Decent and productive work, fairly remunerated and in safe conditions is central to reducing poverty, and a means of achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. The ILO works to develop decent work-oriented approaches to economic and social policy in partnership with the principal institutions and actors of the multilateral system and the global economy.

ILO action in Pakistan is directed at the adoption of decent work as a national objective and assisting ILO constituents towards that objective.

The ILO and the tripartite constituents are active partners in the One UN Reform Programme and decent work issues and DWCP interventions are being mainstreamed into the One UN Programme in Pakistan. Evidence of this can be seen in the increasing number of interventions that now refer not only to employment, but to decent employment as a key objective in reducing poverty.

National Plans of Action for Decent Work and Decent Work Country Programmes

Countries, including Pakistan, define their Decent Work Objectives in National Plans of Action for Decent Work (NPADW) that align with national development frameworks and international commitments, such as international labour standards (ILS) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ILO identifies specific areas for its support from the NPADW which are then articulated in integrated Decent Work Country Programmes developed in consultation with ILO constituents.

Decent Work Country Programmes are the main platform for delivery of ILO support to countries and in addition to promoting decent work they organise ILO knowledge, instruments, advocacy and cooperation at the service of tripartite constituents in a results-based framework within the fields of comparative advantage of the Organization. Tripartism and social dialogue are central to the planning and implementation of DWCPs.

Pakistan Decent Work Country Programme

The formulation of the Pakistan Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) has been a joint effort of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOP&HRD), the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and the Pakistan Workers’ Federation (PWF) with support from the ILO Country Office. Initial tripartite consultations were held in Islamabad in May 2004 and the first DWCP was finalized on 7th September 2005, covering the period 2006 – 2009. Similarly, the second DWCP was prepared and implemented through 2010 to 2015. The current DWCP was originally designed for 2016-2020 but has been extended to 2022 in order to align with the on-going United Nations Sustainable Development Framework, 2018-2022.

The DWCP (2016-22) has been well aligned to the Pakistan Vision 2025, a long term development agenda of the Government of Pakistan, the National Labour Policy 2010, the National Textile Policy 2015, the National TVET Policy 2015, the Strategic Trade Policy Framework, 2015-18, the National Human Rights Action Plan 2015, and the One UN Programme, 2013-17 as well as 2018-22 (which is now also known as the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework).