Arab States

• Countries covered
  • Bahrain
  • Iraq
  • Jordan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Occupied Palestinian Territory
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Yemen

Areas of work

• Care work

  Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning. Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid carers who may as well be family members. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers. They comprise a wide range of personal service workers, such as nurses, teachers, doctors and personal care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households. Both unpaid care and paid care work are considered as ‘work’ and are thus a crucial dimension of the world of work.

• Child labour

  The Arab States have witnessed a unprecedented wave of armed conflicts and population displacement in recent years, which has coincided with an increase in child labour among refugees, the internally displaced and vulnerable host populations across the region. Children, both girls and boys, are found working in rural and urban areas, in all sectors, industry, agriculture and services, and often in the most hazardous jobs.  All Arab States have ratified the two most important ILO conventions related to child labour: the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) and have committed to combatting child labour. With ILO support, countries around the region are developing national action plans to prevent and address child labour, improving data on the subject, and implementing programmes to reduce the incidence of child labour, particularly in its worst forms.

• Domestic workers

  The majority of migrant domestic workers in the Arab States originate from Asian and African countries such as Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Ethiopia. These workers play a crucial role in the global economy and society, and the remittances they send home contribute to the welfare of their households.

  In many Arab States, migrant domestic workers are excluded from national labour legislation, and are tied to their employers or the kafeel (sponsor) through a restrictive sponsorship system known as kafala. As a result, employers wield considerable power over their working and living conditions.

  The ILO works with governments, workers, employers and civil society in countries of origin and destination to improve protection of the rights of domestic workers as well as to prevent them from being trafficked or forced into labour.

• Employers' organizations

  As the Arab region continues to face geo-political tensions, armed conflicts, a refugee crisis, and economic challenges, recent socio-economic country-visions emphasize the importance of private sector economic growth. Regional ILO Decent Work Country Programmes are aligned with country specific national socio-economic visions, development assistance frameworks, and Sustainable Development Goals implementation plans. With these visions in place, the ILO supports Employers and Business Membership Organisations (EBMOs) in the region through capacity building interventions that push EBMO leadership in socio-economic private sector led growth and job creation, while also developing better responses for members affected by their evolving environments.

• Employment promotion

  In the Arab States, the issue of decent job creation has a prominent place on the agendas of national governments as well as regional and international organizations, particularly amidst the recent economic and geopolitical developments in the region. Unemployment is relatively higher among women and youth, despite the increase in educational levels among both population groups. In general, challenges to decent employment creation in the Arab States remain manifold and interlinked. In partnership with its tripartite constituents- government, workers’ and employers’ organizations- the ILO works to address decent work deficits through a set of policy interventions carefully designed to respond to the specific national contexts and needs.

• Enterprise development

  The ILO Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS) works closely with governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations across the Arab States to support reforms aimed at producing an enabling environment for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to flourish.
  Through the development of sustainable enterprises, productive and decent employment is created and poverty is reduced. Hence, the ILO ROAS draws support from its global Sustainable Enterprise Development Programme and works with Social Partners across the region to create more and better jobs through enterprise development. The ROAS also connects business growth and competitiveness with the needs of people in order to enable them to achieve a decent living in a healthy, safe and peaceful environment.

• Gender equality and non-discrimination

  Gender equality is central to the ILO’s goal of decent work for all.  The region has the world’s lowest rate of female economic participation, and, despite increasing levels of education amongst women in the region, this figure has been resistant to change. There are several challenges to women entering and staying in the labour force such as patriarchal norms and stereotypes, lack of childcare facilities, lack of opportunity, workplace harassment, inadequate transport,  low wages, and legal restrictions on labour rights, and each plays a role. The ILO in the Arab States works to address a wide range of gender-related challenges in the world of work in order to develop social and economic policies which promote gender equality and equal opportunity in the workplace.

• Green jobs and climate change

  The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region stands on the brink of a pivotal transformation. Facing accelerated climate change, with rising temperatures and water scarcity threatening food security and livelihoods, the region is at a crossroads. The transition to a green economy presents a beacon of hope – a chance to redefine development paradigms and usher in a future of sustainability and inclusivity.

  The ILO's Regional Office for Arab States is at the forefront of fostering this Just Transition, working to align the labour market with environmental sustainability through its Decent Work Agenda. Initiatives include enhancing green job opportunities, integrating gender and social protection, and fostering regional cooperation to address climate change impacts. The ILO's commitment is exemplified in its active role in policy-making, supporting national climate goals, and creating a framework for green economies across the MENA region.

• International labour standards

  The ILO maintains and develops a system of international labour standards aimed at promoting opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity.

