Dear all, thank you for the discussion.

Following up on Lisa’s point below from a human rights and LNOB-perspective it is critical to bring the issue of child labour into the decent work discussion (by coincidence it is the UN Year: End Child Labour 2021). We need to discuss this issue even more so as a development agency where most of our work is in countries with extreme poverty and high demographic growth. In Subsahra Africa for example it is projected that by 2050 approximately 50% of the population will be below age 15 while the divide between rich and poor is expanding and education systems failing. We recently organized an event with the World Economic Forum and their main message was:“Studies show that the greatest economic returns come from early investments in children’s education, and that there is a negative correlation between age and the brain’s ability to adapt to change. Thus, investing in the development of holistic skills in primary and secondary education will be critical in addressing the root causes of the worldwide skills gap, preparing the next generation of talent to engage in lifelong learning, and ensuring that future efforts in reskilling and upskilling pay off for individuals, businesses and governments.” As development actors we have to make sure to equip children with the educational skills and capacities that empower them to claim their rights when they are grown up in case as an adult they find themselves in non-decent working conditions; we also have to invest in a person’s education in order to mitigate the risk that s/he finds her/himself in non-decent working conditions (people with low educational levels and low/no basic educational skills such as at the minimum literacy/numeracy and other foundational skills are more prone to non-decent work); and – importantly – we need to prevent that children in vulnerable situations are forced to work and cannot claim their basic human rights such as education, duly enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of the Child (ex. see Article 32 below). [By child we mean – as per CRC – a person below age 18.] – Among the reasons why the SDC Education Strategy on Basic Education & Vocational Skills Development explicitly makes a linkage between education and decent work: “Basic education systems remain weak and continue to produce generations of young people who do not have the required knowledge and skills that provide the foundation for equal participation in society and the labour market, for the development of abilities to lead meaningful lives, and for further education and training. The lack of effective and relevant education opportunities impedes young people’s individual development and their prospects for socio-economic integration and decent work, which threatens development and political stability as a whole.”

From experience in contexts such as Congo and others with high poverty and school dropout rates, where child labour is frequent, I have also learnt that development agencies do often not sufficiently take above into account. There are projects that help children get away from working in mines for example but do not help them get back to school. Or projects that have a generic target group approach of “vulnerable young people and school dropout” equipping them with professional training without assessing their age and specific educational gaps and needs. Do they have the age that does not risk the project to qualify as preparing them for child labour? Have the educational gaps and needs been assessed and are they adequately addressed? It is not by coincidence that the ILO as part of their work on decent work calls on the Congolese singer and songwriter, Louka Kanza <https: about-the-ilo="" global="" index.htm="" lang--en="" multimedia="" video="" video-interviews="" wcms_779277="" www.ilo.org="">, to raise awareness about child labour.

Wishing everyone a good weekend.
Best regards, Sabina Handschin

[cid:image005.png@01D7476D.24BF6790]
[cid:image006.png@01D7476D.24BF6790]

Dear all,

Many thanks for the lively discussion and interesting inputs. I would like
to follow up to Merten Sievers and Klaus Thieme’s inputs and add on the
issue of child labour. According to ILO Decent Work agenda, child labour is
one of the forms of works which should be abolished (rights to work
pillar). SDG 8 aims to end child labour in all its forms by 2025 and to
eliminate recruitment and use of child soldiers (Target 8.7). Child labour
is both a cause and consequence of poverty, reinforcing social inequality
and discrimination. Currently, it is estimated that 152 million children
are engaged in child labour, with almost half, 72 million, working in
hazardous child labour. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to slow or even
reverse the progress made and increases the risk of more children joining
hazardous labour.

If implemented with a holistic view towards social protection, quality
education protects children from engaging in child labour and supports
their families. Increased demand for education creates the required future
workforce. But children face numerous barriers – both supply side and demand
side – in accessing education. The use of cash transfers for education in
emergencies responses has significantly increased in recent years due to its
ability to meet humanitarian needs effectively, efficiently, flexibly and in
a dignified manner (see report and guidelines on Cash Voucher Assistance in
EiE
<https: cash-and-voucher-assistance-for-education-in-emergencies-synthesis-report-and-guidelines="" publication="" www.calpnetwork.org="">
and lessons UNICEF’s cash transfer programme for refugee education in Jordan
<https: 1i4ftwoaqlx9ha0mmc72bfvrkb8q650b="" 780474501116="" educationcluster.app.box.com="" file="" s="">
and in Turkey
<https: conditional-cash-transfer-education-ccte-programme="" en="" turkey="" www.unicef.org="">).
In the development context, it can be equated to social assistance/protection,
which transfer money to individuals and households to ensure they can access
basic services). Social protection interventions, via cash transfer
component, result in lower direct and indirect costs for schooling which
constitute one of the main barriers to the participation of children and
youth in basic education facilitating access to basic education. Cash
transfer programmes should not be a stand-alone intervention, it must be
integrated with other education and other sectors’ interventions when
addressing
non-economic barriers, such as weak education systems or protection concerns
.

I look forward to continuing to learn from you and exchange with you.

With best regards,

Lisa Sabot-Schmid

Le jeu. 6 mai 2021 à 08:18, Roman Troxler <[Hidden email]> a écrit :

> Dear all,
> Welcome to our fourth e-discussion day. I hope you have already gained
> quite a bit from the discussion and I am looking forward to some more
> stimulating contributions. As already announced yesterday, the focus of
> today and tomorrow will be on the operationalisation of decent work based
> on the following three questions:
>
> > Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent
> Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the
> informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after
> the Covid-19 crisis?
>
> > Question 2: How can SDC and its partners take more influence on
> qualitative aspects such as working conditions and improved social
> protection / labor market governance? What is the role of policy dialogue,
> therefore? Are there any good practices you may share with the network?
>
> > Question 3: What are your lessons learned on operationalizing decent
> work in your projects, including on policy dialogue and through the
> application of the human rights-based approach? What works best, what are
> the main challenges you are facing?
>
> We look forward to your contributions!
> Roman and the whole facilitation team
>
>
> Roman Troxler
> Partner and Senior Consultant | KEK – CDC
> Universitaetstrasse 69 | CH-8006 Zurich
> www.kek.ch | +41 44 368 58 15
> +41 79 212 53 80 (Mobile/Signal/Threema)
>
> Am 05.05.2021 um 17:44 schrieb Edlira Muedini <[Hidden email]<br>> <mailto:[Hidden email]>>:
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> thank you for the interesting, important, and challenging topic of
> discussion on the decent work. I find it difficult to kind of cut my input
> in the three different questions and therefore I will summarize it in one,
> hope still counts😊
>
> As development projects, in our work we aim brining growth for private
> sector and more decent jobs for people, especially young people. In doing
> so we face lots of challenges when it comes to decent work as often
> businesses are not enough aware on the importance of it, they are led
> mainly on the quick wins and often fail to have a vision of a medium and
> long perspective for growth. Therefore, as development projects we need to
> read carefully between the lines. If business is led by profit, then we
> should find ways that through profit generation they can introduce more
> decent work. In our project in Albania for example, we have raised
> awareness and make businesses invest toward more decent jobs for young
> people, through introduction of international standards that offer better
> access for those businesses to high value markets. As a result, not only
> business itself has generated more income, but also many employees have
> benefited from much better working conditions in terms of safety, payment,
> proper conditions for executing business, as well as more jobs has been
> created in new areas of work, imposed by the new standard. Here, we can
> talk about introduction of new post harvesting technologies for Medical and
> aromatic plants, which not only give the opportunity to farmers to
> cultivate and collect more abandoning the primitive harvesting techniques,
> but also to young people who could work on new digitalized processes such
> as managing and monitoring a post harvesting chamber. Or while introducing
> new international standards for fruits and veggies, exporters have
> increased their incomes toward selling in high value markets and have
> generated new jobs related to new processes such as sorting or packaging of
> the product for the new market place. On the other hand, farmers have
> increased their incomes too as exporters pay them more, and they can get
> advice and guidelines from exporters on how to best treat the seeds/plants.
> Finally, their market is secured, and they can formalize relations to
> exporters under regular contracts. More could be read in one of our
> business cases here
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ywuxtWIMpEkhlEw3KlIqrc8PW2NBm7_F/view
>
> On the other side, if businesses are getting more profit due to new
> opportunities, that does not mean they will change immediately their
> understanding and behavior towards decent work. Most probably, first that
> will be “imposed” be a standard or another incentive and with time and
> reflections processes they will understand that applying certain rules and
> standards not only brings more money, but also a more stable and satisfying
> working force, which can be translated in more motivation, creativity, and
> resilience of a business. And I believe this is the key area where
> development projects like us need to focus our efforts, be not satisfied
> only with successful pilots, but use it for scale and awareness raising,
> use communication for knowledge sharing and development, inspire others. If
> good entry points (pilots) are used properly with the right partners, and
> then results are communicated with the right tools to targeted audiences is
> very likely to reach good results in terms of scale and sustainability. In
> theory sounds nice, practically is challenging of course. Project like us
> initially work with lead companies who share the same vision for change and
> who are able and ready to commit in the investment. The question and the
> big challenge rely on how to go from successful pilots to a systemic
> change, where not only more business is doing the same, but where the other
> market players are in place and functioning properly. In the topic of
> decent work for example working with labor unions and making them stronger
> in promoting and protecting decent work could be an area of interest,
> although in some countries not easy, as these stakeholders are quite weak.
>
> When it comes to policy dialogue and human rights base approach, these are
> very important aspects of our work too. However, in some countries
> unfortunately government despite their “facade” approach of having lost of
> papers regarding decent work and human rights, less is done in practice.
> Often, they talk about having a job is important, but they do not pay
> attention what kind of job is it and under which conditions, they do not
> pay attention on the law reinforcement on decent work. Therefore, when such
> important stakeholders do not yet reflect the willingness or any practical
> action to change things, I believe working directly with private sector
> remains crucial in promoting decent work. And once they become strong and
> together on this topic, government will respond.
>
> Thanks,
> Edlira
>
>
> Edlira Muedini
> Project Manager
> “RISIAlbania”
> A project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
> Rr. Ismail Qemali, P.18, H.3, Ap.15
> Tirana, Albania
> Tel.:+355(0)42248527
> Mob.:+355(0)682050045
> Email: [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>
> Web: www.risialbania.al <http: www.risialbania.al="">
> Skype: edlira07
>
> Helvetas Mosaic<
> https://www.helvetas.org/en/eastern-europe/about-us/follow-us/helvetas-mosaic/mosaic-subscription>
> is a new exciting publication about international development work in
> Southeast Europe.Subscribe<
> https://www.helvetas.org/en/eastern-europe/about-us/follow-us/helvetas-mosaic/mosaic-subscription>
> to never miss an issue!
>
> Am 05.05.2021 um 17:12 schrieb [Hidden email] <mailto:<br>> [Hidden email]>:
>
> Thank you for your contributions and for the work of the E + I group which
> is also welcome as a continuing education.
> Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent
> Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the
> informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after
> the Covid-19 crisis?
>
> I answer with reference to the experience of the IDEA project, promoted by
> AVAID www.avaid.ch <http: www.avaid.ch=""> in Kenya with SDC / FOSIT funds
> and other private donors, aimed at the training and job creation of youth
> migrants in Kenya-Nairobi from neighboring countries (RDC, Burundi, Rwanda,
> only in some cases from Horn of Africa), often French-speaking, urban
> refugees and not in camps. The project, which unfortunately does not
> explicitly mention decent work, also includes extremely vulnerable local
> youth (out of work: more job; at risk of exploitation-illegality-forms of
> slavery especially for women: better job). Some lessons learned:
>
> * Partnership architecture reflecting a global approach: A fundamental
> aspect to promote decent work for the most vulnerable is to adopt a
> holistic approach, which embraces different aspects of the human being and
> involves different actors in the partnership arrangement.
> * In IDEA Project, as an example. The local NGO AVSI Kenya which
> carries out the work of community mobilization and involvement of the
> beneficiaries, usually completely isolated and often on the margins of
> legality; using psychosocial approach where applicable and addressing
> special needs; VTI St. Kizito focusing on vocational training, offering
> language courses and short training; COWA, local NGO for accompaniment in
> the search for job, managing relationship with enterprises for dual
> training and tutoring of micro-enterpreneurs; business sector, for dual
> training and job placement, developing CSR policies as well; UNHCR for
> documents and rights of migrants; local government for integration and law.
> * In this partnership architecture, the private non-profit sector
> plays a role of mediation, integration/mediation, community mobilization,
> training&skill, mentoring, networking to favor both beneficiaries and
> businesses.
> * By saying “private sector” we usually mean business, but the
> private sector also includes nonprofits, ngos, schools, facilities for
> social services delivery. Usual wording leads to an economic meaning
> prevailing. The triple nexus Humanitarian-development -peace needs a
> facilitator subject and non-profit seems to have a good potential to do it.
> * Soft skills development is crucial, including rights, local
> regulations/law; relationship attitude; is crucial both for beneficiaries
> and for enterprises creating new jobs and including vulnerable people as
> workers.
> * Child friendly spaces in VTI could be an interesting support for
> young mothers’ access to training and employment, as well as an opportunity
> for job creation in childcare sector
> * The COVID crisis has reduced the potential for job creation by the
> private business sector, while the potential of the informal market is
> growing (critical point). COWA, the local partner dedicated to job
> placement and tutoring for job search, has extended the accompaniment /
> assistance to employment previously aimed at the business sector also to
> micro-entrepreneurship, self-employment and freelancers. Tutorship and
> advisoring for very-micro entrepreneurs is relevant to avoid the risk of
> illegal works and forms of exploitation
> * I share with great conviction the emphasis on education: if it is
> true, as we read in suggested documents, that education does not guarantee
> a decent job, school dropout and the lack of basic education is often an
> insurmountable barrier to access the job. So forms of remedial teaching
> would be very useful in the decent work perspective.
>
>
> Thank you for your job and attention
> Best regards
>
> ****************
> Maria Teresa Gatti –AVAID Secretariat
> www.avaid.ch <http: www.avaid.ch="">
> Corso Pestalozzi, 14 – LUGANO
> Tel. 091 921 13 93
>
>
>
>
> Da: [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]> <
> [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>> Per conto di
> [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]<br>> >
> Inviato: mercoledì, 5 maggio 2021 14:53
> A: SDC Decent Work <[Hidden email] <mailto:<br="">> [Hidden email]>>
> Oggetto: [decentwork] E-discussion Decent Work - second topic:
> Operationalizing Decent Work
>
> Dear all,
> Thank you for the new set of questions.
> It has been very inspiring to be part of this discussion. I have read with
> interest various mentions of skills development and, in response to
> Question 1, would like to highlight the importance of basic foundational
> skills if we are to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects
> and programmes more systematically and sustainably.
> Indeed, as has been pointed out in the discussion, conceptually speaking,
> basic skills development is not specifically mentioned in the ten
> substantive elements, and it seems that the discourse on Decent Work has
> been largely shaped from an economic perspective. Rather than being limited
> to economic growth, Decent Work points towards an expansive vision of human
> development and inclusion. Basic skills play an essential role in achieving
> this vision and is of key importance across all four pillars.
> During our discussion, we have heard of projects, such as the SIMS project
> (HELVETAS Bangladesh), where the limited availability of skills training
> poses challenges in promoting decent work for migrant workers. What is
> required are links also with Basic Education, beyond VSD.
> We know that many young people who have grown up in poverty and exclusion
> have had little education, have dropped out of or never been to school.
> They have fewer opportunities to develop skills for decent jobs and hence
> risk further marginalisation in the labour market.
> Even those young people who attend school, often leave without the
> required basic skills to avoid some of the worst forms of discrimination
> and disadvantage in the labour market. Unemployment, underemployment or
> employment in low skilled work without prospects of advancement wastes
> young people’s potential to create better lives for themselves and to make
> socio-economic contributions. Young people with the worst educational
> outcomes (often the urban poor and those left behind in rural areas) are
> condemned to low-paying economic activities in the informal sector.
> In order to leave no one behind, it is crucial to include basic skills
> development into the discussion as a key prerequisite towards creating
> decent work. Basic education provides not only the skills, but also the
> qualifications and certification required to engage in decent work.
> Importantly, basic education paves the way towards equal opportunities and
> empowers workers to claim their rights towards equal treatment in
> employment. We know that the more educated people are, the more they are
> aware of their rights and likely to claim them. They will be sensitive to
> unfair treatment/pay/poor conditions. Being literate, i.e. being able to
> read and calculate empowers people to verify that their rights are being
> respected.
> There are clear implications for programming: If target groups do not have
> basic literacy and numeracy skills, programme impact is bound to be
> limited. More holistic approaches are required that include basic education
> needs, for example through non-formal youth or adult education and
> programming at the intersection of BE and VSD.
> A more inclusive conceptual debate and more holistic programming
> approaches that take into account the educational rights and needs of young
> people and adults will go a long way in strengthening the promotion of
> Decent Work in SDC projects and programmes more systematically and
> sustainably.
> I look forward to further engaging with you all throughout this
> e-discussion!
> Kind Regards
> Barbara
>
> Dr Barbara Zeus | Team Leader, SDC Education Backstopping
> NORRAG, Associate Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and
> Development Studies
> Visit our Shareweb <https: education="" site="" www.shareweb.ch="">
>
>

