that provide income security to people in
case of poverty, unemployment, sickness, disability, old age, loss of the breadwinner, as well as access to essen-
tial social services. Such access to essential social services comprises most importantly access to health services
as well as access to education and occupational training and retraining. “Social protection” as a wider concept
covers not only social security but labour protection. Labour protection covers occupational safety and health
and decent working conditions, and combines risk prevention strategies with the protection of rights and the
integration of vulnerable groups, such as people living with HIV/AIDS.
In this sense, social protection is an investment in people, their employability and potential productivity.
Poor occupational safety and health measures or poor working conditions lead to accidents and diseases,
which then can lead to temporary or permanent incapacity to work and eventual exclusion from the labour
market. Creating a safe and healthy working environment that will help prevent exclusion of workers from
the labour market is a relevant tool to maintain employability and ultimately quality, safe jobs and produc-
tive work. Social protection also promotes gender equality through measures such as maternity protection and
family-friendly benefits so that women with children are not discriminated against in the labour market. For
employers and enterprises, social protection helps maintain a stable workforce adaptable to change. Finally,
by providing a safety net in case of economic crisis, social protection serves as a fundamental element of social
cohesion.
One of the most critical workplace issues in our time is the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Nearly 40 million
people of working age have HIV and the global labour force has lost an estimated 28 million workers to AIDS
since the start of the epidemic about 20 years ago. The ILO’s Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world
of work contains key principles for policy development and practical guidelines for programmes at enterprise,
community and national levels. It covers prevention of HIV, management and mitigation of the impact of
AIDS, care and support of workers infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, and elimination of stigma and dis-
crimination on the basis of real or perceived HIV status.
Over many decades until recently, there was widespread consensus in most industrialized countries that
the social security of their population should be improved as societies grew more prosperous. Several devel-
oping countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia have also demonstrated successes with modest universal

54 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
social benefit systems. However, in the world today, a predominant preoccupation of policy makers has been
the reduction or containment of social expenditures, and many agencies which provide advice to poor coun-
tries tend to be reluctant to support major transfer programmes, so that the introduction of at least basic sys-
tems of social security plays a limited role in economic and development policies.
A major reason can be traced to the misconception of social security as a cost to society – rather than a
potential benefit and an investment in economies and people. The social security policy debate has become a
debate on fiscal and economic affordability. In developed countries, the concerns revolve around the revenue
side (global tax competition between countries and growing informality are perceived to limit the fiscal space
for transfers) and the expenditure side (population ageing and new health hazards lead to higher dependency
levels and treatment costs and are hence seen as inexorably driving up expenditure levels). In developing coun-
tries, the concerns are also about economic and fiscal affordability and also implicitly about the opportunity
costs (that scarce public resources could be better invested in creating economic growth which would in the
long term be more beneficial to the welfare of a population than allegedly “unproductive” transfer payments
to people working and living in informality).
Such views can and should be questioned. Firstly, social security systems providing social transfers are
instruments to alleviate and prevent poverty which work directly and fast in a way that the putative benefits
of “trickle-down” effects of economic growth cannot match. Particularly for low-income countries, even a
basic social security system can make the difference between achieving or not MDG1 of halving poverty by
2015. Social security transfers serve as cash injections to local and national economies, having a positive impact
on their development. Raising the incomes of the poor increases domestic demand and, in turn, encourages
growth by expanding domestic markets. Importantly, social security systems are an investment in produc-
tivity. Only people who enjoy a minimum of material security can afford to take entrepreneurial risks; only
healthy and well-nourished people can be productive; and only people that have at least a minimum level of
schooling can work their way out of poverty successfully. Furthermore, social security benefits that do not
establish disincentives to work can facilitate the adjustment of labour markets in both industrialized and
developing countries and can thus help to facilitate the public acceptance of global changes in production
triggered by globalization.
Thus, there are good social and economic reasons to introduce social protection. Obviously, it is to
be expected that in the early stages of development, the fiscal constraint is tighter than at later stages, so
the introduction of social security benefits may have to be sequenced by order of priority. However, ILO
actuarial calculations have shown that a basic social security floor to provide universal coverage, adapted
to meet specific country needs and possibilities, is a feasible goal within a reasonable time frame for most
developing countries.

More information and tools can be found at:

http://cebtoolkit.ilo.org/themes/social-protection

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 55

B1. Social security

The empirical and statistical evidence of the last decade shows clearly that eco-
nomic growth does not automatically reduce poverty without putting employ-
ment promotion and income redistribution mechanisms such as social security
systems in place. Social security is not only an important means of reducing pov-
erty and vulnerability; it is a basic human right. It greatly improves chances of
achieving sustainable and equitable growth and is indispensable to social inclu-
sion of particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
A strategy to extend social security coverage should be based on two dis-
tinct types of rights of the individual that give effect to the human right to social
security: (i) for those who derive rights on the basis of payments of contributions
or taxes; and (ii) residents’ rights comprising a basic “floor” of social security for
all. Such a basic floor of social security can be introduced and strengthened pro-
gressively in line with economic development and the scope and coverage can be
adapted to meet new needs and uncertainties, and could consist of:
䡵 Access for all residents in a country to basic/essential health care through
pluralistic national systems that consist of public tax-financed components,
social and private insurance components, as well as community-based com-
ponents that are linked to a strong central system;
䡵 A system of family/child benefits that provides basic income security for chil-
dren and facilitates children’s access to nutrition, education and care;
䡵 A system of basic social assistance that provides incomes security at least at
the poverty line level to people of active age (who are unable to earn sufficient
income due to sickness, unavailability of adequately remunerated work, loss
of breadwinner, care responsibilities, etc.);
䡵 A system of basic universal pensions that provides income security at least at
the poverty line level in case of old age, invalidity and survivorship.

