ILO ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA 2004–2006 ILO activities in Africa 2004–2006 Eleventh African Regional Meeting Addis Ababa, April 2007 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/africa.htm ISBN 978-92-2-119659-4978-92-2-118770-7 First published 2007 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 France SAD Contents Contents Page Acronyms and abbreviations . vii 1. Introduction . 1 2. Action at the continental and regional levels . 3 2.1. Cooperation at the continental level . 3 2.2. Cooperation with the regional economic communities . 4 3. Promoting and realizing standards and fundamental principles and rights at work 5 3.1. Fundamental principles and rights at work . 5 3.1.1. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining . 5 3.1.2. Elimination of child labour . 6 3.1.3. Abolition of forced labour and trafficking in persons . 9 3.1.4. Fight against discrimination . 10 3.2. Normative action . 11 3.2.1. Ratification and implementation of international labour standards . 11 4. Creating greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and income . 15 4.1. Employment, labour markets, skills and employability . 15 4.1.1. Employment promotion . 15 4.1.2. Skills development and employability . 18 4.1.3. Youth employment . 19 4.1.4. Labour market information . 21 4.1.5. An integrated approach to the informal economy . 21 4.2. Employment creation . 22 4.2.1. Entrepreneurial development . 22 4.2.2. Employment-intensive investment . 23 4.2.3. Local economic development . 24 4.2.4. Post-conflict employment promotion . 24 5. Enhancing the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all . 27 5.1. Enhanced social security coverage . 27 5.1.1. Social security, including the informal economy . 27 5.2. Effective labour protection . 29 5.2.1. Safe work . 29 5.2.2. Migration . 31 5.2.3. HIV and AIDS in the world of work . 32 6. Strengthening tripartism and social dialogue . 35 6.1. Strengthening employers’ and workers’ organizations . 35 6.2. Governments and institutions of social dialogue . 36 6.2.1. Social dialogue and labour administration . 36 6.3. The development of social dialogue at the sectoral level . 39 6.3.1. Sectoral activities . 39 v ILO activities in Africa, 2004–2006 7. Conclusions . 41 7.1. Resource mobilization and partnerships . 41 7.2. Challenges . 41 7.3. The United Nations reform process . 41 Annexes A. 1. Technical cooperation projects completed and currently under way, 2004–2006 43 A. 2. ILO offices in Africa . 69 vi Acronyms and abbreviations Acronyms and abbreviations ARLAC African Regional Labour Administration Centre CAEMC Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community CEACR Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations DFID United Kingdom Department for International Development DWCP Decent Work Country Programme EAC East African Community ECA Economic Commission for Africa ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour MSE micro- and small enterprise NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development PRODIAF Regional Programme for the Promotion of Social Dialogue in French-speaking Africa PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper REC regional economic community SADC Southern African Development Community SLAREA Strengthening Labour Relations in East Africa project SME small and medium-sized enterprise STEP Strategies and Tools against Social Exclusion and Poverty Programme UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USDOL United States Department of Labor WEDGE Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality YEN Youth Employment Network vii Introduction 1. Introduction The Tenth African Regional Meeting of ILO member States in Africa (Addis Ababa, 2003) and the African Union Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa (Ouagadougou, 2004) 1 set the framework for the ILO’s work in Africa over the last three years. The Tenth African Regional Meeting prepared the ground for the Ouagadougou Summit by adopting a set of conclusions that identified the main challenges facing the continent and endorsed the Decent Work Agenda as an effective strategy for Africa to tackle these challenges. In addition, the Meet- ing adopted two resolutions: one on decent work for youth and another on the role of social dialogue in addressing HIV/AIDS in the world of work. The Ouagadougou Summit produced a more detailed blueprint for action by the ILO, the member States, the African Union, the regional economic communities (RECs) and the international community at large. Before the Ouagadougou Summit, the ILO organized a first of its kind Social Partners’ Forum to ensure that the voice of employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as relevant civil society organizations concerned with the world of work, would be heard. The Ouagadougou Summit had before it an issues paper, prepared by the ILO in cooperation with 15 other United Nations agencies that provided a coher- ent policy framework and was subsequently used to guide the development of Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs). The Ouagadougou Summit adopted a declaration, a plan of action and a follow-up mechanism, calling on member States to place employment at the centre of economic and social policies for sustainable poverty alleviation. The Ouagadougou Summit also called for the development of integrated economic and social policies and the implementation of reforms at national, regional and continental levels to elim- inate the structural constraints to investment and entrepreneurship. The follow-up mechanisms at the different levels include precise timetables for implementation, monitoring and reporting. Through the Ouagadougou Summit, decent work has in effect become an African goal and the ILO’s work in the region since the Ouagadougou Summit has principally aimed at assisting member States in implement- ing the plan of action. The plan of action adopted by the Ouagadougou Summit covers the following key priority areas: 1. ensuring political leadership and commitment to create an enabling environment of good gover- nance for investment, development and poverty alleviation in the context of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals; 2. promotion of the agricultural sector and rural development, sustainable management of the envi- ronment for food security and development of support infrastructure; 3. development of an appropriate framework for integration and harmonization of economic and social policies; 4. improving and strengthening the existing social protection schemes and extending them to work- ers and their families currently excluded, as well as occupational safety, health and hygiene; 5. empowerment of women by integrating them into the labour markets and to enable them to partici- pate effectively in the development of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs), policies and programmes; 6. human and institutional capacity building for public and private institutions in charge of employ- ment promotion and poverty alleviation, including the social partners and other relevant actors of the civil society; 7. utilizing key sectors with high employment potential to generate more jobs and allocate adequate resources for that purpose; 8. building international cooperation, fair and equitable globalization, and partnerships for an enhanced international support to Africa’s efforts towards achieving sustainable development, putting emphasis on the employment agenda, poverty alleviation, regional integration and a better participation in the globalization process; 1 To be referred to as the “Ouagadougou Summit” in the remainder of this document. 1 ILO activities in Africa, 2004–2006 9. promoting regional and economic cooperation among the RECs in order to expand the economic space, intra and interregional trade, markets and to exploit the economies of scale; 10. targeting and empowering vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, aged persons, migrants, children, youth and people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases, internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants and the working poor; 11. mobilization of resources at national, regional and international levels.