Hi Merten, all
Thanks so much. This is a great email, full of insights and grateful for the further resources. 
I think what you say about the operationalisation is great. In our work at Mercy Corps, we are trying to incorporate the various elements of decent work into both our risk registers and our initial (labour) market assessments to feed program design. Where we work, the biggest deficits are often income levels and income security, but that isnt always the case and there are often other issues we can address. 
I think people are generally agreed here that there is a decent work spectrum. My concern here was that (a) sometimes my colleagues arent aware of this, so clearly a role for me to do more (b) but that often the donors who fund our programs dont seem to know this either.  I know all words can be abused, but I do think there is something specific about 'decent work' that increases confusion - maybe that the one phrase is both an end point and a spectrum at the same time (i.e. if a program has a target of supporting 200 decent jobs, that could be either 200 jobs that fully fit the decent job criteria or 200 jobs where there has been some minimal net improvement across the criteria). The ILO blog we have linked to is great and I think part of the effort to educate people here, but can we do more? Can we create more language to differentiate between decent jobs as an end state vs jobs that have become more decent since we supported them?
On minimal standards, I hear you. I was loathe to criticise standards and then suggest more. I do think though the spectrum is too big between the full decent work definition and the ILO definition on rights - what I was suggesting was something inbetween, that combines key rights with a focus on income levels and sustainability. I appreciate it has limitations, but it feels more practical and a useful starting point to get away from just counting everyone who has increased income. Perhaps less divisive, maybe instead we could have more guidance about how to use decent work as a spectrum. I hear and it makes sense to use it as a framework to analyse where to focus, but more guidance around 'from experience, if you are working in very fragile, the poorest, forced displacement contexts etc, experience suggests you may want to focus on these parts of the criteria...' I think would be useful. Maybe that is something we can do with all the examples coming into the discussion (sorry to repeat but great news if that is already the plan).
Thanks againAshley

On Friday, 7 May 2021, 11:08:55 CEST, Merten Sievers <[Hidden email]<div class="original_message_link">Original message </sievers@ilo.org<div>

Thank you Merten for highlighting these important issues!

It indeed is important to understand that especially in small-scale
production setups (as well farms), decent work in many cases cannot be
seen like a dichotomy but more like a continuum, something to be only
achieved with ab broader (and more long term) societal approach. For
example child labour : We as well made the experience that it is needed
to look closer not only at the existence of child labour alone, but also
to regard the causes and impacts (downsides and benefits as well) of the
phenomena. Solidar produced a report in 2019 with a research on Child
labour in cotton in Burkina Faso (https://solidar.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/baumwoll_report_2019_d_solidar_suisse_web.pdf).
Of course, the intensive use of children in cotton farming in Burkina
Faso is well known, but what was lacking are up-to-date surveys to better
understand the development of this phenomenon. With interesting findings:
For instance, we observed quite a portion of school-age children, which
worked on their families or neighbours cotton fields, but used the money
to pay for school fees or school consumables, thus supporting them to go
and succeed in their school career.

In our subsequent project, we therefore focussed on children which were
previously not send to school by their parents and on the reduction of
children working in hazardous tasks (eg spraying of fertilizer and
herbicides). In further project implementation onsite we focused on
raising awareness with parents and children with radio and theatre for
the dangers of child labour. With radio plays and spots, farmers are
informed about the dangers for their children working in the cotton
fields and the advantages of attending school. Theatre plays teach the
correct handling of chemicals. And during home visits, farmers are
advised on how they can better protect their children. Additionally,
local elders, traders, and governmental players are sensitized for the
topic. The phenomena is deeply rooted in economic causes, therefore laws
and their enforcement alone, while being crucial, will not be able to end
the problem.

Best regards
Klaus

STAY HEALTHY - BE SOLIDAR!

[IMAGE]

Klaus Thieme | Head International Programmes
Solidar Suisse | Quellenstrasse 31 | CH - 8005 Zürich | Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 444 19 44 | Phone HQ: +41 44 444 19 19
Available: Mon- Fr

[Hidden email] | www.solidar.ch

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: [Hidden email] <[Hidden email]> Im Auftrag von
Merten Sievers
Gesendet: Freitag, 7. Mai 2021 11:08
An: SDC Decent Work <[Hidden email]>
Betreff: [decentwork] E-discussion Decent Work - second topic:
Operationalizing Decent Work

Dear all,
Nice to see this active debate. I work at the ILO in the Enterprises
department in the SME unit. We have been working for quite some time on
trying to understand how we can look at decent work deficits in private
sector development contexts that are often far from ideal in terms of
working conditions (say in fragile states, in the poorest countries, in
forced displacement situations). In my team, we do this with a market
systems approach.
I should also add that I write this as a personal opinion piece and not
as the official line of argument of the ILO (which however I hope not to
be too far away from! ).
Maybe an important fact to consider is that decent work in many cases
cannot be seen like a dichotomy but more like a continuum. From worst to
best so to say. Obviously there are forms of work that need to be
abolished immediately like the worst forms of child labour and slave
labour. These are areas in which rights enforcement is crucial. But in
many other situations in order to achieve decent work we need to start by
reducing decent work deficits and set people on a pathway towards decent
work. This could be by improving incomes or by say enabling more women to
be part of the employed labour force.
I don’t think it makes sense to set different standards below what
fundamental principles and rights at work should be as set by the ILO. If
you read the 1998 Declaration of the ILO (here:
https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm)most things stated
will sound like common sense to you. There is no out worldly expectation
that each and every job in subsaharan Africa will be a full on decent job
by one project intervention… it is really more about sustaining
principles that many of us would wish for ourselves or consider almost
”natural”.
Hence I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to discuss whether we can
find a lower “minimum standard” that defines what we can then accept in
development cooperation. We need to start where starting is possible, in
reducing decent work deficits say in fragile states as Ashley points out.

So, what to do differently from what project implementers have been doing
if there is a stronger focus on Decent Work? One way is to look more
careful at what might be happening on the labour market and be aware
about issues that might not be immediately visible. So if older children
work on the farm or in the shop of the parents for a few hours this might
also be a learning experience… but: are these children not able to go to
school and as such is there a potential of creating a generational
poverty trap?
If that is the case you should try to address this also within your
economic development programme. For me that is an important point:
understand and try to create awareness in project teams of where decent
work deficits can be found and are urgent to address. A Few insight on
child labour here:
https://www.ilo.org/empent/areas/value-chain-development-vcd/briefs-and-guides/WCMS_764211/lang--en/index.htm

How to address decent work deficits other than income? Do a market
systems analysis and find the root causes. Here an example:

The challenge: Construction workers are injured with very high frequency
in Rwanda. While most construction workers also lack adequate earnings,
contract stability, equal opportunities and access to social security, it
is impossible to address all of these issues. So the project focuses on
an issue that is both meaningful to workers, and is feasible to address:
Occupational Health and Safety (OSH).

What are the constraints the perpetuate poor OSH? The construction market
is highly competitive and contracts are mostly awarded to the lowest
priced bidder. Therefore, winning contractors have to cut prices to win,
and one key way to reduce costs is to invest less into workers, including
OSH prevention.

How can we address this? The real constraints to OSH prevention are often
outside of a contractor’s control, so we use a systemic approach to
identify the core constraints and run multiple interventions to address
these constraints like: reframing public procurement rules to reward
contractors with better OSH prevention (instead of on price alone); or
pairing down the labour inspectorate’s OSH inspection checklist to
increase inspection coverage, and thus, a need for contractors to
price-in OSH compliance to their bids.

Best,
Merten (with contributions from Steve Hartrich) __________ You are
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Dear all,
Nice to see this active debate. I work at the ILO in the Enterprises department in the SME unit. We have been working for quite some time on trying to understand how we can look at decent work deficits in private sector development contexts that are often far from ideal in terms of working conditions (say in fragile states, in the poorest countries, in forced displacement situations). In my team, we do this with a market systems approach.
I should also add that I write this as a personal opinion piece and not as the official line of argument of the ILO (which however I hope not to be too far away from! ).
Maybe an important fact to consider is that decent work in many cases cannot be seen like a dichotomy but more like a continuum. From worst to best so to say. Obviously there are forms of work that need to be abolished immediately like the worst forms of child labour and slave labour. These are areas in which rights enforcement is crucial. But in many other situations in order to achieve decent work we need to start by reducing decent work deficits and set people on a pathway towards decent work. This could be by improving incomes or by say enabling more women to be part of the employed labour force.
I don’t think it makes sense to set different standards below what fundamental principles and rights at work should be as set by the ILO. If you read the 1998 Declaration of the ILO (here: https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm)most things stated will sound like common sense to you. There is no out worldly expectation that each and every job in subsaharan Africa will be a full on decent job by one project intervention… it is really more about sustaining principles that many of us would wish for ourselves or consider almost ”natural”.
Hence I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to discuss whether we can find a lower “minimum standard” that defines what we can then accept in development cooperation. We need to start where starting is possible, in reducing decent work deficits say in fragile states as Ashley points out.