International agencies provide policy advice to national or local governments

that fully or partly fund social protection systems and that need to ensure proper
governance of these systems. International agencies also deal, directly or indi-
rectly, with other actions leading to guarantees of minimum benefits for vulner-
able groups including children, the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed and
underemployed.

56 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Help the government to understand and address the issues of fiscal and economic
1.1 □ □
affordability of a social security system?

1.2 Promote social protection as a means of preventing and alleviating poverty? □ □

1.3 Explicitly promote the extension of social security coverage in the country? □ □
If so, how?

1.3.1 Focus on extending coverage for those who derive rights on the basis of payments of
□ □
contributions or taxes?
1.3.2 Focus on extending coverage for all residents in the country as part of a basic floor
□ □
of social security?

1.4 Promote access for all residents to basic health care? □ □

If so, how?

1.4.1 Support public tax-financed national health care? □ □

1.4.2 Support social and private insurance components of health care? □ □
1.4.3 Support local level planning and community involvement in improving access to
□ □
basic health care?

Support family/child benefits to ensure that all children have access to nutrition, education
1.5 □ □
and care?
Support basic social assistance to all workers and their families in abject poverty or
1.6 □ □
destitution?

1.7 Support the provision of income security in case of old age? □ □

1.8 Support the provision of income security in case of invalidity or disability? □ □
1.9 Support the provision of income security in case of survivorship? □ □
1.10 Analyze the proportion of public budgets and donor assistance devoted to social security? □ □
Support informal means of social protection, especially when the poor have no access to
1.11 formal social security systems? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 57

B2. Safety in the workplace

Every year more than 2 million people die from occupational accidents or work-
related diseases. By conservative estimates, there are 270 million occupational
accidents and 160 million cases of occupational disease. Deaths and injuries take
a particularly heavy toll in developing nations, where large numbers of people
are engaged in hazardous activities, including agriculture, construction, logging,
fishing and mining. Hazardous work takes its toll on the health of workers and on
productivity. Disability as a result of hazardous work is a major cause of poverty,
affecting entire families. The poorest and least protected, often women, children
and migrants, are among the most affected. More often than not, prevention of
occupational injuries, death and diseases is missing from the agenda
where they work.
Agricultural work is particularly hazardous. Even when technological devel-
opments have mitigated the drudgery of agricultural work, there are new risks
related to the use of sophisticated machinery and intensive use of chemicals and
pesticides. One of the distinguishing characteristics of agricultural work is that
working and living conditions are interwoven. Workers and their families live on
the land where there tends to be much environmental spillover from the occupa-
tional risks. Wider community exposure to pesticides may occur in the form of
contamination of foodstuffs, the diversion of chemically treated seeds for human
consumption, contamination of groundwater, etc.
Conditions in the urban informal economy are often no better. The condi-
tions under which most informal workers operate are precarious, unhealthy and
unsafe. Many of the micro enterprises in which they work have ramshackle struc-
tures and lack sanitary facilities or portable water. For many workers, and particu-
larly for women, their home is their workplace and they frequently live and work
in unsafe and unhealthy conditions – not only for themselves but also for their
family members.
The activities of agencies directly or indirectly affect occupational safety
and health: for example, how infrastructure projects are carried out; how tech-
nology can improve safety in the workplace; how educational systems can improve
awareness of work-related hazards. International agencies can also play a role in
awareness raising and governance structures to promote safe and healthy working
conditions. Many technical cooperation projects have shown that it is possible
to introduce low or no cost changes that make the workplace/home a safer and
healthier place to live and work.

58 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote occupational safety and health systems to prevent injuries, death and diseases
2.1 □ □
in the workplace?

Assist the country to develop and implement comprehensive national occupational safety
2.2 □ □
and health programmes?

Address safety issues with regard to high risk occupations in sectors such as agriculture,
2.2 □ □
forestry, fisheries, mining, construction, etc.?

Address the improvement of working conditions, including in the informal economy,

2.4 □ □
to eliminate work under hazardous and unhealthy conditions?

2.5 Address home-based workers to make the home a safer and healthier place to live and work? □ □

2.6 Conduct research on occupational safety and health issues? □ □

Actively involve workers and employers in the development and implementation
2.7 □ □
of the safety and health programme?

Have the support of government labour inspection in the implementation of the safety
2.8 □ □
and health programme?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 59

B3. Health and work

Occupational health and public health are closely linked. The overall health status
of the population is obviously very much affected by health issues at the work-
place. And, of course, the health of workers is a major determinant of productivity.
Health problems can also lead to discrimination against workers (for example,
those with HIV/AIDS or TB) or result in major expenditures for governments
and enterprises. A vicious circle of poor health, reduced working capacity, low
productivity and shortened life expectancy is a typical outcome in the absence
of social interventions addressing the underlying problems of irregular and low
quality employment, low pay and the lack of social protection. International
organizations can help to promote health and safety at work – and the most
effective measures tend to be those that actively involve workers’ and employers’
organizations.
AIDS is a workplace issue not only because it affects labour and produc-
tivity, but also because the workplace has a vital role to play in the wider struggle
to limit the spread and effects of the epidemic. Over 40 million people are living
with HIV/AIDS. Nine out of every ten are adults in their productive and repro-
ductive prime. HIV/AIDS threatens the livelihoods of many workers and those
who depend on them – families, communities and enterprises. In doing so, it also
weakens national economies. Discrimination and stigmatization against women
and men with HIV threaten fundamental principles and rights at work, and
undermine efforts for prevention and care. There is still no cure for HIV/AIDS,
but prevention does work.
The ground-breaking ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of
Work, which was adopted in 2001 by governments, employers and workers, has
now been translated into over 40 languages and is a reference point for laws and
policies in over 70 countries. The Code of Practice is the framework for action
related to the workplace. It contains key principles for policy development and
practical guidelines for programmes at enterprise, community and national levels
covering : prevention of HIV; management and mitigation of the impact of AIDS
on the world of work; care and support of workers infected and affected by HIV/
AIDS; and elimination of stigma and discrimination on the basis of real or per-
ceived HIV status.

