ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
ILO-en-strap
International Labour Conference

86th Session
Geneva, June 1998

Report I

Report of the Director-General:
Activities of the ILO, 1996-97

2

The fight against unemployment and poverty

This chapter describes the activities carried out by the ILO to help constituents combat unemployment and poverty, particularly through the creation of employment opportunities and the improvement of existing jobs. Guided, as in all of its work, by international labour standards and the principles of democracy and social justice, the ILO provides advice and guidance to constituents on their employment and labour market policies, as well as on their labour market information and statistical systems. Considerable emphasis is also placed on policy advocacy at the international level, with a view to gaining greater international acceptance of ILO policies and principles, particularly, although not exclusively, among the Bretton Woods institutions.

An increasingly important component of the ILO's activities for the promotion of employment is the support that it offers constituents to encourage and develop entrepreneurship, with a view to improving enterprise performance and promoting employment and incomes through the creation of cooperatives and small and micro-enterprises, particularly by vulnerable groups. Related activities are designed to increase productivity and improve the policy environment for informal sector enterprises. The ILO's work to encourage the use of labour-intensive methods and technologies in large-scale investment projects continued to gain broader recognition during the biennium and was instrumental in raising the standards of living of its beneficiaries, often from a very low initial level.

This chapter also covers the ILO's activities in the field of human resources development, with emphasis on the adaptation of training policy and delivery to the rapidly changing skill requirements and the special needs of vulnerable groups of the population, such as the poor and workers in rural areas. Particular emphasis was placed during the biennium on responding to the needs of countries affected by conflict.

Employment strategies

Despite the far-reaching political and economic changes of the past decade, the promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment has remained an unresolved challenge for many national economies and the international community as a whole. Nevertheless, in recent years member States have in general made considerable progress in undertaking the necessary reviews and evaluations of the macroeconomic, sectoral and labour market policies which affect their employment situation. An example of the increased concern of industrialized countries to take active employment promotion measures is the International Conference on Social Policy and Economic Performance, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands in Amsterdam in January 1997, which was addressed by the ILO Director-General, and the "Jobs Summit" organized by the European Union in Luxembourg in November 1997. In many developing countries, recent generations of economic reform and structural adjustment programmes, implemented under the auspices of the Bretton Woods institutions, have included measures to assist the groups which are most affected, as greater account has been taken of the ILO's principles and concerns at the national and international levels. However, despite the measures taken to address social concerns, greater attention needs to be paid to the issue of participation by the social partners in the design and implementation of these programmes and policies.
 

Towards greater participation by the social partners in economic reform
and structural adjustment 

Since the early 1990s, structural adjustment programmes have included measures to help alleviate their social consequences, reflecting concerns expressed by the ILO and other United Nations agencies. These frequently take the form of social funds. For example, in Nicaragua and Guatemala the social funds targeted the poor, while in El Salvador and Chile they were aimed more at the middle class, who were impoverished as a result of the reform policies. In Bolivia, Honduras and Peru the funds enabled a significant number of jobs to be created, covering over 1 per cent of the labour force. An Economic and Social Adjustment Credit was established in Zambia, and special price subsidies were introduced to protect poor workers after the devaluation of the CFA franc in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon and Senegal. In several of these countries, the ILO was directly involved in the provision of advisory services in connection with social funds.

However, the aim of these measures is to provide emergency support for poor families, whereas the principal objective of reform programmes is to create economic growth that is distributed more widely, and particularly towards the poor, the low-paid and disadvantaged social groups. The ILO is therefore advocating a new generation of adjustment programmes which seek to include people and institutions as actors, thereby promoting participation and consultation between the social partners. One of the central concerns expressed at the Social Summit was that, instead of being dominated by central banks, finance ministries and related institutions, adjustment programmes should be brought back into the realm of national policy-making with the objective of economic and social development, not only for the people, but also by the people.

These issues were discussed in a seminar held in Kampala in September 1996 in which the ILO, UNDP, the Bretton Woods institutions, academics and governments discussed the situation in five eastern and southern African countries. Visiting IMF and World Bank missions to these countries are now advised to consult the social partners. Moreover, the World Bank is providing financial support to the Economic Development Council in Zimbabwe, in which the social partners are to discuss economic policy initiatives.

The publication prepared for the Kampala seminar (see box) was based on the conclusions of five national seminars held in Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.(1) The discussions at the seminar showed that governments are enthusiastic to develop employment policies with a poverty-reducing focus as an integral element of adjustment programmes. Support was also expressed for regular consultation between governments and employers' and workers' organizations on the impact of adjustment on the labour market.

