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NINTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
 

PROGRAMME AND BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR  2000-01
VOLUME 1	STRATEGY AND ORIENTATION

73. The ILO will do all it can to enable countries to introduce and/or strengthen policies to improve the socio-economic security of everybody, including measures to safeguard working conditions and safety and to extend social protection to all groups in society.

74. Under this strategic objective, two InFocus themes will be covered, although there are also subsidiary activities supportive of the general thrust of this vital objective. One InFocus programme will foster an integrated effort to promote socio-economic security, recognizing that this is a legitimate and widespread concern in all parts of the world. The other is concerned with the specifics of safety and occupational health in work.

InFocus: SafeWork : Security and productivity through safety and health at work	Work-related accidents and diseases continue to be a serious problem in both developed and developing countries. The ILO estimates that workers suffer 250 million accidents every year. There are at least 335,000 fatal injuries caused by accidents at work. Further avoidable suffering is caused by 160 million cases of occupational disease. Taking accidents and diseases together, the global estimate of work-related deaths amounts to 1.1 million per year, and this is probably a gross underestimate. The economic losses are enormous and, in terms of shattered families and communities, the damage is incalculable. International concern and awareness of the importance and magnitude of the problem remains surprisingly modest. Action, especially in developing and "transition" countries, is hampered by inadequate knowledge and information and by limited capacity to design and implement effective policies and programmes. Alarming though the fatality, accident and disease figures are, investment decisions — especially in Asia and Latin America (and spurred by globalization and competition for private investment) — often continue to be made in disregard of safety, health and environmental considerations. The major industrial accidents that have taken place around the world and the many deaths caused by fire in toy, textile and similar kinds of factories in many developing countries, and the new and growing work-related mental diseases observed in industrialized countries attest to the serious risks facing workers and to the need for increased and sustained action to protect safety and health and the environment. SafeWork is designed to respond to this need. Its primary objectives are: (a) to create worldwide awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work-related accidents, injuries and diseases; (b) to promote the goal of basic protection for all workers in conformity with international labour standards; and (c) to enhance the capacity of member States and industry to design and implement effective preventive and protective policies and programmes. The programme will pursue a two-pronged approach. It will create alliances and partnerships by launching activities which can be used by ILO constituents, non-governmental organizations and human rights groups in advocacy campaigns and in calling for vigorous action by governments. Second, it will support action at the national level through an integrated programme of direct technical assistance. This will include the development of management tools and monitoring and information services designed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases and to protect the health and welfare of workers and the environment. The primary focus will be on hazardous occupations. It will target workers in highly hazardous occupations, categories of workers vulnerable on account of gender or age, and workers in the urban informal sector who usually lack basic health protection. Though anchored in ILO principles and values, the programme will be flexible so as to take into account regional and country diversity. The major activities will include the following: • A worldwide advocacy campaign to inform, advise and pressure for improvements in safety procedures. • Development of a global statistical programme focusing on hazardous occupations and sectors, to provide information essential for the establishment of international and national surveillance systems capable of providing early warnings on existing and new occupational and environmental hazards. • Articulation and development of national programmes of action consistent with internationally agreed policies and principles. • Development of nationally adapted training programmes and materials. • Organization of technical meetings for the international exchange of information and experiences on workers' safety and health.

75. In short, this programme will consist of a global campaign to make work safer, healthier and more humane on the one hand, and the provision of an integrated programme of direct support to member States and industry on the other. It will be based on universal values and principles embodied in ILO standards. But it will be country-driven in its implementation and reflect national conditions, given differences in the nature and types of hazards arising from levels of development and economic fundamentals (as for example those between plantation economies where forestry may be the most important employer, land-locked economies where mining may be the major industry, and trade-dominated island economies where shipping and allied activities may be the primary source of employment). In all cases, however, the special focus will be the protection of workers in hazardous occupations and industries. There is one other special feature which makes this programme truly global. This is that, though it will be more concerned with the problems of developing and "transition" countries, it will also address the safety and health concerns of industrialized countries, including emerging issues related to new risks arising from advances in technology, globalization and changes in the nature of work and employment relationships. Concerted action by governments, employers' and workers' organizations will be essential to the success of this programme.