60 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote access by the working population and their families to an essential set
3.1 □ □
of quality health services?

3.2 Promote non-discrimination in access to essential health services by: □ □

3.2.1 Workers in the informal economy? □ □
3.2.2 Rural workers? □ □
3.2.3 Migrant workers? □ □
Actively promote policies to ensure access to employment for people living with HIV/AIDS
3.3 (such as no HIV testing for purposes of employment, confidentiality and the continuation of □ □
the employment relationship)?

3.4 Foster measures to prevent HIV transmission at work? □ □

3.5 Provide compensation for those infected through occupational exposure to HIV? □ □
Help to raise awareness of or make use of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS
3.6 □ □
and the World of Work?

Consider or promote workplace-related measures to prevent or reduce airborne transmission

3.7 of tuberculosis (TB) among workers or, where required, of Severe Acute Respiratory □ □
Syndrome (SARS), avian influenza and other communicable diseases?

Promote appropriate monitoring services for workers and their families to identify and
3.8 □ □
manage TB or HIV/AIDS in line with the international standards set for both diseases?

Assist in strengthening legislation, policies and education to prevent stigma and

3.9 discrimination and to promote the rights of workers infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS □ □
or TB in the workplace?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 61

B4. Fair conditions at work

People aspire to have not just a job but a good job. Wages, working time, work
organization and conditions of work, arrangements to balance working life and
the demands of family and life outside work, non-discrimination and protection
from harassment and violence at work are core elements of the employment rela-
tionship and of workers’ protection, and also affect economic performance.
In many parts of the world, access to adequate and regular wages is not guar-
anteed. Policies to promote regular payment of wages and to fi x minimum wage
levels are therefore important. Wages often remain too low for many workers to
meet their basic needs. As described above in section A1 on the “working poor”,
many people are working, and working very hard and long hours, but do not earn
enough to lift themselves and their families above the poverty line. Section A12
emphasizes the importance of addressing growing income inequalities – between
returns to capital and returns to labour and also pay gaps between the skilled and
unskilled. Large income inequalities lead to social instability and unrest.
Regulated hours of work, daily and weekly rest periods and annual holi-
days help to ensure high productivity while safeguarding workers’ physical and
mental health. However, a “time-money” squeeze is being increasingly experi-
enced by workers and potential workers with family responsibilities. Families
need the fi nancial resources that come from work. At the same time, families
must ensure that dependents, such as young children, the elderly or the disabled,
are looked after during working hours. Terms and conditions of employment and
social security schemes should recognize that women and men are workers with
family responsibilities and ensure that they are able to engage in employment
without being subject to discrimination and, to the extent possible, without con-
flict between their employment and family responsibilities.
Pregnancy and maternity are an especially vulnerable time for working
women and their families. Expectant and nursing mothers require special pro-
tection to prevent harm to their or their infant’s health, and they need adequate
time to give birth, to recover and to nurse their children. At the same time, they
also require protection to ensure that they will not lose their job simply because
of pregnancy or maternity leave. Such protection is a precondition for achieving
genuine equality of opportunity and treatment for women and men at work and
enabling workers to raise families in conditions of security.
Job related stress and violence, including sexual harassment, are being rec-
ognized globally as major problems. Taken together stress and violence could be
responsible for a great number of occupational accidents and diseases leading to
death, illness and incapacity. There is considerable cost for the individual employee
relating to these problems in terms of physical and mental health problems,
employment implications and the risk of job loss. For the enterprises, these prob-
lems result in direct costs, such as increased absenteeism, staff turnover, reduced
productivity, training and retraining, as well as in indirect costs, such as reduced
motivation, satisfaction and creativity and public relations problems.

62 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Explicitly promote actions to avoid discrimination at work (on the basis of sex, race,
4.1 □ □
ethnicity, social origin, age, political affi liation, etc.)?

4.2 Support the fi xing of minimum wage levels? □ □

Promote equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value
4.3 □ □
or wage rates established without discrimination based on sex?

Promote measures to enable women and men to balance work and family responsibilities
4.4 □ □
(for example, through the provision of child care services or flexible working time)?

4.5 Promote effective provision of maternity protection for women? □ □

4.6 Support policies to reduce stress and violence in the workplace? □ □

Support policies to improve dignity at work (for example, by preventing sexual harassment
4.7 □ □
at work)?

Promote measures to regulate working time, including the length and scheduling
4.8 □ □
of daily and weekly hours of work and paid annual leave?

4.9 Promote and support worker grievance procedures in the workplace? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 63

B5. Pension systems

A system of basic universal pensions would provide income security at least at the
poverty line level in case of old age, invalidity and survivorship.
As the number of elderly people rises in a country so does the need to ensure
their social inclusion and protection. For those who are old and poor, there tends
to be little hope and few means to improve their lot. But studies have demon-
strated that the payment of a small old-age pension to the elderly on a universal or
means-tested and tax-financed basis not only improves the life of the elderly and
helps reduce old-age poverty but it also has beneficial effects for the whole family.
The payment of a basic pension would also provide some income security to avoid
abject poverty and destitution for those who because of invalidity are unable to
work and also for those who have lost the breadwinners of the family.
International organizations are increasingly engaged in the worldwide dis-
cussion on how pension schemes should function. This discussion is at the core
of a more complex debate on how different generations should support each other
and on the role of the State as a provider of basic social services.

64 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote any form of benefits for old age, invalidity or survivorship to any population group
5.1 □ □
in the country?

5.2 Address the economic and social problems for the country relating to an ageing population? □ □
Address the economic and social problems for the country relating to invalidity
5.3 □ □
or disability of workers?