So, what to do differently from what project implementers have been doing if there is a stronger focus on Decent Work? One way is to look more careful at what might be happening on the labour market and be aware about issues that might not be immediately visible. So if older children work on the farm or in the shop of the parents for a few hours this might also be a learning experience… but: are these children not able to go to school and as such is there a potential of creating a generational poverty trap?
If that is the case you should try to address this also within your economic development programme. For me that is an important point: understand and try to create awareness in project teams of where decent work deficits can be found and are urgent to address. A Few insight on child labour here: https://www.ilo.org/empent/areas/value-chain-development-vcd/briefs-and-guides/WCMS_764211/lang--en/index.htm
How to address decent work deficits other than income? Do a market systems analysis and find the root causes. Here an example:

The challenge: Construction workers are injured with very high frequency in Rwanda. While most construction workers also lack adequate earnings, contract stability, equal opportunities and access to social security, it is impossible to address all of these issues. So the project focuses on an issue that is both meaningful to workers, and is feasible to address: Occupational Health and Safety (OSH).

What are the constraints the perpetuate poor OSH? The construction market is highly competitive and contracts are mostly awarded to the lowest priced bidder. Therefore, winning contractors have to cut prices to win, and one key way to reduce costs is to invest less into workers, including OSH prevention.

How can we address this? The real constraints to OSH prevention are often outside of a contractor’s control, so we use a systemic approach to identify the core constraints and run multiple interventions to address these constraints like: reframing public procurement rules to reward contractors with better OSH prevention (instead of on price alone); or pairing down the labour inspectorate’s OSH inspection checklist to increase inspection coverage, and thus, a need for contractors to price-in OSH compliance to their bids.
Best,
Merten (with contributions from Steve Hartrich)

I’d like to start with a few points of reflection:
• Decent work should be viewed on a spectrum or rather, as a pathway towards reducing decent work deficits. Rather than trying to aspire for the ‘ultimate decent job’ which we know is nearly impossible in many of the economies we work within, instead we can consider what steps or elements of decent work (not necessarily all at the same time) we can advocate for and integrate within our programmes. This is a great read, written by the LAB team in the ILO, that speaks to this: https://www.greenindustryplatform.org/blog/should-we-create-decent-work-or-make-work-more-decent-demystifying-what-decent-work-means
• Informality too should be viewed as a “continuum rather than a dichotomy” https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_759654.pdf
Informality can change over time and “ Unpacking informality starts by acknowledging the complexity and diverse nature of the formal and informal economies and their relationship, which can change over time and take diverse forms and shapes depending on the country, the sector, the market actors involved and the activities performed”
> Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after the Covid-19 crisis?

In order to promote decent work, or rather to address decent work deficits, particularly in the informal economy, a systemic approach can/should be applied starting with:
• Understanding the informal economy using a market system approach. ”Identify where informality is, how it impacts job quality and why the market is not serving the needs of a certain target group”. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_759654.pdf
• Target implementation through a market systems lens, for example, this could include private sector focused interventions for enterprises using business incentives to set them on a more sustainable growth path (or make the business case for decent work), which could in turn inform solutions for the rules and regulations that govern the business and policy environment.

Dear colleagues,

Thank you very much for these rich contributions and critical reflections.

Related to question 1: how can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of decent work in SDC projects also in the context of build back better after COVID-19 there are global joint efforts to advocate for a just (and green) transition (see here an ILO Oped: Building back better: equality at the center <https: about-the-ilo="" global="" index.htm="" lang--en="" news="" newsroom="" wcms_750862="" www.ilo.org="">). The 10 substantive elements are now more important than ever against the backdrop of millions of people losing their jobs. Disadvantaged groups, migrants, youth and women are hit hardest by this unprecedented crisis and these groups often do not benefit from workers rights or social protection.

A few reflections regarding your comments: some of you pointed out that in some contexts the application of minimum requirements might be more target-oriented than aiming to reach the full set of decent work criteria. We would like to refer to the Input Paper <https: decent%20work="" documents="" ei="" howto="" input_paper_decent%20work_final.pdf="" site="" www.shareweb.ch=""> where SDC states that it is impossible to tackle all substantive elements of decent work in one intervention and hence projects should prioritize. Your contributions also show that there are many interdependent aspects and most of your project examples apply a holistic approach to strengthen decent work covering different topics (HRBA working with both duty bearers and rights holders, Education and foundational skills level paving the way to equal opportunities and empowering workers to claim their rights, private sector development to apply for example occupational health and safety measures, vocational skills development with a strong life skills component).

Related to question 2 how SDC can take more influence on qualitative aspects, some of you mentioned social protection as crucial aspect for decent work. Lack of social protection is a reality for many workers, especially in the informal economy. The heterogeneity of workers in the informal markets need to be considered when designing decent work measures.

We are looking forward to receiving more concrete project examples from you especially for question 3: What are your lessons learned on operationalizing decent work in your projects? What works best and what are main challenges you are facing?

The last set of questions, addressing the Monitoring and Reporting of Decent Work, will be posted on Monday morning.

Kind regards,

Rebecca Suhner
Expert Team Inclusive Economic Development

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Division Latin America and the Caribbean

Freiburgstrasse 130, 3003 Berne, Switzerland
[Hidden email] <mailto:rebecca.suhner@eda.admin.ch>
www.deza.admin.ch <http: www.deza.admin.ch="">

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Dear Roman and colleagues,
Let me answer to your questions as follows and provide some background information (attached and links):

One of the main policy elements that makes work decent is social protection. The right to social security is essential whenever we speak about improving labour market institutions and outcomes. This also concerns workers in the informal economy.
The ILO has published a range of materials & resources that list different examples across the world on how to provide social protection for informal workers:
Good practice guidebook: https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action?id=55728

It has published policy briefs that focus on different types of workers and how to increase their social protection (agricultural workers, construction workers, domestic workers, self-employed workers, workers in SMEs): https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/Emodule.action?id=62

In this context, the support for social dialogue at country level is important. Again, it is the ILO's mandate to support organisations in countries to strengthen the social dialogue on decent work with their respective governments (see document attached).
On 11th May the socialprotection.org webinar series invites for a webinar on informality and social protection:
https://socialprotection.org/new-oecd-database-informality-and-social-protection-kiibih-launch-discussion

Social protection (floors) are considered an essential part of decent work (see document attached). The ILO has published two volumes on how social protection floors can be expanded with various examples from across the world. Some of these examples are directly linked to dimensions of decent work.
What is the social protection floor?
It is an approach put forward by the ILO but endorsed by all the UN organisations which emphasizes the principle of the right to a basic level of social protection for all. This approach puts forward four basic social security guarantees that should be provided at national level to all.
1. Access to essential health care, including maternity care.
2. Basic income security for children, providing access to nutrition, education, care and any other necessary goods and services.
3. Basic income security for persons in active age who are unable to earn sufficient income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity and disability.
4. Basic income security for older persons.

Kind regards

Stephanie
with support of GOPA Consultants on the mandate "SDC and Social Protection - Defining the way forward"

Stephanie Guha
Policy Advisor Poverty Reduction and Social Development

Federal Department of foreign Affairs (FDAF)
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Gender and Social Equality Unit / South Cooperation

Visit the Poverty-Wellbeing Shareweb for current issues and debates:
https://www.shareweb.ch/site/Poverty-Wellbeing/Pages/Home.aspx

Dear all,

As the 3 questions are interrelated, I will make a single answer.
The strengthening of decent employment, including in the informal economy, can find its roots in the basic skills that the (disadvantaged) people develops. Education provides a pathway to equal opportunities and empowers workers to claim their rights to equal treatment in employment. There is a correlation between the level of literacy/numeracy and the ability to know/advocate for their rights (to improve social protection). Thus, the impact of decent work programmes, focused for example on right of migrants who don’t have basic literacy/numeracy skills, will be limited. SDC has developed deferent approaches to ensure that the current workforce can obtain such basic education skills. For example, through non-formal youth and adult education, or strengthening the interplay between basic education and vocational skills development (such as in the regional education and training programme for pastoralists in West Africa for ex).

Kind regards,

Marie

Marie Brüning
Education Advisor – SDC Education Expert Team

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Freiburgstr. 130, 3003 Bern –  Switzerland
Phone    +41 58 461 15 41
Mobile  +41 79 718 92 13
Mail         [Hidden email]

SDC Shareweb Education

Dear Roman, dear Colleagues,

Please find some reactions to your questions below, directly under your questions.

Kind regards
Alex

Dear Colleagues

A composite reply to these 3 questions and recalling Day 1 Q.1 “what SDC
can do?”, (so little extended :o)

I think a key opportunity & added value of SDC derives from the recent
Human Rights Guidance and its renewed commitment to HRBA - as the
e-discussion paper captures this means:

(1) identifying respective rights & duties that comprise ‘decent work’
(2) integrating HR principles of LNOB/gender/non-discrimination,
inclusive participation, transparency & accountability into programming;
(3) strengthening accountability through enhancing duty-bearers’
capacities to meet HR obligations (including CSR & ‘softer’ commitments
of businesses) & empowering rights-holders to know & claim their rights.