InFocus: Economic and social security in the twenty-first century	In much of the world, a large proportion of the population faces chronic economic insecurity. Many people are excluded from basic forms of social protection and access to institutions that could provide them with support. In many countries conventional forms of social protection do not work as they should. With globalization, more flexible labour markets and the spread of informal forms of work, there is evidence that various forms of socio-economic insecurity are spreading, leaving a growing number of people and communities unsupported by mainstream forms of protection. In these situations it is women who are more adversely affected. These trends are worrying. A tenet of the ILO is that security is the core of social justice, and that insecurity breeds fear, impoverishment and socially irresponsible behaviour, while preventing people from realizing their potential as workers and as members of society. This programme will cover five major sets of issues. First, it will examine the reasons why individuals and social groups lack decent security. These include failures in the coverage and governance of conventional social protection systems, the absence of mechanisms which would provide protection to the uncovered proportion of the population, changes in labour regulations, changes in the pattern of employment and family structures and lifestyles, and the restructuring and informalization of production. While giving emphasis to low-income countries, where social networks are crucial, it will also assess how groups in transition and industrialized countries are deprived of the benefits of formal social protection. As they are particularly affected by socio-economic insecurity, the assessment will give a strong emphasis to women, although it will also cover the difficulties of minorities and older persons. This part of the programme will produce a diagnostic report in the year 2000, which will be a comparative analysis identifying the main forms of insecurity and the factors producing or intensifying them. It will also highlight how, and where, improvements in security can be combined with improvements in economic dynamism and growth. Arising out of this analytical review, the second major issue will examine innovative schemes launched in member countries, or advocated by social scientists, designed to reduce socio-economic insecurity and social exclusion, particularly schemes that can complement or replace more traditional and well-established systems. Although this will also give special attention to schemes deemed appropriate in low-income communities and countries with large informal sectors and limited financial means, it will also review initiatives and policies in transition and industrialized countries. An output of this part of the programme will be a comprehensive compendium identifying, describing and evaluating the full range of policy initiatives and options. The compendium will be produced as a first edition by the end of the biennium and be in a form that could be constantly updated, making it an current source of information and guidance for member countries. In effect, it will identify best practice schemes appropriate for countries according to level of development, institutional capacity and economic structure, including schemes for improving security for specific groups, notably women. Similarly, and in parallel with the second issue, the third component of the programme will focus on improvements to the governance and coverage of conventional social protection programmes, again with special emphasis on programmes in less developed countries and on those in transitional and developed countries whose coverage or results are inadequate or which incorporate a gender bias. The objective will be to produce a set of performance indicators, by the end of the biennium, which can be used to assess whether a scheme is performing well or badly and why, and which can be used by individual countries to review their own programmes and to provide them with an international comparison. Together with a quantitative analysis of a scheme's sustainability and viability it will suggest ways in which performance can be improved. Fourth, the programme will develop a conceptual approach that recognizes that security covers several elements. These include an income adequate to live in decent circumstances, occupational health and safety in work, universal access to health care services, adequate opportunities for productive work, adequate employment security, the opportunity and incentives to develop and refine skills in work, and institutional mechanisms that ensure that everybody's interests are taken into account. Outputs will include an international report analysing national situations in terms of levels and trends in socio-economic security, instruments for data collection on measures of insecurity and, most importantly, ways in which formal and non-formal systems of social protection are linked and might be better integrated. The fifth part of the programme is the most forward looking. In the twenty-first century, continuing the trend of the past few years, a substantial proportion of the economically active population in all economies will be working in informal activities, in which they will need support services and fall-back systems of social protection. And a growing proportion of the population in member countries will have flexible working lives, quite unlike the standard pattern of the twentieth century. They will change work status more often, develop new skills from time to time, and move in and out of the labour force at various times of their lives. They will do so productively and effectively only if they can do so in adequate security. The challenge for policy makers, and employers and unions, is to ensure that the policy framework facilitates this positive form of flexibility in security. The part of the programme will assess schemes and institutional mechanisms, both public and private, which could contribute to this process. It will commission studies of ways and means of promoting this flexible security, including one by an employers' organization, one by a trade union organization, and one that focuses specifically on the needs of women. Based on consultations with the ILO's tripartite constituents, including an international technical meeting, a comparative report will be produced, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of alternative policies and institutional mechanisms. This five-part programme will be a means of integrating many technical programmes in the ILO, and also of working in collaboration with other United Nations agencies and international bodies. Ultimately, this programme recognizes that, while excessive or inappropriate security can induce passivity, in the open global economy of the future adequate economic and social security is essential for creative, productive work and basic human dignity.