Address the plight of families whose main bread winners have been injured or died
5.4 □ □
as a result of armed conflicts, economic or social crises, natural disasters, etc.?

Promote reliable and predictable pension systems for allowing all elderly to live
5.5 □ □
at least above the national poverty line?

Promote the right to retire at old age, as well as the right to employment in decent
5.6 □ □
conditions for older workers and facilitate their transition from work into retirement?

5.7 Promote proper governance of the pension system? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | B. Social Protection 65

 Standards and Rights
at Work

F undamental workers’ rights are part of the set of basic human rights and define a universal
social basis of minimum standards in the world of work. The ILO Declaration on Funda-
mental Principles and Rights at Work covers the rights to freedom of association and the effec-
tive recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or
compulsory labour, the effective abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimina-
tion in respect of employment and occupation. These fundamental principles and rights at work
are considered to be the foundations for decent work, and all ILO member States are bound to
respect them.
Rights at work are addressed in international labour standards, which include binding
Conventions and non-binding Recommendations, Codes of Practice and guidelines. Interna-
tional labour standards are debated, constructed and adopted by means of a tripartite process
involving governments, workers, and employers, thus reflecting broad support for those stand-
ards from the social partners, who are the key actors in the economy. Standards are adopted by
a two-thirds majority vote of the ILO’s constituents and are therefore an expression of univer-
sally acknowledged principles. At the same time, they reflect the fact that countries have diverse
cultural and historical backgrounds, legal systems and levels of economic development. Indeed,
most standards have been formulated in a manner that makes them flexible enough to be trans-
lated into national law and practice with due consideration of these differences. Other stand-
ards have so-called “flexibility clauses” allowing states to lay down temporary standards that are
lower than those normally prescribed, to exclude certain categories of workers from the applica-
tion of the Convention or to apply only certain parts of the instrument.
Since 1919, the ILO has adopted 188 Conventions and 199 Recommendations covering a
wide range of issues related to the world of work. In addition, dozens of Codes of Practice have
been developed. As can be expected, some of these instruments no longer correspond to today’s
needs. The ILO Governing Body reviewed all ILO standards adopted before 1985 and deter-
mined that some 71 conventions, including the fundamental conventions and those adopted
after 1985 remained fully up-to-date and should be actively promoted, and the remainder
required revision or withdrawal.
Conventions, even if not ratified by a particular member State, and Recommendations
which do not need to be ratified, both provide solid policy directions for a wide range of employ-
ment and labour issues and therefore serve as a major resource for action in any of these areas.
They should not be overlooked when tackling any economic, social or new development issue,
inevitably linked to productive activity. The tripartite nature of the discussions leading to Con-
ventions and Recommendations provides an outstanding basis for any international organiza-
tion to get member States and other stakeholders on board when giving advice or promoting
policies and activities as part of the international agenda. As the Conventions are binding inter-

66 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
national treaties, once ratified, they enable the establishment of agreements and partnerships in
order to carry out any development strategy at the local and national levels. The ILO’s unique
supervisory bodies engage governments in dialogue on problems in the application of standards
and serve as useful sources of information on law and practice in particular countries.
International labour standards can be used for a number of purposes:
䡵 As models and targets for labour law: International labour standards serve as targets for
harmonizing national law and practice in a particular field. A country may ratify the rel-
evant Convention or even if it does not ratify the Convention, it may still bring its legisla-
tion into line with it;
䡵 As sources of international law applied at the national level: In many countries, rati-
fied international treaties apply automatically at the national level. Their courts are thus
able to use international labour standards to decide cases on which national law is inad-
equate or silent or to draw definitions set out in the standards, such as “forced labour” or
“discrimination”;
䡵 As guidelines for social policy: In addition to shaping law, international labour standards
can provide guidance for developing national and local policies, such as work and family
policies. They can also be used to guide improvements in administrative structures such as
labour administration, labour inspection, social security administration, employment serv-
ices, etc. Standards can also serve as a source of good industrial relations applied by labour
dispute resolution bodies, and as models for collective agreements;
䡵 Influencing other areas: For example, increasing consumer interest in the ethical dimen-
sions of products has led multinational enterprises to adopt voluntary codes of conduct to
govern labour conditions in their production sites and those in their supply chains. Reports
on the application of international labour standards are regularly submitted to the United
Nations human rights bodies and other international entities. International financial insti-
tutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have integrated cer-
tain aspects of labour standards into some of their activities. Advocacy groups and NGOs
draw on international labour standards to call for changes in policy, law or practice; while
a number of countries and regional organizations have incorporated respect for interna-
tional labour standards into their bilateral, multilateral or regional trade agreements.

More information and tools can be found at:

http://cebtoolkit.ilo.org/themes/standards-and-rights-at-work

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 67

C1. Fundamental Principles
and Rights at Work

The set of fundamental principles and rights at work embodied in the ILO Decla-
ration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up, 1998, is
not only an ILO issue. On the contrary, it is closely linked to human rights, to the
achievement of social peace and cohesion and to personal fulfi lment. Although
progress in science and technology has brought about many achievements in terms
of creating a better life for the world’s population, this progress, unfortunately, is
still marred by serious violations of basic human rights, including the deprivation
of basic freedoms such as the freedom of association (the core of democratic proc-
esses and social cohesion), the existence of human trafficking and forced labour,
the existence of child labour in its worst forms and discrimination in its many
forms (on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, etc.)
International agencies have to be concerned with these fundamental rights in
one way or another, since they deal with human beings. Whether addressing areas
such as education and health in rural and urban areas, sectors of the economy,
trade, the environment, macroeconomic policies, industrial organization, tourism
or communications, they often encounter concrete problems linked with one or
more of the fundamental principles and rights at work. The need to tackle these
problems and to help member States and other constituents in applying the fun-
damental principles and rights at work is not only a challenge but a main objec-
tive of the international system.
The fundamental principles and rights at work relate to: the rights to
freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bar-
gaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, the effec-
tive abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation. These are basic human rights and a central plank
of decent work. The core ILO Conventions covering these fundamental princi-
ples and rights at work are:
䡵 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Conven-
tion, 1948 (No. 87)
䡵 Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
䡵 Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
䡵 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
䡵 Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
䡵 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
䡵 Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
䡵 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)

68 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Advise or carry out activities to assist the country to meet its commitments to the ILO
1.1 □ □
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up as regards:
1.1.1 Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right
□ □
to collective bargaining?
1.1.2 Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour
□ □
(slavery, bonded labour, human trafficking, etc.)?
1.1.3 Effective abolition of child labour, in particular the worst forms of child labour? □ □
1.1.4 Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation? □ □
Carry out activities to address a violation of any fundamental principle or right at work
1.2 □ □
that has been detected in the country?

