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REALIZING DECENT WORK in ASIA Realizing Decent Work in Asia

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REALIZING DECENT WORK in ASIA Realizing Decent Work in Asia REALIZING DECENT WORK IN ASIA Realizing decent work in Asia Fourteenth Asian Regional Meeting Busan, Republic of Korea, August-September 2006 Report of the Director-General INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE GENEVA This Report may also be consulted on the ILO Internet site www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/rgmeet/asia.htm ISBN 978-92-2-118770-7 First published 2006 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 International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Reference to names of firms 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 Publica- tions, 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: [email protected]. Visit our web site: www.ilo.org/publns. Photocomposed in Switzerland BRI Printed in Switzerland ATA Contents Contents Acronyms and abbreviations . vii Preface . ix 1. Decent work: The priority for Asia in the twenty-first century . 1 Asia in a century of turbulence and change . 1 Decent work: The priority . 2 Realizing decent work in Asia . 5 Structure of the report . 7 2. Globalization, regionalization and competitiveness in Asia . 9 Asia leading in the global economy . 9 A strong regional dimension to Asian trade . 10 Asian FDI flows growing . 12 ICTs creating a “flat world” . 14 Competitiveness of Asian countries . 16 3. Decent work opportunities and challenges for Asia . 19 Demographic dynamics . 19 Growth rates declining but total population still huge and young . 20 Increasing intensity of ageing . 22 The poverty challenge . 24 The crux of the problem: The “working poor” . 24 Labour markets and employment . 28 Changing composition of employment . 32 The youth employment challenge . 34 Women’s employment . 36 Workers on the move . 37 Issues raised by the growing mobility of labour in Asia . 40 Annex: Interpreting employment elasticities . 43 4. Realizing decent work in Asia . 45 Competitiveness, productivity and decent jobs in a globalizing context . 45 The importance of productivity gains . 47 Promoting both productivity growth and employment growth . 48 Improving the skills and employability of the labour force . 52 The “Millennium generation”: Decent jobs for young people . 53 Adopting a life-cycle perspective to decent work . 53 Why focus on youth employment? The potential of the “Millennium generation” 54 Starting with the links between child labour and youth employment . 55 Young people face age-specific difficulties in the labour market . 55 National policies and programmes to promote youth employment . 56 Global and regional cooperation to promote youth employment . 60 v Realizing decent work in Asia Labour migration: Regional strategy towards implementation of the ILO multilateral framework . 62 A common stake in managing migration . 62 National approaches to managing labour migration . 62 Labour-receiving countries . 62 Labour-sending countries . 64 Towards an Asian multilateral framework . 65 Labour market governance for realizing decent work in Asia . 67 Regional cooperation for improving governance . 70 Extending social protection . 72 5. Strategic partnerships for realizing decent work in Asia . 75 Expected outcomes from the Fourteenth Asian Regional Meeting . 75 Proposed themes for discussion in five key areas: . 75 ii(i) Competitiveness, productivity and decent jobs in a globalizing context . 76 i(ii) The Millennium generation: Decent jobs for young people . 76 (iii) Labour migration: A regional strategy towards implementation of the ILO multilateral framework . 76 (iv) Labour market governance for realizing decent work in Asia . 77 i(v) Extending social protection . 77 vi Acronyms and abbreviations Acronyms and abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank ALMP active labour market policy ASEAN Association of South-East Asian Nations ATC Agreement on Textiles and Clothing BCI Business Competitiveness Index BPO business process outsourcing BTA bilateral trading agreement CSR corporate social responsibility DMC Developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank DWCP decent work country programmes ECOP Employers Confederation of the Philippines ECOSOC United Nations Economic and Social Council EEZ exclusive economic zone EFA Education for All EPZ export processing zone ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia FDI foreign direct investment GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GCI Growth Competitiveness Index GDP gross domestic product GUF global union federation HCR head count ratio ICFTU International Confederation of Free Trade Unions ICT information and communication technology IFA international framework agreement ILS international labour standards IOM International Organization for Migration IT information technology ITES information technology-enabled services LDC least developed country LMI labour market information M&A merger and acquisition MDG Millennium Development Goal MENA Middle East and North Africa MFA Multifibre Arrangement MNE multinational enterprise MOU Memorandum of Understanding ODA Official Development Assistance OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OSH occupational safety and health vii Realizing decent work in Asia PPP purchasing power parity PYBF Philippines Youth Business Foundation R&D research and development RTA regional trading agreement SME small and medium-sized enterprise TNC transnational corporation TVE township and village enterprise UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women VET vocational education and training YEN Youth Employment Network viii Preface Preface Realizing decent work in Asia With over 60 per cent of the global workforce, the countries attending the Meeting are of great diversity and global significance. They range from the natural resource-rich Gulf States, or the new economic giants of the global economy, to the Pacific island States. It is a region of action and entrepreneurship, opportunity and challenge. My Report and this Meeting seek to help constituents to harness the resilience, energy and dynamism that abound in these countries to realize decent work for a better life for all. The Decent Work Agenda reflects a tripartite consensus within the ILO, as well as being a contempor- ary statement of the ILO’s historical mandate and the basis for reform to respond better to the demands of today. The Agenda that we have crafted together has had a resounding success beyond the institution. Working women and men have welcomed the Agenda because it connects with the universal demand of people for a decent job and a decent life for themselves and their families through their own efforts. The struggle for policies and institutions that expand opportunities, voice and representation has been at the heart of the struggle of workers’ organizations. Business and employers’ organizations have found in the Agenda a practical means of advancing economic and social development because it is linked to the productive system and takes into account the imperatives of enhancing productivity and growth in an increasingly competitive global market. Politicians have embraced the Agenda because work and employment are at the heart of politics. They are a generalized demand of citizens when they vote. The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, in a critical but balanced report, stated that the present model of globalization was highly unbalanced. In no small way, this reflected widespread concerns about a global jobs crisis that undermines the legitimacy of current approaches to development and of globalization itself. The call for decent work has thus resonated in many places beyond the ILO. Last September at the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders stated in the World Summit Outcome document: We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all, including for women and young people, a central objective of our relevant national and international policies as well as national development strategies including poverty reduction strategies, as part of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. These measures should also encompass the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as defined in the ILO Convention No. 182, and forced labour. We also resolve to ensure full respect for the fundamental principles and rights at work. Decent work, which began as a tripartite goal of ILO constituents, has now been embraced as a global goal by governments at the highest level. This is vital because there are limits to national action in an era of globalization and connectedness: decent work must be founded on national commitment, supported by regional initiatives and realized in a supportive global environment. There is a growing convergence of perspectives on the need to make employment a direct objective of policy-making,
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