Operational objective 3(a):
International labour standards related to working and employment conditions are widely ratified and effectively applied

76. Since the majority of ILO standards relate to worker protection, a correspondingly large proportion of the resources devoted to the supervision of standards relates to standards on workers' protection. This includes all of the supervisory procedure already mentioned under operational objective 1(b), in particular the servicing of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards and the Committee of Experts. The complementarity between the work of the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards ensures a high level of participation by constituents in the supervisory process. In addition, many new and revised standards relate to workers' protection. Under the guidance of the Governing Body, work will be continued to strengthen and improve the relevance of international labour standards through the development of new standards, and constituents will be involved in a systematic review process to identify instruments which need revision or have become obsolete. As decisions are taken on Conference agenda items for standard-setting, resources will be made available to the relevant technical units. This work also relates to operational objective 1(b) and Strategic Objective No. 2.

77. The application of ILO Conventions will be promoted through technical assistance and advisory services to bring national legislation into conformity with ILO standards. The Office will seek to create alliances and partnerships by launching activities that can be used by ILO constituents and non-governmental organizations in advocacy campaigns. Assistance will also be given to strengthening labour inspection and the implementation of labour laws, and to the development of effective labour administrations capable of ensuring the effective implementation of labour laws and collective and other agreements while adapting to changes in the world of work. In the regions — in particular in Arab States and Asia and the Pacific — increased attention will be paid to the application of standards to migrant workers, particularly in areas such as discrimination, social security and conditions of work. A study will be undertaken of the impact on national law and practice of selected unratified Conventions concerning occupational safety and health and conditions of work. In the assistance provided to strengthen labour inspection services for the application of laws, emphasis will be placed on accident and hazard prevention, greater involvement of workers' representatives in inspections, and extension of the scope of labour inspectorates to smaller and micro-enterprises.

78. Further ratifications and improved application of sectoral international labour Conventions will be sought. These include the Plantations Convention, 1958 (No. 110), [and Protocol, 1982], the Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141), the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167), and the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176). At a proposed session of the Joint Maritime Commission, a review of maritime instruments would take place as well as the updating of the ILO's minimum basic wage for able seamen. A report will be prepared on seafarers' working and living conditions. Building on the experience acquired with the maritime sector, partnerships will be developed with employers' and workers' organizations in other sectors to raise awareness of the impact of drug and alcohol abuse on the health of workers and their productivity and to establish preventive and rehabilitation programmes. Building on experience in the forestry sector, codes of practice will be developed, in consultation with the social partners, on sustainable agricultural development and safety and health in the non-ferrous metal industries.

Operational objective 3(b):
ILO constituents target and take effective action against hazardous conditions in and around the workplace

79. The main means by which operational success of the project on work safety will be gauged will be by whether SafeWork becomes internationally well known and respected.

80. Besides those mentioned in the InFocus programme, other activities foreseen include the establishment and strengthening of networks for the dissemination of information at the national level, as well as collaboration with other international bodies to provide the necessary guidance. Follow-up on Agenda 21 will concentrate on those aspects of the United Nations-wide effort where the workplace has a key role, such as chemical safety and the prevention of industrial disasters. Harmonized hazard classification criteria will be gathered on labelling provisions and chemical safety data sheets for all chemical products to serve as basis for the implementation of the new Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Guidance and advice will be provided on policies and programmes, awareness raising and training activities aimed at small enterprises, hazardous occupations and the informal sector.