A key element (HRBA Principle 1) is that programming be accurate/explicit
in identifying rights/duties, rights-holders and duty-bearers, in needs
assessment, setting objectives, legally accurate measurement of progress
etc. ‘Decent work’ ((similar to ‘fair trial’. ‘free & fair elections’,
LNOB etc) is a short-hand phrase, but it encapsulates universal binding
legal rights. Reformulating a well-established concept risks divergence &
diluting universal human rights law standards.

The priority (and this is where SDC can be influential) is to expand
awareness of and demand for the detailed content of ‘decent work’ and the
capacity to apply the HRBA principles, to operationalise the human rights
norms in programming.

As others have highlighted here, ‘decent work’ rights are dependent on
delivery of other rights (education, free movement, non-discrimination
etc). Equally, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
assembly/association has observed. “Labour rights are human rights, and
the ability to exercise those rights in the workplace is a prerequisite
for workers to enjoy a broad range of other rights, whether economic,
social, cultural, political or otherwise."

The core content of ‘decent work’ comprises universal HR treaty standards
(ICESCR Arts 6,7,8,9, & a range of other treaties) encapsulated as 4 As +
Q

Freely accepted. Eg no forced or compulsory labour
Availability The provision of specialized services to assist individuals
to identify and find available employment.
Accessibility. (including Non-discrimination/ Physical access,
information on means of gaining access to employment)
Acceptability, eg freedom of choice of employment/fullest possible
opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and to use his or her skills
and endowments etc
Quality. Including safe working conditions, the right to form trade
unions, etc.

Further elaboration of these norms is found in General Comments &
decisions of Treaty Bodies, various UN Special Rapporteurs (on freedom of
assembly/association, Contemporary Forms of Slavery etc) & regional human
rights courts/tribunals etc.

* Regional instruments can be strategically useful to gain buy-in from
partners on HRBA eg Decent work is central to the African Union Agenda
2063 & the 2015 Declaration and Plan of Action on Employment, Poverty
Eradication and Inclusive Development (Ouagadougou + 10). An advisory
opinion of the Inter-American Court is pending on “trade union freedom,
collective bargaining and strike, in the processes of design,
construction and evaluation of norms and related public policies to work
in contexts of changes in the labor market through the use of new
technologies.”

As well as ensuring legal accuracy these norms aid development
programming, helping guide needs assessments by linking programming with
standards applicable to specific jurisdictions, helping frame legally
accurate objectives, formulate M&E models/indicators etc. They also
ensure coherence across programmes & donors.

Basing work/labour/livelihoods programmes on applicable human right
standards & HR based delivery is a matter of legal obligation, & also
necessary given gaps in political/policy commitments such as SDG 8 & UN
Global Compact etc.

*SDG 8 is not fully coherent with the 4 pillars of ILO Decent Work
Agenda, eg The 'social dialogue' pillar is not explicitly referenced and
the SDG linkage to 'economic growth' is problematic. While economic
growth can be positive in human rights terms, decent work is a human
right irrespective of whether it leads to economic growth or not.

*Similarly while a positive development, the 10 principles of the UN
Global Compact omit key right to work issues and are voluntary standards.
Of those actors that responded to the 2019 UN Global Compact annual
survey, 94% stated they have policies & practices in place to advance
labour rights, but only 29% of these conduct impact assessment of those
rights..... highlighting the importance of the legal HR/HRBA
accountability principle.

As regards the challenges to delivering ‘decent work’ in context of
informal economies, COVID etc, the starting point should be that human
rights treaties are ‘living instruments’, whose standards evolve and
adapt. UN agencies, bi-lateral development donors, academics etc must
proactively advance this to address new realities and identify the
right-holders affected (in Agenda 2030 language, ensuring no-one is left
behind).

HRBA Principle 1 requires more to be done in terms of using UPR/Treaty
body/Special mechanism recommendations to inform design & delivery of
development programmes. Equally more can be done to incorporate
development programme results/findings etc into policy making, UPR/treaty
reporting processes etc. Philip Alston’s metaphor of development and
human rights being like ‘ships passing in the night’ still has some
validity!

One example of the challenge delivering/measuring decent work rights is
the situation of self-employed and informal workers. Both groups are
addressed by ILO & by UN treaty bodies in their examination of countries
records. Some General Comments explicitly address such groups (eg CESCR
GC 23 on the self-employed & GC No19 on The Right to Social Security),
yet the focus has tended not to be on the status of ‘self-employment’ so
much as the vulnerable in the informal economy, domestic workers etc The
ILO Home Work Convention (No. 177) while broader than domestic workers
(eg includes street workers), excludes ‘independent’ workers, ie those
with “autonomy and of economic independence”. The Convention has a poor
rate of ratification (something that SDC might prioritise) ….

A related challenge is that empowerment & “active, free & meaningful’
participation by workers has traditionally been addressed through
collective bargaining/TUs & work place consultation.
Empowerment/Participation to be need planned to reflect the nature of the
“gig” or on-demand economy, zero hour contracts, Global Supply Chains,
remote working etc.

While rights holders engaged in independent working/self-employment are
not homogeneous, a hallmark of informal economies are issues of
discrimination/vulnerability & Gender (the majority of informal workers
in developing countries are women/girls). Some ILO Treaties on
discrimination have been ahead of human rights treaties generally, in
addressing some vulnerable groups older persons, PWDs, migrants.

Similarly, the emphasis on effective labour inspectorates for
accountability in the context of decent work etc requires to be revisited
to encompass home working and self-employment. While most states are weak
at regulating home work, the core HR principle remains … even if work is
‘delegated’ (employees being ‘reclassified’ as self-employed, sometimes
as means of employers evading social security responsibilities etc)
States (Donors and partner states) are still obliged to ensure the
standards are met.

Applying 360° HRBA can be onerous for individual programme managers etc
but its about doing things better, not all at once. In addition to events
like this, a priority for each donor I think should be a resource ‘hub’,
to collate and disseminate experience and best practice, to develop tools
(underway within SDC), to liaise with OHCHR, ILO etc. Everyone does not
need to be a HR/HRBA ‘expert’, but access to expertise and opportunity to
build capacity is key to making the commitment to HR/HRBA real.

Regards

Patrick

Patrick Twomey BCL LLM BL - Director International Human Rights Network

Glenboy House, Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland

Tel: +353 49 8542934

ptwomey@ihrnetwork.org

www.ihrnetwork.org

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Dear all,
Welcome to our fourth e-discussion day. I hope you have already gained quite a bit from the discussion and I am looking forward to some more stimulating contributions. As already announced yesterday, the focus of today and tomorrow will be on the operationalisation of decent work based on the following three questions:

> Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after the Covid-19 crisis?

> Question 2: How can SDC and its partners take more influence on qualitative aspects such as working conditions and improved social protection / labor market governance? What is the role of policy dialogue, therefore? Are there any good practices you may share with the network?

> Question 3: What are your lessons learned on operationalizing decent work in your projects, including on policy dialogue and through the application of the human rights-based approach? What works best, what are the main challenges you are facing?

We look forward to your contributions!
Roman and the whole facilitation team

Roman Troxler
Partner and Senior Consultant | KEK – CDC
Universitaetstrasse 69 | CH-8006 Zurich
www.kek.ch | +41 44 368 58 15
+41 79 212 53 80 (Mobile/Signal/Threema)

Am 05.05.2021 um 17:44 schrieb Edlira Muedini <[Hidden email] <mailto:edlira.muedini@helvetas.org="">>:

Dear Colleagues,

thank you for the interesting, important, and challenging topic of discussion on the decent work. I find it difficult to kind of cut my input in the three different questions and therefore I will summarize it in one, hope still counts😊

As development projects, in our work we aim brining growth for private sector and more decent jobs for people, especially young people. In doing so we face lots of challenges when it comes to decent work as often businesses are not enough aware on the importance of it, they are led mainly on the quick wins and often fail to have a vision of a medium and long perspective for growth. Therefore, as development projects we need to read carefully between the lines. If business is led by profit, then we should find ways that through profit generation they can introduce more decent work. In our project in Albania for example, we have raised awareness and make businesses invest toward more decent jobs for young people, through introduction of international standards that offer better access for those businesses to high value markets. As a result, not only business itself has generated more income, but also many employees have benefited from much better working conditions in terms of safety, payment, proper conditions for executing business, as well as more jobs has been created in new areas of work, imposed by the new standard. Here, we can talk about introduction of new post harvesting technologies for Medical and aromatic plants, which not only give the opportunity to farmers to cultivate and collect more abandoning the primitive harvesting techniques, but also to young people who could work on new digitalized processes such as managing and monitoring a post harvesting chamber. Or while introducing new international standards for fruits and veggies, exporters have increased their incomes toward selling in high value markets and have generated new jobs related to new processes such as sorting or packaging of the product for the new market place. On the other hand, farmers have increased their incomes too as exporters pay them more, and they can get advice and guidelines from exporters on how to best treat the seeds/plants. Finally, their market is secured, and they can formalize relations to exporters under regular contracts. More could be read in one of our business cases here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ywuxtWIMpEkhlEw3KlIqrc8PW2NBm7_F/view

