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ILO spells out its obligations
2006-07-09 09:35:34
By Nasser Kigwangallah
Poverty promotion through Decent Work Agenda at the policy level has been one of the key issues the International Labour Organization (ILO) has specialised since it was founded as an agency of the United Nations in 1946.
The ILO, according to Ali Ibrahim, the outgoing director told reporters at a farewell ceremony in Dar es Salaam this week that ILO seeks to promote social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights.
’’It was founded in 1919 when the countries affected by the World War I signed the Treaty of Versailles in their search for world peace.
This was further clarified in the ILO Declaration of Philadelphia,’’ he reveals.
The preamble of the 1919 Constitution opens with an affirmation poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.
The ILO has a tripartite structure that makes it unique among world organizations in that workers’ and employers’ organizations of its 177 member states have an equal voice with governments in shaping its policies and programmes.
On its 50th anniversary in 1969, the ILO was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The ILO office for East Africa covering Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia in which Ali Ibrahim has been its director for the past eight years says was established in Dar es Salaam in 1962.
The office, he stresses, implements the mandate of the ILO within the sub-region, in close cooperation with the umbrella organizations for employers and workers, and other partners.
Its mission however, has been to help women and men around the world to find decent working conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity through its Decent Work Agenda.
It formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations which set minimum standards of basic labour rights; freedom of association, the right to organise and collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.
’’The Organization engages in the formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights, improve working conditions and enhance employment opportunities for all, based on the principles of social justice and equality,’’ he says.
The ILO’s global Decent Work Agenda, which is translated into Decent Work Country Programmes at the national level, is focused on promoting decent work through the ILO’s four (4) strategic objectives.
These are the basis of the Organization’s programmes being implemented in active partnership with it’s constituents governments, employers, workers’ organizations and other stakeholders.
One of the major contributions of the ILO has been the promotion of the core international labour standards, freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to engage in collective bargaining.
Other functions are the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, child labour and discrimination in employment or occupation.
Emphasis is given to employment as a source of livelihood and social integration, steady growth in employment creation which largely depends on a global economic environment that promotes sustainable growth, improving labour and achieving other social objectives.
Basic security for all is essential for decent work and for sustainable development and strengthening tripartism and social dialogue.
This refers to social dialogue between labour, management and government in its many forms around the world.
Achieving the objectives of decent work for all requires strong social partners and effective social dialogue for effective design and implementation of critical economic and social policies.
The ILO Office for East Africa and Somalia in Dar es Salaam, continues to provide, at national level, technical guidance and institutional capacity building support to the government and social partners in the development of economic and social policies and legislation, and in the development of the capacities of workers and employers organizations to best represent their members’ interests.
Through a number of interventions, the Office has supported both policy development as well as institutional development in the promotion of employment and income generation opportunities for men and women.
A UNDP/ILO Jobs for Africa programme was implemented to conduct research studies to identify policy areas that have the potential of promoting investments for poverty reducing employment; capacity building of the stakeholders in advocating for the identified public policy measures; supporting country action programmes for job creation and support of national efforts in formulating national employment policies.
These interventions have contributed to the recognition of employment as a priority in the country frameworks for poverty reduction.
A project for promoting gender equality and Decent Work has been implemented to address child labour problems through socio-economic empowerment of poor working mothers.
The project operated in Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Mbeya, Zanzibar and Pemba. Some of the achievements for this project include that about 2500 poor women workers were assisted to establish coherent economic groups, trained on various trades including - business management and vocational skills; savings and credit and facilitated to obtain flexible loans and to establish savings and credit societies (SACCOS).
They were also assisted to identify new economic activities and designing of new products. More than 1300 children were withdrawn from hazardous forms of child labour and provided with basic or vocational education.
This project addressed the concerns of the poorest of the poor such as stone crushers, food vendors etc. and some of them are, today, through their savings and credit societies accumulating enough savings to improve their small businesses and have been able to maintain their childrens’ education.
It has demonstrated that the socio-economic empowerment of poor working mothers leads directly to improvements in overall family welfare, increased opportunities for children’s education and reduction of child labour.
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