An important basis for the the formulation of the relevant employment policies by constituents is a good understanding of external factors, globalized trends and their own economic and social situation. The ILO contributes to the improvement of this understanding through its monitoring, analysis and documentation of global developments in employment, particularly in its series of reports on the world employment situation, the second of which, entitled World employment 1996/97: National policies in a global context, was published in November 1996.(2)

The report received extensive media coverage when it was launched and has since continued to give rise to steady interest in journals and magazines, as well as invitations to present it at various national and international policy and academic seminars. It also provided the basis for ILO contributions to the G7 Employment Conferences in Lille (April 1996) and Kobe (November 1997), as well as to the United Nations Commission for Social Development, which met in February 1997. The wide impact of the report has helped to consolidate the ILO's role as the lead agency on employment issues, especially in the follow-up to the 1995 World Summit for Social Development (the Social Summit).
 

World employment 1996/97: National policies in a global context

World employment 1996/97 reports on an employment situation that remains grim and is resulting in increased social exclusion in many industrialized countries, compounded by rising wage inequality and growing numbers of "working poor" in some member States. In the transition economies there have been sharp increases in income inequality, even where the rise in unemployment has been relatively moderate. In most of the developing world, the majority of the labour force remains trapped in low productivity employment that offers little relief from poverty.

However, the report contests the idea that the growing globalization of the world economy will necessarily aggravate the situation and maintains that there is still considerable policy autonomy at the national level. Global financial markets punish unsound macroeconomic policies, which are in any case undesirable per se . Nevertheless, the report admits that, while economic liberalization brings far broader gains when compared to the alternative of protectionism, it will generate short- or medium-term social costs. It is therefore important to manage the transition to a more open market economy at a pace and in a manner that minimize social costs and to ensure that it is supported by strong compensatory policies towards those most adversely affected.

In addition, citing certain dramatic "end of work" forecasts, it emphasizes that, despite rising unemployment, there has been no generalized decline in the employment intensity of economic growth. Higher unemployment has been caused by a decline in growth rates, rather than any onset of jobless growth. The report therefore maintains that, far from being an outdated objective, full employment is still feasible and highly desirable, despite the rise of non-standard forms of work and other recent changes in the labour market.

The report emphasizes the need to reverse the prolonged deterioration in the employment situation through high and sustained rates of economic growth. In the developing countries, in particular, this depends on the successful implementation of economic reforms to achieve macroeconomic stability and a more efficient, open and competitive economy. However, this does not preclude an active role for the State in several areas, such as overcoming market imperfections and high levels of inequality in the distribution of income and assets. Moreover, market reforms on their own will be weak unless they are accompanied by programmes to strengthen the productive capacity of the poor, including the development of rural infrastructure, credit schemes and improved access to education and health services.

Another opportunity at the international level for the ILO to re-emphasize the interrelationship between economic, social and employment policy was its chairing and coordination of the Task Force on Full Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods, set up by the United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC). Composed of representatives of the IMF, the World Bank, the specialized agencies and the United Nations, the Task Force decided to follow up the Social Summit by undertaking a number of country reviews of policies related to employment and sustainable livelihoods, carried out with the full consent of the countries concerned and in close collaboration with the public authorities and the social partners. The ILO prepared three of the seven country reviews, with the other agencies taking responsibility for the remainder. The reviews carried out by the ILO were on Chile, Hungary and Nepal (see box for Nepal and Chapter 4 for more information on the reviews on Chile and Hungary) and were each presented to a national tripartite employment summit. As a follow-up to this process, the Governing Body decided that the ILO would carry out further country employment policy reviews. These were commenced towards the end of the biennium in Brazil and Ukraine, while discussions were under way for further reviews in Barbados, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya and Pakistan, followed by Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The principal findings of the country employment policy review for Nepal were that the economy is characterized by very high levels of underemployment and poverty. Working conditions are often unhealthy and unsafe and the organized sector of the economy is limited in scope. There is some bonded labour in rural areas and quite a high incidence of child labour in family work, although few children are wage workers. Moreover, there is a paucity of statistics to guide policy formulation. The review points to the need for vigorous policies on the labour side and the need to strengthen employers' and workers' organizations. Despite the strong commitment to dealing with the problem of child labour, a coherent strategy is still being worked out.

The review exercise was given a high political profile and the findings are being used by the Government for the development of a national employment and growth strategy. A first labour force survey was also undertaken and a project has been developed to establish a labour market information system.

Other policy guidance activities, particularly at the regional and national levels, concentrated on the impact of globalization and regional integration; and jobs, technology and skill requirements in a globalized economy. Many different models of regional trading arrangements, involving greater or lesser levels of cooperation, are being introduced. Considerable interest has been expressed, particularly by southern African countries, in learning from the experiences of other regions and the employment effects of the arrangements that have been introduced, with a view to identifying their positive aspects and avoiding their drawbacks. In response to these requests for information and analysis, issues relating to the impact on employment of globalization and regional integration, especially in the South, were examined and the findings published.(3) Other studies analysed the employment effects of existing regional trading arrangements, including ASEAN,(4) certain MERCOSUR countries,(5) NAFTA(6) and the Association Agreements between the European Union and Morocco and Tunisia.(7) A further study examined the options for regional trading arrangements in the whole of the western hemisphere and their employment implications.(8)

The relationship between the supply of skilled labour and the acquisition and use of new technologies by industry has considerable implications for the design of human resource development policies. Building on investigations of employment and structural adjustment in Brazil(9) and Mexico,(10) studies were carried out to identify sectoral policies that are likely to encourage the generation of higher quality jobs. These studies focused on jobs, technology and skill requirements in a globalized economy, with special reference to Brazil,(11) Canada,(12) the Republic of Korea,(13) Mexico(14) and Singapore.(15) The studies document the complexity of the relationship between skill acquisition and the introduction of new technology, and the coexistence in many cases of a broad range of technologies and skill levels.

Labour market policies

Policies to improve the equity and efficiency of labour markets are required to address the problems of unemployment and social exclusion. To design and evaluate these policies, governments and the social partners need to undertake the necessary analysis, based on the collection of reliable and accurate labour market information. The objective of the ILO's activities in this connection is the enhanced capacity of governments and the social partners to carry out this important task more effectively.

As a tool to help constituents improve their collection and analysis of labour market information, a set of technical notes was prepared on the development of labour market information systems. Taking into account the experience acquired by the ILO in this field, the notes cover the various components of labour market information systems, including censuses, labour market surveys and establishment surveys. They also address the principal policy issues for the measurement and analysis of information in the areas of human resource development and employment promotion for vulnerable groups. The notes will be circulated to constituents for discussion and review.

Assistance was provided to strengthen the capacity of constituents to carry out labour market, enterprise and other surveys in a number of countries, including:

Although decisions taken at the enterprise level play an important role in determining demand for labour, policy-makers often have little access to information on enterprise-level labour market developments. To enhance the capacity of constituents to analyse developments in internal enterprise labour markets, and particularly enterprises undergoing restructuring or privatization in transition countries, assistance was provided for the implementation of enterprise labour flexibility surveys in Armenia, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.(16) Advisory services were also provided to the Government of Lithuania to improve the design of labour force surveys and to the Government of Kazakhstan to evaluate employment promotion programmes. The ILO assisted in a pilot survey of human resource development needs in three districts in Egypt with a view to the subsequent implementation of a national survey. The findings of the pilot survey were submitted to the Egyptian Social Fund for Development to assist in the formulation of the national human resource development policy.(17)

In an initiative designed to increase the visibility of the ILO in debates on labour market issues at the national and international levels, work was commenced on the development of key ILO labour market indicators. Fifteen ILO labour market indicators have been selected for this purpose, covering such areas as the labour force and its skill level, employment, unemployment, manufacturing wages and labour productivity. Beginning with the collection of data and the development of databases, this activity will provide the basis for the publication of an annual report on employment and labour market trends during the biennium 1998-99.

With a view to strengthening the policy guidance provided to constituents, research and analysis concentrated on three areas: the role of the social partners in the design and delivery of active labour market policies;(18) active measures to address long-term unemployment;(19) and the value of exchanges of experience between industrialized and middle-income developing countries.(20) The results of this work will be made available to constituents through the relevant publications and in the Office's policy advisory and technical assistance activities.

Youth unemployment

The unemployment rate among young persons is much higher than that of the adult population in very many member States. Although ambitious schemes have been launched to deal with the problem and experimental measures tried, ranging from apprenticeships and subsidized internships to incentives for the recruitment of young persons, they have not always produced the expected results. To provide guidance to policy-makers, an action programme was carried out with the following objectives: increasing awareness of the problem and its consequences; improving understanding of the available policy and programme options; and enhancing the capacity of member States to formulate policies and implement the relevant programmes.