On the other side, if businesses are getting more profit due to new opportunities, that does not mean they will change immediately their understanding and behavior towards decent work. Most probably, first that will be “imposed” be a standard or another incentive and with time and reflections processes they will understand that applying certain rules and standards not only brings more money, but also a more stable and satisfying working force, which can be translated in more motivation, creativity, and resilience of a business. And I believe this is the key area where development projects like us need to focus our efforts, be not satisfied only with successful pilots, but use it for scale and awareness raising, use communication for knowledge sharing and development, inspire others. If good entry points (pilots) are used properly with the right partners, and then results are communicated with the right tools to targeted audiences is very likely to reach good results in terms of scale and sustainability. In theory sounds nice, practically is challenging of course. Project like us initially work with lead companies who share the same vision for change and who are able and ready to commit in the investment. The question and the big challenge rely on how to go from successful pilots to a systemic change, where not only more business is doing the same, but where the other market players are in place and functioning properly. In the topic of decent work for example working with labor unions and making them stronger in promoting and protecting decent work could be an area of interest, although in some countries not easy, as these stakeholders are quite weak.

When it comes to policy dialogue and human rights base approach, these are very important aspects of our work too. However, in some countries unfortunately government despite their “facade” approach of having lost of papers regarding decent work and human rights, less is done in practice. Often, they talk about having a job is important, but they do not pay attention what kind of job is it and under which conditions, they do not pay attention on the law reinforcement on decent work. Therefore, when such important stakeholders do not yet reflect the willingness or any practical action to change things, I believe working directly with private sector remains crucial in promoting decent work. And once they become strong and together on this topic, government will respond.

Thanks,
Edlira

Edlira Muedini
Project Manager
“RISIAlbania”
A project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Rr. Ismail Qemali, P.18, H.3, Ap.15
Tirana, Albania
Tel.:+355(0)42248527
Mob.:+355(0)682050045
Email: [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>
Web: www.risialbania.al <http: www.risialbania.al="">
Skype: edlira07

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Am 05.05.2021 um 17:12 schrieb [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>:

Thank you for your contributions and for the work of the E + I group which is also welcome as a continuing education.
Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after the Covid-19 crisis?

I answer with reference to the experience of the IDEA project, promoted by AVAID www.avaid.ch <http: www.avaid.ch=""> in Kenya with SDC / FOSIT funds and other private donors, aimed at the training and job creation of youth migrants in Kenya-Nairobi from neighboring countries (RDC, Burundi, Rwanda, only in some cases from Horn of Africa), often French-speaking, urban refugees and not in camps. The project, which unfortunately does not explicitly mention decent work, also includes extremely vulnerable local youth (out of work: more job; at risk of exploitation-illegality-forms of slavery especially for women: better job). Some lessons learned:

* Partnership architecture reflecting a global approach: A fundamental aspect to promote decent work for the most vulnerable is to adopt a holistic approach, which embraces different aspects of the human being and involves different actors in the partnership arrangement.
* In IDEA Project, as an example. The local NGO AVSI Kenya which carries out the work of community mobilization and involvement of the beneficiaries, usually completely isolated and often on the margins of legality; using psychosocial approach where applicable and addressing special needs; VTI St. Kizito focusing on vocational training, offering language courses and short training; COWA, local NGO for accompaniment in the search for job, managing relationship with enterprises for dual training and tutoring of micro-enterpreneurs; business sector, for dual training and job placement, developing CSR policies as well; UNHCR for documents and rights of migrants; local government for integration and law.
* In this partnership architecture, the private non-profit sector plays a role of mediation, integration/mediation, community mobilization, training&skill, mentoring, networking to favor both beneficiaries and businesses.
* By saying “private sector” we usually mean business, but the private sector also includes nonprofits, ngos, schools, facilities for social services delivery. Usual wording leads to an economic meaning prevailing. The triple nexus Humanitarian-development -peace needs a facilitator subject and non-profit seems to have a good potential to do it.
* Soft skills development is crucial, including rights, local regulations/law; relationship attitude; is crucial both for beneficiaries and for enterprises creating new jobs and including vulnerable people as workers.
* Child friendly spaces in VTI could be an interesting support for young mothers’ access to training and employment, as well as an opportunity for job creation in childcare sector
* The COVID crisis has reduced the potential for job creation by the private business sector, while the potential of the informal market is growing (critical point). COWA, the local partner dedicated to job placement and tutoring for job search, has extended the accompaniment / assistance to employment previously aimed at the business sector also to micro-entrepreneurship, self-employment and freelancers. Tutorship and advisoring for very-micro entrepreneurs is relevant to avoid the risk of illegal works and forms of exploitation
* I share with great conviction the emphasis on education: if it is true, as we read in suggested documents, that education does not guarantee a decent job, school dropout and the lack of basic education is often an insurmountable barrier to access the job. So forms of remedial teaching would be very useful in the decent work perspective.

Thank you for your job and attention
Best regards

****************
Maria Teresa Gatti –AVAID Secretariat
www.avaid.ch <http: www.avaid.ch="">
Corso Pestalozzi, 14 – LUGANO
Tel. 091 921 13 93

Da: [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]> <[Hidden email] <mailto:priorityjobs@dgroups.org="">> Per conto di [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>
Inviato: mercoledì, 5 maggio 2021 14:53
A: SDC Decent Work <[Hidden email] <mailto:priorityjobs@dgroups.org="">>
Oggetto: [decentwork] E-discussion Decent Work - second topic: Operationalizing Decent Work

Dear all,
Thank you for the new set of questions.
It has been very inspiring to be part of this discussion. I have read with interest various mentions of skills development and, in response to Question 1, would like to highlight the importance of basic foundational skills if we are to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programmes more systematically and sustainably.
Indeed, as has been pointed out in the discussion, conceptually speaking, basic skills development is not specifically mentioned in the ten substantive elements, and it seems that the discourse on Decent Work has been largely shaped from an economic perspective. Rather than being limited to economic growth, Decent Work points towards an expansive vision of human development and inclusion. Basic skills play an essential role in achieving this vision and is of key importance across all four pillars.
During our discussion, we have heard of projects, such as the SIMS project (HELVETAS Bangladesh), where the limited availability of skills training poses challenges in promoting decent work for migrant workers. What is required are links also with Basic Education, beyond VSD.
We know that many young people who have grown up in poverty and exclusion have had little education, have dropped out of or never been to school. They have fewer opportunities to develop skills for decent jobs and hence risk further marginalisation in the labour market.
Even those young people who attend school, often leave without the required basic skills to avoid some of the worst forms of discrimination and disadvantage in the labour market. Unemployment, underemployment or employment in low skilled work without prospects of advancement wastes young people’s potential to create better lives for themselves and to make socio-economic contributions. Young people with the worst educational outcomes (often the urban poor and those left behind in rural areas) are condemned to low-paying economic activities in the informal sector.
In order to leave no one behind, it is crucial to include basic skills development into the discussion as a key prerequisite towards creating decent work. Basic education provides not only the skills, but also the qualifications and certification required to engage in decent work. Importantly, basic education paves the way towards equal opportunities and empowers workers to claim their rights towards equal treatment in employment. We know that the more educated people are, the more they are aware of their rights and likely to claim them. They will be sensitive to unfair treatment/pay/poor conditions. Being literate, i.e. being able to read and calculate empowers people to verify that their rights are being respected.
There are clear implications for programming: If target groups do not have basic literacy and numeracy skills, programme impact is bound to be limited. More holistic approaches are required that include basic education needs, for example through non-formal youth or adult education and programming at the intersection of BE and VSD.
A more inclusive conceptual debate and more holistic programming approaches that take into account the educational rights and needs of young people and adults will go a long way in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programmes more systematically and sustainably.
I look forward to further engaging with you all throughout this e-discussion!
Kind Regards
Barbara

Dr Barbara Zeus | Team Leader, SDC Education Backstopping
NORRAG, Associate Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Visit our Shareweb <https: education="" site="" www.shareweb.ch="">

Dear Colleagues,

thank you for the interesting, important, and challenging topic of discussion on the decent work. I find it difficult to kind of cut my input in the three different questions and therefore I will summarize it in one, hope still counts😊