In the preparation of the national development/programming framework,

1.3 □ □
analyze the country’s respect for fundamental principles and rights at work?

Consult employers’ and workers’ organizations at local and national levels in analyzing
1.4 □ □
the country’s respect for fundamental principles and rights at work?

Make the granting of loans, provision of technical assistance, funding of infrastructure

1.5 development projects or other kinds of multilateral action conditional upon the country □ □
fully respecting fundamental principles and rights at work?

Have any specific tools, guidelines or activities, such as advocacy or training, to help staff
1.6 □ □
or constituents better understand and apply fundamental principles and rights at work?

Refer to ILO Conventions and Recommendations when dealing with fundamental

1.7 □ □
principles and rights at work?

Have any specific activities to educate or inform workers and employers of their labour
1.8 □ □
rights, entitlements and obligations?

Regularly consult with stakeholders other than the government, in particular with workers
1.9 □ □
and employers, on the application of fundamental principles and rights at work?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 69

C2. Freedom of association

Freedom of association is a democratic human right proclaimed in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It is the enabling right to allow effective
participation of non-state actors in economic and social policy. Ensuring that
workers and employers have a voice and are represented is, therefore, essential for
the effective functioning not only of labour markets but also of overall governance
structures in a country. The right to organize and bargain collectively is thus a sig-
nificant element to be considered by all international organizations in pursuing
their own objectives within their respective mandates.
In the world today, globalization has different impacts on countries, com-
munities and sectors. Representational security facilitates local responses relevant
to the particular challenges being faced in the various communities or sectors
of an economy. Respect for freedom of association allows for the development
of the institutional means of representation most relevant to the particular con-
text and issue – be these associations of traders in the informal economy, rural
tenant organizations, trade unions or employers’ organizations. International
agencies should support the collective representation of interests by these organi-
zations and the strategies of these organizations that most appropriately address
the issue at hand – be this a negotiation concerning the use of land, a demonstra-
tion or campaign against the worst forms of child labour, a delegation of workers
or employers addressing the government concerning the implications of a trade
agreement or social dialogue to mitigate the impact of a financial crisis.

70 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote and respect the right of employers and workers, as well as other interest groups,
2.1 □ □
to organize and voice their concerns freely?

Identify any form of violation of freedom of association and collective bargaining

2.2 □ □
in the country?

Raise concerns relating to violations of the right to organize and bargain collectively
2.3 □ □
with the counterparts at national level?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 71

C3. Abolition of forced labour

Forced labour refers to all work or service that is exacted from any person under
the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered herself or
himself voluntarily. Forced labour involves restriction on human freedom, slavery
and slavery-like practices, debt bondage and servitude. Gender, socio-cultural and
market biases determine the type and severity of forced labour in different sec-
tors of the economy.
There are many dimensions to forced labour: coercive recruitment, human
trafficking especially of migrant workers, the sexual exploitation of children and
women, the abuse and exploitation of domestic workers, sweatshop or farm workers
kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing, the risks arising from
economic sectors such as mining, agriculture, construction and tourism, and local
and national corruption, etc. These aspects are also linked to economic and social
policies, including policies affecting global production systems, export processing
zones and the informal economy. Forced labour is sometimes still imposed as a
punishment for expressing one’s political views.
The elimination of forced labour remains an important challenge for the 21st
century. Not only is forced labour a serious violation of a fundamental human
right, it is a leading cause of poverty and a hindrance to economic development.
To combat and eliminate forced labour, the entire international system should be
aware of its existence and actively take action. ILO standards on forced labour,
in combination with targeted technical assistance, are important tools for com-
bating this scourge.

72 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

3.1 Address forced or compulsory labour in the country? □ □

3.2 Identify any form of violation related to forced labour in the country? □ □
Combat attempts by those who justify forced labour on the grounds that it boosts
3.3 □ □
productivity or alleviates poverty?

3.4 Address the issue of human trafficking? □ □

3.5 Address the issue of slavery or bonded labour? □ □

Monitor and evaluate activities aimed at preventing or eliminating these forms
3.6 □ □
of forced labour?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 73

C4. Elimination of child labour

The importance of giving children a proper start in life and investing in the
human resources of the future cannot be over-emphasized. The worst forms of
child labour expose the child to health, safety and moral hazards and to phys-
ical, psychological and emotional abuse and harm. This in itself is a violation of
fundamental human rights and has been shown to hinder children’s develop-
ment, potentially leading to lifelong physical and psychological damage. Evidence
points to a strong link between household poverty and child labour. Furthermore,
child labour perpetuates poverty across generations by keeping children of the
poor out of school and limiting their prospects for upward social mobility. Th is
lowering of human capital has been linked to slow economic growth and social
development.
There are an estimated 218 million child labourers in the world today; some
165 million are between the ages of 5-14 years. Many work full time, they do not
go to school and have little or no time to play and many do not receive proper
nutrition or care. 126 million of these children are victims of the worst forms of
child labour including: work in hazardous environments where they are exposed
to toxic chemicals, dangerous machinery or extreme heat; use in illicit activities
such as drug trafficking, prostitution or the production of pornography; traf-
ficking or being forced into slavery or slave-like conditions; and being forced to
take part in armed conflicts.
The elimination of child labour is linked to MDG 2 of achieving universal
primary education by 2015. All international agencies have a stake in combating
child labour.
It is also worth mentioning that there is a cruel irony in the co-existence of
child labour and youth unemployment and under-employment in many countries.
While the demand for certain types of labour is met by children who should not
be working, there is also a supply of labour from young people that is unused or
underused. Measures that promote better functioning labour markets would help
to reorient the demand for labour away from children towards young people who
may be legitimately employed.