81. Increased emphasis will be placed on strengthening the services provided by employers' and workers' organizations to their members in the field of occupational safety and health, including their participation in safety and health committees. The involvement of the social partners in safety and health issues, particularly in relation to the most hazardous conditions at the workplace, will be strengthened through the application of such techniques as hazard mapping, in which employers and workers' representatives analyse the hazards in dangerous workplaces, such as mines.

82. Practical guides on occupational safety and health management systems and the improvement of safety culture at the national and enterprise levels will be developed, and a meeting of experts will review draft guidelines on the subject with a view to their eventual approval as a code of practice. A report will be published on enterprise-level action to deal with work-related environmental hazards and the role of the social partners in the design and implementation of preventive and protective measures.

Operational objective 3(c):
Policies and programmes of action on workers' protection are implemented for the most difficult-to-reach sectors and the most vulnerable and exploited groups, while voluntary measures are implemented to reach those workers who are insufficiently protected by existing systems

83. It will be a direct measure of success that policies and programmes to extend social protection to groups conventionally excluded or given less protection are introduced, ideally with ILO support and advice and with reference to ILO recommendations.

84. While the ILO cannot introduce such policies and programmes directly, it can encourage member governments to do so, and it can provide advisory services and technical assistance to governmental authorities and to employers' and workers' organizations wishing to promote such policies in member countries.

85. The approaches developed in pilot activities to improve the safety and health of vulnerable groups will be applied widely in the ILO's technical assistance activities and policy advisory services. In all regions, particular attention will be given to the issue of health and safety in small and medium-sized enterprises, including in the informal sector and agriculture. Associations of informal-sector workers, and particularly mutual health funds, will be used as a channel for introducing simple but effective improvements in working conditions. Organizations of rural workers will be assisted in launching information and prevention campaigns to improve the safety and health of agricultural and other rural workers. The support provided to associations of indigenous and tribal peoples will include the strengthening of their training programmes in such areas as occupational safety and health.

86. In response to the increased concern of the international community, including the international financial institutions, regarding the impact of structural adjustment measures on vulnerable groups of the population, it is expected that the international financial institutions and other relevant institutions will collaborate with the ILO in the determination of measures to support vulnerable groups, including social funds and employment-intensive investments, and in the development of the appropriate technical cooperation programmes. Case studies will also be prepared on social protection schemes for the unemployed in the OECD countries, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America.

87. In view of the poor record of many small enterprises in the area of working conditions, the ILO's Work Improvement in Small Enterprises (WISE) methodology will be more widely applied in its small and micro-enterprise development activities in the regions, including those carried out by employers' organizations. Training programmes to improve productivity in small enterprises will emphasize the relationship between higher productivity and better working conditions. The contractual arrangements established for employment-intensive programmes and community-based infrastructure projects will be designed to improve worker protection, with emphasis on safety and health, invalidity benefits, the right of association and minimum wages. In response to the increased concern shown by the social partners, particularly employers' organizations, more attention will be paid to safety and health issues in collective bargaining and social dialogue. The role of workplace social protection and social benefits will be evaluated, as a way of recommending to constituents the most equitable and effective combination of workplace, state and private provision.

88. As a follow-up to the International Labour Conference's discussion of contract labour, a meeting of experts will examine which workers are in need of protection, how they can be protected and the various legal systems relating to their situation. The conclusions of the meeting will form the basis of a law and practice report, to be submitted to a standard-setting discussion.

89. A database will be developed in order to increase awareness of discrimination against the most vulnerable, defenceless and exploited groups of migrant workers, and to assist assessment of the dimensions of the irregular employment of migrants in many countries. For all regions information will be developed and information disseminated on best practices for combating discrimination against migrant workers, especially those employed under temporary employment schemes.

