No. 0417 Social Protection Discussion Paper Series Public Disclosure Authorized Trade Union Participation in the PRSP Process Lawrence Egulu Public Disclosure Authorized August 2004 Public Disclosure Authorized Social Protection Unit Human Development Network The World Bank Social Protection Discussion Papers are not formal publications of the World Bank. They present preliminary and unpolished results of analysis that are circulated to encourage discussion and comment; citation and the use of such a paper should take account of its provisional character. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Public Disclosure Authorized For free copies of this paper, please contact the Social Protection Advisory Service, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433 USA. Telephone: (202) 458-5267, Fax: (202) 614-0471, E-mail:
[email protected]. Or visit the Social Protection website at http://www.worldbank.org/sp. TRADE UNION PARTICIPATION IN THE PRSP ∗ PROCESS Lawrence Egulu August 2004 ∗ PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The PRSP approach offers an opportunity for civil society organizations to join governments in the development and implementation of poverty reduction strategies. Trade unions have been encouraged to participate. This report notes that most unions have been invited to the discussions leading to formulation of the PRSPs but none has been included in the drafting, implementation, monitoring or evaluation. Based on findings from 23 PRSP countries, the study identifies a number of weaknesses and shortcomings which have limited the effective participation of trade unions, mainly capacity issues, time constraints, and lack of structured participatory processes.