As development projects, in our work we aim brining growth for private sector and more decent jobs for people, especially young people. In doing so we face lots of challenges when it comes to decent work as often businesses are not enough aware on the importance of it, they are led mainly on the quick wins and often fail to have a vision of a medium and long perspective for growth. Therefore, as development projects we need to read carefully between the lines. If business is led by profit, then we should find ways that through profit generation they can introduce more decent work. In our project in Albania for example, we have raised awareness and make businesses invest toward more decent jobs for young people, through introduction of international standards that offer better access for those businesses to high value markets. As a result, not only business itself has generated more income, but also many employees have benefited from much better working conditions in terms of safety, payment, proper conditions for executing business, as well as more jobs has been created in new areas of work, imposed by the new standard. Here, we can talk about introduction of new post harvesting technologies for Medical and aromatic plants, which not only give the opportunity to farmers to cultivate and collect more abandoning the primitive harvesting techniques, but also to young people who could work on new digitalized processes such as managing and monitoring a post harvesting chamber. Or while introducing new international standards for fruits and veggies, exporters have increased their incomes toward selling in high value markets and have generated new jobs related to new processes such as sorting or packaging of the product for the new market place. On the other hand, farmers have increased their incomes too as exporters pay them more, and they can get advice and guidelines from exporters on how to best treat the seeds/plants. Finally, their market is secured, and they can formalize relations to exporters under regular contracts. More could be read in one of our business cases here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ywuxtWIMpEkhlEw3KlIqrc8PW2NBm7_F/view

On the other side, if businesses are getting more profit due to new opportunities, that does not mean they will change immediately their understanding and behavior towards decent work. Most probably, first that will be “imposed” be a standard or another incentive and with time and reflections processes they will understand that applying certain rules and standards not only brings more money, but also a more stable and satisfying working force, which can be translated in more motivation, creativity, and resilience of a business. And I believe this is the key area where development projects like us need to focus our efforts, be not satisfied only with successful pilots, but use it for scale and awareness raising, use communication for knowledge sharing and development, inspire others. If good entry points (pilots) are used properly with the right partners, and then results are communicated with the right tools to targeted audiences is very likely to reach good results in terms of scale and sustainability. In theory sounds nice, practically is challenging of course. Project like us initially work with lead companies who share the same vision for change and who are able and ready to commit in the investment. The question and the big challenge rely on how to go from successful pilots to a systemic change, where not only more business is doing the same, but where the other market players are in place and functioning properly. In the topic of decent work for example working with labor unions and making them stronger in promoting and protecting decent work could be an area of interest, although in some countries not easy, as these stakeholders are quite weak.

When it comes to policy dialogue and human rights base approach, these are very important aspects of our work too. However, in some countries unfortunately government despite their “facade” approach of having lost of papers regarding decent work and human rights, less is done in practice. Often, they talk about having a job is important, but they do not pay attention what kind of job is it and under which conditions, they do not pay attention on the law reinforcement on decent work. Therefore, when such important stakeholders do not yet reflect the willingness or any practical action to change things, I believe working directly with private sector remains crucial in promoting decent work. And once they become strong and together on this topic, government will respond.

Thanks,
Edlira

Edlira Muedini
Project Manager
“RISIAlbania”
A project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Rr. Ismail Qemali, P.18, H.3, Ap.15
Tirana, Albania
Tel.:+355(0)42248527
Mob.:+355(0)682050045
Email: [Hidden email] <mailto:[Hidden email]>
Web: www.risialbania.al <http: www.risialbania.al="">
Skype: edlira07

Helvetas Mosaic <https: about-us="" eastern-europe="" en="" follow-us="" helvetas-mosaic="" mosaic-subscription="" www.helvetas.org=""> is a new exciting publication about international development work in Southeast Europe. Subscribe <https: about-us="" eastern-europe="" en="" follow-us="" helvetas-mosaic="" mosaic-subscription="" www.helvetas.org=""> to never miss an issue!

Thank you for your contributions and for the work of the E + I group which
is also welcome as a continuing education.

Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent
Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the
informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after
the Covid-19 crisis?

I answer with reference to the experience of the IDEA project, promoted by
AVAID www.avaid.ch <http: www.avaid.ch=""> in Kenya with SDC / FOSIT funds
and other private donors, aimed at the training and job creation of youth
migrants in Kenya-Nairobi from neighboring countries (RDC, Burundi, Rwanda,
only in some cases from Horn of Africa), often French-speaking, urban
refugees and not in camps. The project, which unfortunately does not
explicitly mention decent work, also includes extremely vulnerable local
youth (out of work: more job; at risk of exploitation-illegality-forms of
slavery especially for women: better job). Some lessons learned:

* Partnership architecture reflecting a global approach: A fundamental
aspect to promote decent work for the most vulnerable is to adopt a holistic
approach, which embraces different aspects of the human being and involves
different actors in the partnership arrangement.

* In IDEA Project, as an example. The local NGO AVSI Kenya which
carries out the work of community mobilization and involvement of the
beneficiaries, usually completely isolated and often on the margins of
legality; using psychosocial approach where applicable and addressing
special needs; VTI St. Kizito focusing on vocational training, offering
language courses and short training; COWA, local NGO for accompaniment in
the search for job, managing relationship with enterprises for dual training
and tutoring of micro-enterpreneurs; business sector, for dual training and
job placement, developing CSR policies as well; UNHCR for documents and
rights of migrants; local government for integration and law.
* In this partnership architecture, the private non-profit sector
plays a role of mediation, integration/mediation, community mobilization,
training&skill, mentoring, networking to favor both beneficiaries and
businesses.
* By saying “private sector” we usually mean business, but the private
sector also includes nonprofits, ngos, schools, facilities for social
services delivery. Usual wording leads to an economic meaning prevailing.
The triple nexus Humanitarian-development -peace needs a facilitator subject
and non-profit seems to have a good potential to do it.

* Soft skills development is crucial, including rights, local
regulations/law; relationship attitude; is crucial both for beneficiaries
and for enterprises creating new jobs and including vulnerable people as
workers.
* Child friendly spaces in VTI could be an interesting support for
young mothers’ access to training and employment, as well as an opportunity
for job creation in childcare sector
* The COVID crisis has reduced the potential for job creation by the
private business sector, while the potential of the informal market is
growing (critical point). COWA, the local partner dedicated to job placement
and tutoring for job search, has extended the accompaniment / assistance to
employment previously aimed at the business sector also to
micro-entrepreneurship, self-employment and freelancers. Tutorship and
advisoring for very-micro entrepreneurs is relevant to avoid the risk of
illegal works and forms of exploitation
* I share with great conviction the emphasis on education: if it is
true, as we read in suggested documents, that education does not guarantee a
decent job, school dropout and the lack of basic education is often an
insurmountable barrier to access the job. So forms of remedial teaching
would be very useful in the decent work perspective.

Thank you for your job and attention

Best regards

****************

Maria Teresa Gatti –AVAID Secretariat

<http: www.avaid.ch=""> www.avaid.ch

Corso Pestalozzi, 14 – LUGANO

Tel. 091 921 13 93

Da: [Hidden email] <[Hidden email]> Per conto di
[Hidden email]
Inviato: mercoledì, 5 maggio 2021 14:53
A: SDC Decent Work <[Hidden email]>
Oggetto: [decentwork] E-discussion Decent Work - second topic:
Operationalizing Decent Work

Dear all,

Thank you for the new set of questions.

It has been very inspiring to be part of this discussion. I have read with
interest various mentions of skills development and, in response to Question
1, would like to highlight the importance of basic foundational skills if we
are to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and
programmes more systematically and sustainably.

Indeed, as has been pointed out in the discussion, conceptually speaking,
basic skills development is not specifically mentioned in the ten
substantive elements, and it seems that the discourse on Decent Work has
been largely shaped from an economic perspective. Rather than being limited
to economic growth, Decent Work points towards an expansive vision of human
development and inclusion. Basic skills play an essential role in achieving
this vision and is of key importance across all four pillars.
During our discussion, we have heard of projects, such as the SIMS project
(HELVETAS Bangladesh), where the limited availability of skills training
poses challenges in promoting decent work for migrant workers. What is
required are links also with Basic Education, beyond VSD.

We know that many young people who have grown up in poverty and exclusion
have had little education, have dropped out of or never been to school. They
have fewer opportunities to develop skills for decent jobs and hence risk
further marginalisation in the labour market.

Even those young people who attend school, often leave without the required
basic skills to avoid some of the worst forms of discrimination and
disadvantage in the labour market. Unemployment, underemployment or
employment in low skilled work without prospects of advancement wastes young
people’s potential to create better lives for themselves and to make
socio-economic contributions. Young people with the worst educational
outcomes (often the urban poor and those left behind in rural areas) are
condemned to low-paying economic activities in the informal sector.
In order to leave no one behind, it is crucial to include basic skills
development into the discussion as a key prerequisite towards creating
decent work. Basic education provides not only the skills, but also the
qualifications and certification required to engage in decent work.
Importantly, basic education paves the way towards equal opportunities and
empowers workers to claim their rights towards equal treatment in
employment. We know that the more educated people are, the more they are
aware of their rights and likely to claim them. They will be sensitive to
unfair treatment/pay/poor conditions. Being literate, i.e. being able to
read and calculate empowers people to verify that their rights are being
respected.