Operational objective 3(d):
Member States broaden the scope of social security systems, improve and diversify benefits, strengthen governance and management, and develop policies to overcome financial constraints

90. The assistance provided to constituents in the field of social protection will respond to the concerns expressed during the global consultation process carried out in the previous biennium and will be designed to adapt and reform social protection systems to the trends in employment and the labour market. The role of ILO standards in meeting the new social protection challenges will be examined, including the possible revision and development of new standards. This will result in a report to the Governing Body outlining various alternative approaches to standard setting in the area of social protection.

91. A range of new technical cooperation programmes will be launched to improve the governance, management and efficiency of social protection schemes in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe. In the Americas and also in other regions constituents will place greater emphasis on regional and subregional dialogue on social protection for the enhancement of the regional integration process. Emphasis will also be placed on extending the scope of social protection systems to improve their benefits and cover the vast segments of society excluded from social protection in many countries, including workers in informal activities and in rural areas. Technical support will be provided to support viable innovative social security institutions that have been set up, including mutual health funds for workers outside formal employment and cooperative associations providing coverage to their members, particularly under the aegis of workers' organizations. Based on research, new programmes will be launched in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific for the extension of social protection to a larger proportion of the population, in particular to workers in small enterprises, in cooperatives and in informal activities. Assistance will be provided for replication of such schemes in countries where they are not yet common. A comparative assessment will be undertaken of social support systems and guidelines for the design of effective systems of social support for vulnerable groups of women workers.

92. Publications will be prepared on the planning and development of social protection schemes, and constituents will be given access to objective information on the financial performance of national social protection schemes and the level and trends of national social expenditure, to assist them in the design, reform and management of social protection schemes. Following the renewal of the concept, scope and content of the international inquiry into the cost of social security in previous biennia, emphasis will be placed on improving the format of the inquiry and the presentation of its results on the Internet. Analysis of the results of the inquiry will be published in the second issue of World Social Expenditure. Documentation and training materials on social protection will be disseminated in different languages, and a training programme will be carried out for national officials responsible for policy formulation and legislation. Through the technical assistance provided, social protection schemes for the unemployed will be established and strengthened, especially in developing countries.

93. The availability, financing and delivery of health care will be analysed in collaboration with the World Bank and WHO, as a basis for the development of an analytical framework for broadening access to medical care which can be promoted by several international organizations in collaboration with the ILO. An evaluation will be undertaken of medical savings accounts as a new form of health insurance, and consideration will be given to health system performance indicators of relevance and adaptability. A model health information system will also be developed to help constituents monitor and control their medical care systems.

94. Manuals prepared in collaboration with the International Social Security Association (ISSA), the World Bank, WHO, IMF and the OECD on actuarial practice for social pension schemes, social budgeting, the financial assessment of social health care schemes, and financing techniques for social security will be completed and widely circulated. With technical assistance, more constituents and practitioners can be expected to improve the performance of their social security schemes through the application of the ILO's personal-computer-based health financing models, the social budget model covering all branches of social protection and the set of indicators that have been developed to measure the performance of social security institutions. Improved versions of the economic, labour force and unemployment modules of the Social Budget Model will be prepared and manuals on quantitative techniques in social protection will be disseminated to social security experts. Principles and practice regarding the investment of social security funds will be explored at combined tripartite expert and inter-agency meetings, and a monograph will be published.

Operational objective 3(e):
ILO constituents at national level are able to analyse the social and labour implications of globalization, and to develop effective policies to protect workers from adverse social effects

95. In many countries there is an increasing tendency towards informalization of employment. Another dimension of the changes brought by globalization is the increasing mobility of workers, which has created a market for cheap foreign labour which member States have found it difficult to regulate satisfactorily. Hazardous working conditions, discriminatory treatment, unfair wages and exclusion from the most basic forms of social protection characterize the lot of disadvantaged categories of workers, including migrants.

96. Tripartite seminars and workshops will be held in several countries to promote policy dialogue on the impact of globalization on specific groups and the development of effective policy responses. Many of the policy advisory and research activities carried out under both Strategic Objectives Nos. 2 and 3 will contribute to the achievement of this operational objective.