  International labour standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO’s tripartite constituents (governments, employers and workers) that lay down principles, rights and minimum standards related to work and workplaces. These standards can be either conventions, which are binding international treaties, or recommendations, which are non-binding.

  In the Arab region, the ILO collaborates with government, worker and employer representatives to promote the application of international labour standards through awareness-raising activities, legal reform and law enforcement.

• Labour migration

  The Arab States region is one of the main destination regions globally for migrant workers, and the numbers have increased substantially in recent years. The proportion of migrant to local workers is amongst the highest in the world. Migrant workers contribute substantially to the development of their destination countries and send vital remittances to their families and communities, but many of them face a number of decent work challenges. The ILO and its constituents are working to address these challenges through the ILO's Fair Migration Agenda, adopted in 2014, and in accordance with the Resolution and Conclusions concerning fair and effective labour migration governance, adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2017.

• Skills and employability

  Prolonged and protracted displacement crises, uncertainty over oil prices, and stagnant economies across the Arab States have created a renewed sense of urgency for ILO constituents to put decent work at the core of national agendas. While the region’s economies still grapple with structural issues, the need for business investments to be matched with market-relevant skills and decent work opportunities has rarely been more pressing and essential. With the support of the ILO, governments and workers’ and employers’ organizations have taken significant steps to enhance the efficiency of their national skills development systems in an effort to realise the potential of workers and meet the needs of employers across the Arab States.

• Social security

  The fundamental human right to social security remains unfulfilled for a vast majority of the world’s population, including in the Arab States. Indeed, the Arab States region faces a plethora of challenges such as relatively high labour market informality, low female labour market participation, political instability, conflict, internal displacement and refugee crisis, all of which place significant strain on the capacity of national social protection systems to provide adequate protection from rising poverty and vulnerability. Most social insurance schemes in the region cover only public and private sector workers with regular contracts. Non-contributory social assistance schemes, such as cash transfers, tend to be narrow in coverage, fragmented, and weakly coordinated with contributory schemes. As part of its mandate to further social protection, the ILO is works closely with its tripartite constituents to address those the afore mentioned challenges and support its partners to move towards rights-based and inclusive social protection systems that can drive for peace and prosperity in the region.

• Tripartism and social dialogue

  Tripartism and social dialogue are key mechanisms to foster social and economic progress and achieve decent work for all. Both mechanisms are relevant to any effort which aims to achieve more productive and effective enterprises and sectors, as well as fairer and more efficient economies. The mechanisms also serve as means to promote fundamental principles and rights at work, better wages and working conditions, as well as peace and social justice. In the Arab States region, the ILO assists tripartite constituents to establish and strengthen social dialogue legal and institutional frameworks, build the capacity of tripartite actors at the country level, as well as support bipartite and tripartite dialogue among constituents.

• Workers' organizations

  Workers’ organisations and trade unions are one of the core three constituencies of the ILO’s tripartite structure. Established and run by workers to protect and advance their interests, these organisations aim to secure decent work, social security, gender equality, non-discrimination and well-being of workers and their families. Through its work in the Arab States, the ILO supports workers’ organizations and  trade unions to bolster their effective participation and engagement in national, regional and international activities. The ILO provides advisory services and technical assistance to Workers’ Organisations throughout the Arab States through the Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV).  ACTRAV activities in the region support representative, independent, and democratic trade unions to  enhance their capacity to impact labour law reforms, employment policies, wage-setting, social security, occupational safety and health, gender equality, as well as the protection of migrant and domestic workers' rights.

Work with us

• Regional consultancies

  Consultancy No	Title of the consultancy	Period
  2024/53	Terms of Reference: Supporting the Special Technical Committee for Monitoring and Following up on the Conditions of the Jordanian Garments Sector   The deadline for submission: 30 April 2024	17/04/2024 30/04/2024
  2024/52	Terms of Reference: Request for Quotation for and Individual Consultant Re-design and supervision of 224 m2 office space   The deadline for submission: 13 May 2024	16/04/2024 13/05/2024
  2024/51	Terms of Reference: Consultant to support Damascus Chamber of Industry to define a sustainable business model and operations of the Adra Industrial Technical Training Center   The deadline for submission: 29 April 2024	16/04/2024 29/04/2024
  2024/50	Terms of Reference: Consultant to develop a Roadmap on Formalization in the Agrifood sector   The deadline for submission: 29 April 2024	12/04/2024 29/04/2024
  2024/49	Terms of Reference: SERVICE CONTRACTING: Enhancing Social Protection in Jordan and the Arab Region: Quantitative modelling, financing, and statistical analysis support   The deadline for submission: 26 April 2024	12/04/2024 26/04/2024
  2024/48	Terms of Reference (TOR) for expression of interest for graphic design services   The deadline for submission: 24 April 2024	08/04/2024 24/04/2024

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