Unemployment protection: A good practices guide and training package Experiences from ASEAN Unemployment protection: A good practices guide and training package Experiences from ASEAN Copyright © International Labour Organization 2017 First published 2017 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 Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with a reproduction rights organization may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. ISBN 978-92-2-128432-1 (print); 978-92-2-128433-8 (web pdf) 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. 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 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. Information on ILO publications and digital products can be found at: www.ilo.org/publns. All photos: © ILO Printed in Thailand Unemployment protection: A good practices guide and training package Experiences from ASEAN Celine Peyron Bista and John Carter FOREWORD The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community was launched at the end of 2015. The Economic Community will affect 600 million men and women. It has the potential to drive innovation, create new jobs, increase productivity and thus accelerate growth. This accelerated growth, however, will require changes in skills and jobs. To smooth this transition process, ensure that no vulnerable people are left behind and that the majority of men and women benefit from the changes, social protection and unemployment protection must become priorities. In October 2013, at the 23rd ASEAN Summit in Brunei Darussalam, the ten ASEAN leaders adopted a Declaration on Strengthening Social Protection. This reaffirmed their commitment to building a regional community that is “socially responsible and people-oriented” through the establishment of nationally defined social protection floors. The Declaration reflects a growing consensus in the region that the establishment of a solid social protection system in each country is fundamental for reducing poverty and inequality, creating decent employment and promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. We know from experience that progress in poverty reduction and creating decent work can be all too easily reversed by changes in the economic environment. To put this in perspective, one in every two workers in the ASEAN region is still in vulnerable employment, without any cushion to protect them should a crisis hit. The ASEAN Member States have made significant progress in extending coverage of their social protection systems. However, these national systems are typically poorly suited to protecting workers in the informal economy. Of the ten ASEAN countries, only Thailand and Viet Nam have unemployment insurance schemes. Support for those who lose their job should not be only financial. Employment promotion policies are just as important. Such a combined approach is at the heart of the messages promoted by the tripartite constituents of the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Employment Promotion and Protection Against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168). Most ASEAN Member States have established employment services and vocational training centres to help workers and employers benefit from employment promotion policies. Nonetheless, jobseekers and employers often complain about the lack of service efficiency, limited networks throughout the country and mismatching with needs. Therefore, this unemployment protection good practices guide and training package comes at an important time, when social protection and decent work have been recognized as key components of the new global development agenda. Both have a prominent role in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, “realizing decent work for all” is one pillar for achieving SDG 8 on “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth”. Additionally, one of the targets for SDG 1, on ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, requires countries to commit to implementing nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including social protection floors, by 2030. The ILO is an established partner of the ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat in promoting social protection. Since 2011, the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, with the support of the ILO/Japan Multi-bilateral Programme and in collaboration with the ASEAN secretariat, has implemented the project, Promoting and Building Social Protection in ASEAN. This unemployment protection guide is a product of this project. The purpose of the guide is twofold. Learning from concrete country experiences and practices, it provides guidelines and tools to conduct training sessions and workshops for the design and implementation of unemployment protection schemes linked with employment promotion policies. It also can be used as a toolkit by policy-makers to conduct feasibility studies for the design of unemployment protection schemes for both informal and formal economy workers. The guide does iii not prescribe a standard scheme or method; instead, it highlights the ILO principles and approaches that will guide the design and implementation of context-specific unemployment protection schemes. I believe that the guide and training package constitute an important resource that will enrich the continuing unemployment protection-related discussions among ASEAN Member States and inspire policy-makers at national and regional levels. I hope that the guide will contribute towards advancing the realization of social protection and decent work for all in ASEAN. Tomoko Nishimoto Assistant Director-General and Regional Director ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific iv Unemployment protection: A good practices guide and training package CONTENTS Foreword iii Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xii Background to the unemployment protection good practices guide and 1 training package Module 0: 5 Session M.0: Introduction to the training package 9 Handout 0-1: Timetable for a training course on unemployment protection 10 Module 1: 13 Session M1.1: Introduction to social protection: Definitions, international labour standards, social protection strategies and the social protection floor 15 M1.1.a Presentation: Definition of social security, social protection and 15 social protection floor M1.1.b Presentation: The international labour standards related to social security 15 M1.1.c Presentation: Strategies for the extension of social protection 17 and for establishing a social protection floor M1.1.d Presentation: Unemployment protection as part of a comprehensive 18 social security system Session M1.2: The social protection situation and challenges to protect unemployed workers 21 in ASEAN countries: An overview of the labour market situation in the region M1.2.a Presentation: Employment and unemployment trends in the ASEAN region 21 M1.2.b Presentation: Opportunities and challenges to extend unemployment 22 protection in the ASEAN region Session M1.3: Interactive learning and knowledge fair: Who wants to be a “protectionnaire”? 23 Handout 1-1: List of proposed questions to be used during the exercise Who wants to be a “protectionnaire”? 24 Further reading 27 Module 2: 29 Session M2.1: The international labour standards on unemployment protection 31 M2.1.a Presentation: Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) 31 and Employment Promotion and Protection Against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168) M2.1.b Practice session: Comparative review of existing national laws and regulations 36 with the principles set out in the ILO standards Session M2.2: Review of various unemployment and employment insurance schemes 37 and active labour markets policy experiences v M2.2.a Presentation: Comparative review of unemployment and employment 37 insurance experiences in Asia and worldwide M2.2.b Presentation: The role of active labour market policies in protecting 40 unemployed workers Session M2.3: Experiences from ASEAN countries on unemployment insurance, 46 training and entrepreneurship support M2.3.a Country experiences: The development of the unemployment insurance 46 schemes in Thailand and Viet Nam M2.3.b Country experiences: Active labour market programmes in the ASEAN region: 49 The 1AZAM programme in Malaysia and the