74 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Directly or indirectly promote the elimination of the worst forms of child labour
4.1 □ □
in the country?

Ensure that policies, programmes or activities do not have negative direct or indirect
4.2 □ □
consequences on child labour?

Use tools such as the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and the Worst
4.3 Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.182) to help eliminate the worst forms □ □
of child labour?

4.4 Have monitoring and evaluation systems that measure the possible impacts on child labour? □ □

4.5 Regularly promote data on child labour? □ □

If so, how?

4.5.1 Build national capacity to collect and analyze such data disaggregated by sex? □ □
4.5.2 Share such data with other relevant users? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 75

C5. Non-discrimination and
the promotion of equality

Millions of women and men around the world are denied access to jobs and training, con-
fined to certain occupations or offered lower pay simply because of their sex, religion, skin
colour, ethnicity or beliefs, irrespective of their capabilities and skills or the requirements
of a job. The discrimination that certain groups, such as women, ethnic or racial minorities
and migrants, face in the labour market makes them highly vulnerable to exploitation and
abuses such as forced labour. Barriers to decent jobs often compel parents belonging to an
ethnic minority to resort to the labour of their children to make ends meet. Discrimination
deprives people of their voice at work and their ability to fully participate. Discrimination
is a basis for social exclusion and poverty.
An important starting point to overcome discrimination is the right to equality of
opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation. And the key to
the success of promoting equality in the labour market is the active involvement of trade
unions, employers’ organizations and other stakeholders. Freedom from discrimination is
a fundamental human right and is essential for workers to choose their employment freely,
to develop their potential to the full and to reap economic rewards on the basis of merit.
Bringing equality to the workplace has significant economic benefits too. Employers who
practice equality have access to a larger and more diverse workforce. Workers who enjoy
equality have greater access to training, often receive higher wages, and improve the overall
quality of the workforce. The profits of a globalized economy are more fairly distributed
in a society with equality, leading to greater social stability and broader public support for
further economic development.
The promotion of gender equality is a goal that all governments and international agen-
cies prioritize. Yet most countries have made better progress in education than in employ-
ment for MDG3 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The MDG Task Force
on education and gender equality identified seven strategic priorities for gender equality
and women’s empowerment drawn from the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action:
䡵 Strengthen opportunities for post-primary education for girls while meeting commit-
ments to universal primary education;
䡵 Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights;
䡵 Invest in infrastructure to reduce women’s and girls’ time burdens;
䡵 Guarantee women’s and girls’ property and inheritance rights;
䡵 Eliminate gender inequality in employment by decreasing women’s reliance on informal
employment, closing gender gaps in earnings, and reducing occupational segregation;
䡵 Increase women’s share of seats in national parliaments and local government bodies;
and
䡵 Combat violence against girls and women.

International agencies must examine and address the problems related to discrimination if
the values of human dignity and individual freedom, social justice and social cohesion are
to go beyond formal proclamations. They must also eliminate discrimination as an inte-
gral component of any strategy for poverty eradication. The promotion of gender equality
should be a concern cutting across all policies, programmes and activities.

76 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Address any form of discrimination at work, such as discrimination based on sex, race,
5.1 □ □
ethnicity, religion, age or other dimension?

5.2 Combat discrimination at work as a specific means to overcome poverty? □ □

Regularly collect relevant statistics disaggregated by sex or by any other variable
5.3 □ □
considered as a source of discrimination at work?

Impose directives or guidelines for mainstreaming gender concerns into all activities,
5.4 □ □
including in contractual agreements with counterparts at the national or local levels?

Systematically conduct gender analysis to identify, monitor and evaluate the differential
5.5 impact of policies, programmes and activities on women and men and to guide □ □
implementation towards achieving gender equality?

Systematically analyze other sources of discrimination (based on race, ethnicity, religion,

5.6 social status, disability, national origin, language, age, etc.) to assess the impact of policies, □ □
programmes and activities in combating discrimination at work?

Specifically recognize the economic contribution of diversity to the productive

5.7 □ □
and care economies?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 77

C6. Application of international
labour standards

Compliance with international labour standards not only protects workers’ rights
but also fosters business confidence and respect for the rule of law. Observance of
international labour standards helps prevent countries from engaging in destruc-
tive competition in the quest to gain competitive advantages in global trade.
All international labour standards, when ratified by member States, are
binding instruments and are reflected in national law. They cover a wide range of
issues, most of which relate to the fields of action addressed by the mandates of
international organizations. Hence, international organizations can refer to ILO
Conventions and Recommendations as a unique set of tools for dealing with a
specific topic – these tools have the advantage of facilitating national engagement
and ownership by national constituents.
However, it should be pointed out that many countries face major prob-
lems to fully reflect ratified Conventions in national law and practice. Interna-
tional organizations can play a role in promoting implementation of labour law by
involving the social partners and supporting governance structures such as labour
inspection, dispute resolution mechanisms, labour courts, etc.

78 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Take account of the relevant Conventions ratified by the country when addressing
6.1 □ □
specific national or local issues?

Explicitly promote compliance with international labour standards as a way

6.2 □ □
of achieving decent work?

