ilo discussions on the informal economy - international labour organization · 2014-06-09 ·...
Post on 30-Jun-2018
220 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Decent Work for All ASIAN DECENT WORK DECADE 2006-2015
Way Out of Informality, National Knowledge Sharing Workshop, 6 December 2012
Royal Plaza Hotel, New Delhi, India
ILO discussions on the informal economy
Sandra O. Yu Local Strategies for Decent Work Specialist
Decent Work Team for East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
…issues and paths towards formalisation
… self-employed? What is informal employment?
… or dependent work? What is informal employment?
4
Mandate of ILO
Expressed as decent work for all, in both formal
and informal context
ILO policy is set by its constituents; i.e.
government, employers, workers organizations
(185 countries)
ILO’s constituents provided the direction of ILO’s
work on the informal economy
The goal is to promote decent work along the
entire continuum from the informal to the formal
end of the economy
… social justice as basis for peace
ILO on the informal economy
1972: ILO first used the term, “informal sector”
Referring to working poor who are unrecognized, unrecorded,
unprotected
1991: 78th Session of the ILC, Dilemma of the Informal
Sector: To promote or to regulate? (idea of a trade-off)
Eliminate progressively the worst aspects thru a
comprehensive strategy
2002: 90th Session of the ILC , Decent Work and the IE
Provides a new approach: not only enterprises but also workers
2006: 95th Session of the ILC, Employment Relationship
Produced a resolution defining ambiguous work arrangements
and showing some monitoring mechanisms
… some milestones
6
Decent work & informal economy
From informal sector to informal economy
Includes both enterprise and work relationships
Includes informal work in the formal sector
Legal frameworks relevant to the issue of formalization
Commercial or business regulations
Labour legislation
Laws pertaining to property rights
Emphasis on organization, representation and voice
Provide enabling legal framework to support representational rights
(continued)
… a new approach from the 90th ILC resolution
Decent work & informal economy
(continued)
Endorsement of decent work approach to the informal
economy
Rights, decent employment, social protection and social dialogue
Macro, meso and micro level interventions
Depicts a continuum of production and work relations
DW deficits are worst at the bottom; also found in formal jobs
Policy implications is to enhance positive linkages in the continuum
… a new approach from the 90th ILC resolution
Regional meetings and priorities set by ILO Constituents since ILC 2002
Asia-Pacific (2006)
Recognition, universal social protection for workers, MSME promotion.
Africa (2006)
11 point agenda: integrated policies focus on transition into mainstream. Focus on employment generation and universal social protection.
South America (2007)
mainstreaming SMEs and workers into formal economy through enabling environment, removal of regulatory obstacles, and progressive social protection.
Objectives of ILO
Immediate term
reduce / eliminate the the negative manifestations of informality
while ensuring that the opportunities for income and livelihood are
not destroyed
Short and medium term
gradual integration of the informal economy into formal systems of
protection and support
Longer term
prevention of informalization of workers currently found in the
formal sector
creation of enough employment opportunities that are formal,
protected and decent for all
… an integrated DW approach along the continuum
Causes of informality … guidance towards formalization approaches
Lack of economic growth,
employment creation
Local development strategies
Growth strategies and quality
employment generation
Legal and regulatory environment
(including ILS + core rights)
Equality (gender, ethnicity,
race, caste, disability)
Organization,
representation and voice
Entrepreneurship, skills, finance,
management, market access
Extension of social protection
Legal and institutional
obstacles
Direct and indirect
discrimination
Lack of representation and
voice
Flexible specialization and
global chains
Demographic trends, incl. rural-
urban migration
Governance
Reduce direct and
transaction costs
Establish contracts
and promote
understanding of
contracts
Review direct
exclusions
Enactment of special
laws
Labour administration
Define employer
employee relationship
in ambiguous contracts
Establish contracts
Legal literacy
Review for
exclusion and
inclusions
Reduce cost of
package
Collection/Admin
Tax based funding
Review law for
organizational
forms: TU, coop,
MBO, corporation
Business /
Commercial
Regulations Labour
Legislation
Social Security Representation
al rights
leg
al an
d r
eg
ula
tory
en
vir
on
men
t
Local development strategies for effective policy design and delivery
Discrimination
Growth strategies
and quality of
employment
Entrepreneurship, skills,
finance, management,
market access
Organising and
organisational
development training
support (to
strengthen principles
and practice of
governance)
Address causes of informality
Growth strategies and quality employment generation
Making employment the central concern of socio-economic policies
Macroeconomic, trade, investment policies must focus on employment
Infrastructure that link communities with more dynamic center
Sectoral strategies for those with large informal economy
Legal and regulatory environment
Legal frameworks are key to recognition and protection by law
Relevant legal and institutional frameworks: business, labour, property
Areas of work towards inclusion in labour protection laws:
Review of explicit exclusions
Enactment of special laws
Defining employment relationships
Legal literacy
… areas of work to reduce deficits and seek formalisation
Organization, representation and voice
Enabling law to support representational rights
Consider various forms of organization (cooperatives, trade
unions, member-based association, corporations)
Areas of work:
Review of laws to assess entry barriers and advocacy
Organising and organisational development training (to
strengthen principles and practice of governance)
Entrepreneurship, skills, finance, management,
market access
National framework for skills qualification as tool for
recognizing skiils levels and wage protection
Experiences in construction; ongoing for handicraft
producers
Objective is to formalise work standards otherwise
determined informally and subject to discretion
Extension of social protection
Social security, occupational safety and health, HIV-
AIDS prevention
Social security
Challenges and responses
Legal exclusions or lack of enabling laws
Administration for those with no employers
Direct/transaction cost
Inability to contribute and accountabilities
• Removal of
employer
contribution
• Satellite offices
and
accreditation of
banks
• Reducing
package of
benefits to
minimum to
lower cost
• Tax-based
systems; taxing
the industry;
use of
subsidies for
the very poor
Summary
To reduce manifestations of informality (immediate)
improve labour rights
enhance social protection
invest in knowledge and skills + access to business support services and
financial services
To address root causes (medium to long term)
Growth strategy and quality employment generation Macro policies
Entrepreneurship, skills, finance, mgt, access to markets
Formalization through legal regulatory framework Regulatory environment, standards and rights
Improve social protection
Organization for representation and social dialogue
Emphasis on Equity
Use of Local development strategies
… areas of intervention, short- to long-term approaches
Enterprise Formalisation Worker Formalisation
Formali-sation
Compliance with local and national regulations(business registration and licensing, taxations, labour regulations)
Worker Protection (with/without any defined employment relationship)
Goal Unlock growth potential, enterprise sustainability AND respect human dignity, environmental sustainability, and DW
Universal access to international labour standards, esp core rights
Focus • Integration into Mainstream: • Reduce the costs of formality • Reduce regulatory/administrative
barriers to formalization • Incentives for Productivity increase (OSH,
technology, training), linkages
• Legal inclusion and institutional provisions • Knowledge of rights and benefits of workers • Formalising work arrangement through contracts
Approach - Business registration reform, simplified tax administration.
- Incentives towards formalisation. Provide business services to formal enterprises to increase the advantages of formality
- Formalisation AND Upgradation
- Review law for exclusions - Introduct laws that extend labour protection - Institutional partnerships for labour protection
(OSH, organizing, mediation) esp to hard to reach areas
- Identify employment relationships where ambiguous for legal inclusion
- Organize and review enabling laws representation rights
top related