There are clear implications for programming: If target groups do not have
basic literacy and numeracy skills, programme impact is bound to be limited.
More holistic approaches are required that include basic education needs,
for example through non-formal youth or adult education and programming at
the intersection of BE and VSD.

A more inclusive conceptual debate and more holistic programming approaches
that take into account the educational rights and needs of young people and
adults will go a long way in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in
SDC projects and programmes more systematically and sustainably.

I look forward to further engaging with you all throughout this
e-discussion!

Kind Regards

Barbara

Dr Barbara Zeus | Team Leader, SDC Education Backstopping

NORRAG, Associate Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies

Visit our <https: education="" site="" www.shareweb.ch=""> Shareweb

Dear all,
Thank you for the new set of questions.
It has been very inspiring to be part of this discussion. I have read with interest various mentions of skills development and, in response to Question 1, would like to highlight the importance of basic foundational skills if we are to strengthen the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programmes more systematically and sustainably.
Indeed, as has been pointed out in the discussion, conceptually speaking, basic skills development is not specifically mentioned in the ten substantive elements, and it seems that the discourse on Decent Work has been largely shaped from an economic perspective. Rather than being limited to economic growth, Decent Work points towards an expansive vision of human development and inclusion. Basic skills play an essential role in achieving this vision and is of key importance across all four pillars.
During our discussion, we have heard of projects, such as the SIMS project (HELVETAS Bangladesh), where the limited availability of skills training poses challenges in promoting decent work for migrant workers. What is required are links also with Basic Education, beyond VSD.
We know that many young people who have grown up in poverty and exclusion have had little education, have dropped out of or never been to school. They have fewer opportunities to develop skills for decent jobs and hence risk further marginalisation in the labour market.
Even those young people who attend school, often leave without the required basic skills to avoid some of the worst forms of discrimination and disadvantage in the labour market. Unemployment, underemployment or employment in low skilled work without prospects of advancement wastes young people’s potential to create better lives for themselves and to make socio-economic contributions. Young people with the worst educational outcomes (often the urban poor and those left behind in rural areas) are condemned to low-paying economic activities in the informal sector.
In order to leave no one behind, it is crucial to include basic skills development into the discussion as a key prerequisite towards creating decent work. Basic education provides not only the skills, but also the qualifications and certification required to engage in decent work. Importantly, basic education paves the way towards equal opportunities and empowers workers to claim their rights towards equal treatment in employment. We know that the more educated people are, the more they are aware of their rights and likely to claim them. They will be sensitive to unfair treatment/pay/poor conditions. Being literate, i.e. being able to read and calculate empowers people to verify that their rights are being respected.
There are clear implications for programming: If target groups do not have basic literacy and numeracy skills, programme impact is bound to be limited. More holistic approaches are required that include basic education needs, for example through non-formal youth or adult education and programming at the intersection of BE and VSD.
A more inclusive conceptual debate and more holistic programming approaches that take into account the educational rights and needs of young people and adults will go a long way in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programmes more systematically and sustainably.
I look forward to further engaging with you all throughout this e-discussion!
Kind Regards
Barbara

Dr Barbara Zeus | Team Leader, SDC Education Backstopping
NORRAG, Associate Programme of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Visit our Shareweb <https: education="" site="" www.shareweb.ch="">

Dear colleagues,

Thank you very much for your contributions and interesting insights during the Decent Work e-discussion on stocktaking about projects contributing to decent work. Please find under the following link <https: posts="" romantroxler_decentwork-activity-6795601672249856001-9yoj="" www.linkedin.com=""> a short video summary with main takeaway messages of the discussion of the last two days. For more general information on how this e-discussion works, please have a look at the information in the footer.

We are now moving to the next discussion block on operationalizing decent work. For the next two days we would like to invite you to discuss the following guiding questions. You can reply to only one of these questions or address all of them. Please make a brief reference to your project context when replying to these questions - and try to be short and precise. You can also add links to project summaries or factsheets if available.

Question 1: How can we succeed in strengthening the promotion of Decent Work in SDC projects and programs more systematically, including in the informal economy – also in the context of build back better efforts after the Covid-19 crisis?

Question 2: How can SDC and its partners take more influence on qualitative aspects such as working conditions and improved social protection / labor market governance? What is the role of policy dialogue, therefore? Are there any good practices you may share with the network?

Question 3: What are your lessons learned on operationalizing decent work in your projects, including on policy dialogue and through the application of the human rights-based approach? What works best, what are the main challenges you are facing?

We are looking forward to learning more from your experiences.

Best regards
Rebecca, Roman and Sabrina
(the facilitator team of the Decent Work e-discussion)

——————
Footer: further information on the Decent Work e-discussion

So, how does this e-discussion work?
The facilitator team will steer the discussion by launching a topic for discussion to the dgroup members every second day:
> 3-5 May: Stocktaking, learning from interesting projects that substantially contribute to the decent work substantive elements
> 5-7 May: Operationalizing, how can we improve our efforts for decent work?
> 7-11 May: Monitoring/reporting, good practice in monitoring impacts, incl. decent-work aspects at systemic level
How do I participate in the e-discussion? What do I need to do if I don't want to participate?
> Please have a look at the technical guidelines (here: https://dgroups.org/?lrr8d210.2 <https: ?url="https%3A%2F%2Fdgroups.org%2F%3Flrr8d210.2&data=04%7C01%7CSabrina.Wuermli%40helvetas.org%7Cc57af88e199b4a10849d08d90f277bfd%7C060d649d2c9344d28200a3eb9f3c4160%7C0%7C1%7C637557484539556340%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=p4rPixEDN4c%2BKK0n%2FCa52yOECoff6sZso530vzTQfRw%3D&reserved=0" eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com="">), where you find all necessary information.
> Please note that when you reply to a message everyone in the group will receive it. This is a great opportunity to share our ideas and experiences.
> You may want to change your dGroup email notification preferences to «immediately" (or «daily" or «weekly", if you are too busy to actively follow the discussion). To do so login to dGroups (http://dgroups.org <https: ?url="http%3A%2F%2Fdgroups.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7CSabrina.Wuermli%40helvetas.org%7Cc57af88e199b4a10849d08d90f277bfd%7C060d649d2c9344d28200a3eb9f3c4160%7C0%7C1%7C637557484539556340%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=HKYxljCPqQLEdtoky6lX4ddE9bVY4B2N6iANjOBvNNc%3D&reserved=0" eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com="">), click on "My account" and then on "Preferences", and change the notification preferences.

We will summarize the participants' contributions and disseminate the key points and results of discussions when sharing new guiding questions for the discussion. Additionally we will complement the input paper with findings of the e-discussion after concluding the joint learning exercise.

We invite you to regularly visit the thematic Shareweb page, where you find the above mentioned input paper and additional readings: https://www.shareweb.ch/site/EI/Pages/Content/Profiles.aspx?SmartID=4535&item1=Decent%20Work <https: ?url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shareweb.ch%2Fsite%2FEI%2FPages%2FContent%2FProfiles.aspx%3FSmartID%3D4535%26item1%3DDecent%2520Work&data=04%7C01%7CSabrina.Wuermli%40helvetas.org%7Cc57af88e199b4a10849d08d90f277bfd%7C060d649d2c9344d28200a3eb9f3c4160%7C0%7C1%7C637557484539566299%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=G%2BeUw4Vsxi3GuXKRQ8KLCh2lAAq1%2BYxQ8qjf3yrx%2FJY%3D&reserved=0" eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com="">

Sabrina Würmli
Advisor Skills Development

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation
Maulbeerstrasse 10, P.O. Box, 3001 Bern, Switzerland
Phone: +41 31 385 10 34
helvetas.org <https: ?url="https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttp-253A-252F-252Fwww.helvetas.org-252F-26data-3D04-257C01-257CSabrina.Wuermli-2540helvetas.org-257C7b7806f87ca64e9466f108d89b4ea09c-257C060d649d2c9344d28200a3eb9f3c4160-257C0-257C0-257C637430109302084340-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3D4zrdRZWG6IYcYjNVFJwXpMmer04WsjZNNNF-252BYAYlZpI-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMGaQ%26c%3Djf_iaSHvJObTbx-siA1ZOg%26r%3D7-6fBMsKvY90vhSm573TvnfeEVXzNC7FmsbGgtZSiqI%26m%3Dp5jzrSHDx4pZmgNphbbj6XyJK6ek7mxdzEZEa_W5LqA%26s%3DcgBdC_vFVVy_mL-LKBQrXaFOcwv5EgjWOcWdvcAQn5k%26e%3D&data=04%7C01%7CSabrina.Wuermli%40helvetas.org%7C7dec17cfc1fd4b38783a08d8e7ce19c9%7C060d649d2c9344d28200a3eb9f3c4160%7C0%7C0%7C637514219684615375%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=v4WNoyd59ToLUBYOKtoACenAnn8OKprIK0tcEHpGJHc%3D&reserved=0" eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com="">

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