6.3 Specifically aim to: □ □

6.3.1 Promote the ratification of relevant international labour standards? □ □
6.3.2 Strengthen the country’s capacity to implement ratified Conventions effectively? □ □
6.3.3 Follow up on observations and conclusions of ILO supervisory bodies and assist
□ □
in finding solutions to problems which have been identified?
6.3.4 Raise awareness and understanding of international labour standards? □ □
Address the possible trade-offs between international labour standards and other economic
6.4 □ □
and social variables, such as the country’s competitive position in the global economy?

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | C. Standards and Rights at Work 79

 Governance and
Social Dialogue

T he decent work approach stresses that good governance, dialogue and consultation
between the partners concerned help ensure maximum buy-in and participation in the
formulation and effective implementation and evaluation of economic and social policies
that affect the world of work. Th is important and distinct feature of the Decent Work
Agenda is not only a method of reaching understanding, balance, negotiation, consensus
and peace, but also a fundamental objective and the essence of democratic governance in
the world of work.
Tripartism in the world of work refers to social dialogue between governments,
employers and workers as direct and key actors of the economy. It requires representative
and well-functioning employers’ and workers’ organizations, referred to as the social part-
ners of governments. Among the UN agencies, the ILO’s tripartite structure is unique in
that it brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers who have
an equal voice to jointly shape labour standards, policies and programmes. The ILO’s tri-
partism provides “real world” knowledge about employment and work and has proven to
be the most effective means for sound governance of the labour market with a view to
achieving fair, productive and competitive market economies. Representative and well-
functioning employers’ and workers’ organizations together with governments play a cen-
tral role in defi ning the convergence of public policies and market mechanisms that is
needed to create employment and decent work.
The right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their own choice
is an integral part of a free and open society. Freedom of association is the enabling right to
ensure participation of non-state actors in economic and social policy. Linked to this is the
effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
Social dialogue refers to all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of infor-
mation between or among representatives of governments, employers and workers. Effective
social dialogue depends on: respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of association and
collective bargaining; strong, independent workers’ and employers’ organizations with the
technical capacity and knowledge required to participate in social dialogue; political will
and commitment to engage in social dialogue on the part of all parties; effective governance
structures; and adequate access to relevant information and agreed processes for the preven-
tion and resolution of disputes in the event that these should arise.
Social dialogue sometimes refers to dialogue that involves more than the traditional
social partners. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other representatives of civil
society (CSOs) are often invited to take part in negotiations and consultations together
with the traditional social partners. However, it is very important to note the fundamental
difference between workers’/employers’ organizations and non-governmental/civil society

80 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
organizations, the key consideration being representation and accountability. Free and inde-
pendent workers’ and employers’ organizations derive their legitimacy from the member-
ship they represent and they can therefore legitimately speak in the name of their members.
NGOs or CSOs, on the other hand, in so far as they are not membership-based, can advo-
cate advancing a particular cause or supporting a particular group but cannot claim to rep-
resent the group nor do they have to answer to the group.
International organizations have a role to play in promoting tripartism and social dia-
logue as a basis for democratic participation and helping to secure its foundations through
increasing respect for the freedom of association of workers and employers. They also have a
responsibility to promote good governance.
“Governance” refers to those public or private institutions, structures of authority and
means of collaboration that coordinate or control activity at work and in the labour market.
The mechanisms of governance can be both formal and informal, including private con-
tracts, laws and regulations, collective agreements, labour administration and active labour
market policies based on social dialogue. Research has confirmed that in many countries a
major barrier to further economic and social progress is weak governance in both public and
private sector institutions. Corruption is a common challenge – it is very important that
international organizations actively support the fight against corruption at all levels.
The quality of institutions is country-specific, but a common feature is the lack of
attention to the role of labour market institutions. International organizations can help to
strengthen these labour market institutions. A viable and active labour administration system
is critical for national labour policy formulation and implementation. In addition, the collec-
tion of labour statistics is crucial to help identify needs and formulate labour policy. While
labour administrations exist in most countries around the world, many of them face finan-
cial and material difficulties. Proper application of labour legislation depends on an effective
labour inspectorate. Labour inspectors examine how national labour standards are applied
in the workplace and advise employers and workers on how to improve the application of
national law in such areas as occupational safety and health, working time, wages, child
labour. In addition, labour inspectors bring to the notice of national authorities loopholes
and defects in national law, and they play an important role in ensuring that labour law is
applied equally to all employers and workers. However, in many countries, the labour inspec-
tion system is underfunded and understaffed and consequently unable to do their job, espe-
cially where workplaces are small or micro enterprises, in the informal economy or in homes.

More information and tools can be found at:

http://cebtoolkit.ilo.org/themes/governance-and-social-dialogue

Country Level Checklist | D. Governance and Social Dialogue 81

D1. Promoting good governance:
labour law and institutions

Good governance is a prerequisite for economic and social progress and also a
prerequisite of the policies, programmes and activities carried out by the inter-
national system. The necessary rule of law, the fight against corruption and bad
practices and the strengthening of checks and balances within countries and in
the multilateral system are some of the important factors determining the success
of policies, programmes and activities.
In recent years, many developing countries have sought international assist-
ance to review and reform labour law. There are at least two underlying rea-
sons. The first is to bring national legislation into line with ratified Conventions,
in particular to give effect to fundamental principles and rights at work. The
second is to ease regulations to lower the costs to employers of hiring and firing
and/or introducing new work arrangements such as temporary, part-time or con-
tract work. Employers clearly need to be able to respond quickly to market pres-
sure and excessive and inappropriate employment protection would restrict their
ability to do so. However, the challenge is to balance employers’ needs for flex-
ibility with workers’ concerns for security – and this balance hinges not only
on labour law but also on labour market governance structures and institutions.
The relevant international organizations can provide knowledge and advice on
“flexicurity” in which stronger reliance on collective bargaining and social dia-
logue, backed by effective systems of income support during unemployment and
active labour market policies, reduce the need for extensive legal provisions on
employment protection.
In addition to labour law reform, many countries are seeking international
assistance to strengthen labour administrations. The relevant international
organizations can help public institutions to build up labour inspections, labour
courts and advisory, conciliation and arbitration services. Support to employ,
train and equip an adequate labour inspectorate would help promote effective
and even-handed enforcement of labour law and extend coverage to the most
vulnerable workers in the informal economy and in agriculture. There should
also be regular collection of labour statistics disaggregated by sex and also by
rural and urban areas.
International agencies can also play an important role to improve legal lit-
eracy of the population by providing information and advocacy, especially for the
socially excluded, including workers in the informal economy, migrant workers
and ethnic minorities. The people for whom the law is intended must know the
law, know what their rights are and how to claim these rights and know how to
seek recourse in the case of violation of these rights.

82 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

1.1 Provide policy advice on labour law and regulations? □ □

Specifically use or refer to ILO Conventions and Recommendations or the ILO Declaration
1.2 □ □
on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up?

1.3 Take into account the implications of labour law especially as related to the mandate of an agency? □ □

1.4 Directly or indirectly address the following areas of labour law and regulations: □ □
1.4.1 Freedom of association (such as to establish trade unions or employers’ associations)? □ □
1.4.2 Collective bargaining (such as to set wages)? □ □
1.4.3 Employment relationship (such as type of employment or service contract)? □ □
1.4.4 Resolution of labour disputes? □ □
1.4.5 Child labour (any form)? □ □
1.4.6 Workers with HIV/AIDS or other diseases? □ □
1.4.7 Hours of work? □ □
1.4.8 Workers with family responsibilities? □ □
1.4.9 Wage setting? □ □
1.4.10 Occupational safety and health? □ □
1.4.11 Non-discrimination? □ □
1.4.12 Gender equality? □ □

1.5 Provide advice or information on “flexicurity” issues? □ □

1.6 Aim to strengthen enforcement of labour law and regulations in the country? □ □

1.7 Develop or strengthen the labour inspectorate in the country? □ □

1.8 Develop or strengthen labour courts or labour dispute resolution bodies? □ □

Promote the application of labour law and regulations in the informal economy
1.9 □ □
and agriculture?

Promote legal literacy for workers, such as through training programmes or other activities
1.10 to improve their understanding of the law? □ □

1.11 Have any specific activities to fight corruption? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | D. Governance and Social Dialogue 83

D2. Strengthening and involving social partners
and promoting social dialogue

The best solutions arise through social dialogue in its many forms and levels
– from national tripartite consultations and cooperation to plant level collec-
tive bargaining. Engaging in dialogue, governments and representative workers’
and employers’ organizations also fortify democratic governance and help build
strong labour market institutions that contribute to long-term social and eco-
nomic stability and peace. Dialogue means opportunity and hope, but also bal-
anced and well-informed solutions, sustainability and ownership. The decisions
made through dialogue prove to be much more stable and all-encompassing. This
is especially true in the world of work, since considering and reflecting different
interests leads to more harmonious employment relationships. A major challenge
in developing countries is to extend social dialogue to the weak and unorganized
sectors of the economy.
Social dialogue is a powerful tool, but it cannot be taken for granted. It
needs democratic participation of partners who have the capacity to engage in
the process effectively and responsibly and the strength and flexibility to adjust
to contemporary circumstances and exploit new opportunities. However, the
problem in many countries is that employers’ and workers’ organizations often
have weak capacity to be able to effectively participate in governance and to pro-
vide relevant services to existing and potential members. Ministries of labour are
also often sidelined in key policy and budgetary decisions.
The State has a critical role but international agencies also have a role in ena-
bling and fostering all forms of social dialogue and in strengthening the capacity
of workers, employers and government agencies to democratically participate in
social dialogue.

84 Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work: Country Level Application
 Does the national development/programming framework/
Do policies, programmes or activities of your agency:
YES NO

Promote social dialogue mechanisms with any group of constituents to define, consult or
2.1 □ □
decide on policies, programmes and activities?

Make use of social dialogue mechanisms in formulating the national development framework
2.2 □ □
or the country programme of a particular agency?

2.3 Extend dialogue mechanisms beyond the natural constituents of a particular agency? □ □

2.4 In the formulation of the national development/programming framework: □ □

2.4.1 Consult and involve employers’ organizations? □ □
2.4.2 Consult and involve workers’ organizations? □ □
2.4.3 Consult and involve other member-based organizations? □ □

2.5 Have any consultative or advisory body that includes representatives from: □ □
2.5.1 Ministry of labour and employment? □ □
2.5.2 Workers’ organizations? □ □
2.5.3 Employers’ organizations? □ □
2.5.4 Other government or non-government organizations (please name them)? □ □
Make any distinction between dialogue with workers’ and employers’ organizations and
2.6 □ □
dialogue with civil society organizations?

Take into consideration any existing collective agreement between workers and employers
2.7 □ □
when acting in a particular sector or area of economic activity in the country?

Have any activities, for example training programmes, for strengthening the capacity of
2.8 □ □
employers’ organizations?

Have any activities, for example training programmes, for strengthening the capacity of
2.9 □ □
workers’ organizations?

Have any activities, for example training programmes, for strengthening the capacity of the
2.10 Ministry of Labour? □ □

How-to tools Knowledge-based tools Good practices

● Manuals ● Policy briefs ● Africa
● Guidelines ● Research ● Asia and the Pacific
● Directives ● Data and statistics ● Middle East
● Conventions and ● Evaluation reports ● Latin America
Recommendations ● Knowledge-sharing and Caribbean
● Codes of Practice networks ● North America
● Training materials ● Europe
● Advocacy materials

Country Level Checklist | D. Governance and Social Dialogue 85