Based on studies of the situation as regards youth unemployment and the responses to it adopted in a number of industrialized, transition and developing countries, a comparative report has been prepared. The report analyses the causes of the high levels of youth unemployment and evaluates labour market policies designed to promote youth employment. It draws together the findings of country studies and national seminars and identifies the lessons to be learnt from success stories and more negative experiences. A manual is also being developed to provide guidance on policy options, their advantages and disadvantages and the requirements for successful implementation. The manual covers several key policy areas, including the macroeconomic context, the role of employment services, education and training, minimum wages, labour market information and specific measures for vulnerable groups. The manual and comparative study will be published early in 1998. The findings of the action programme will be more widely disseminated during the biennium 1998-99 and will be followed up through seminars and technical cooperation projects.

Labour statistics

In an increasingly numerate and globalized world, the development of sound statistical systems based on internationally recognized concepts and methods is taking on ever greater importance. Labour statistics play a special role in providing a basic link between economic and social statistics. They cover such important issues as employment, underemployment and unemployment, wages, labour costs, hours of work, consumer prices and family incomes, occupational classifications, occupational injuries and diseases, and industrial disputes. The objectives of the ILO's statistical activities are:

The framework for this work is set out in the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160), and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 170). The detailed guidelines take the form of the resolutions adopted over the years by successive International Conferences of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).

Technical assistance was provided to help member States produce useful, reliable and comparable labour statistics in line with international statistical standards. Technical advisory services were delivered to nearly 40 countries. Technical cooperation projects on national labour statistics were continued in Azerbaijan, Turkey and the West Bank and Gaza. New projects were launched in Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. A training programme on labour force surveys and population censuses in transition countries was implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. In this context, the ILO provided support for regional seminars on informal sector statistics for African and Asian and Pacific countries, held in Addis Ababa, Bamako, Lisbon and Bangkok. It also played an active role in the newly established international Expert Groups on Informal Sector Statistics (the Delhi Group) and on Labour and Compensation Statistics (the Paris Group).

ILO assistance contributed in many cases to an improvement in labour statistics systems , including:

The quality and presentation of the data contained in the ILO's three major regular publications on labour statistics continued to be improved. These publications are the Yearbook of Labour Statistics,(21) the Bulletin of Labour Statistics,(22) and its special annual supplement Statistics on occupational wages and hours of work and on food prices: October Inquiry results.(23) The innovations in the Yearbook included the publication of data, whenever possible, according to the latest versions of the international standard classifications; the provision of data on the economically active population and on unemployment by level of education; and a new standard presentation for time series. Volume 5 of the Sources and Methods series was issued in 1996, covering statistics of the total and economically active population, employment and unemployment, derived from population censuses.(24) The fourth edition of Economically active population, 1950-2010 was also completed in 1996-97.(25)

The Bureau of Statistics has now set up a home page in English, French and Spanish on the ILO public Web site, which contains a large volume of textual information, including methodological guidelines, classifications, selected statistical publications and reports for forthcoming conferences and meetings of experts. It will be expanded to offer selected national statistical data and, in time, will replace the regular supplement to the Bulletin of Labour Statistics, as well as the Newsletter, of which No. 8 was issued in December 1996 and No. 9 towards the end of 1997.

Work on the development and refinement of internationally recognized standards for labour statistics included statistics of child labour, occupational injuries, the informal sector, poverty and labour market dynamics and national classifications of status of employment. In addition, two action programmes were carried out covering, respectively, statistics of underemployment and income from employment.

National practices for the compilation of statistics of occupational injuries were reviewed. The main measurement and classification issues were identified, taking into account the ILO Code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, as well as recent European Union directives on this subject. The findings of this work will be reviewed by a Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics: Occupational Injuries, to be held in March-April 1998. In view of the limited coverage of the traditional and most common sources of data in this field, namely the record-keeping activities of injury compensation schemes and labour inspectorates, as well as the recognized under-reporting of occupational injuries to these bodies, consideration is being given to other sources of data, such as surveys of households and establishments, as a means of obtaining supplementary data. In addition, the existing classifications of occupational injuries, which date back some 35 years, are being updated and expanded to ensure that they meet more effectively the current and expected needs of those who are responsible for developing and monitoring accident prevention programmes, as well as to increase the scope and effectiveness of accident investigations.

Emphasis continued to be placed on the development of statistics of child labour. Based on the findings of the methodological experiments carried out in the previous biennium as part of the interdepartmental project on the elimination of child labour, as well as on the statistical results of more recent national surveys, global and regional estimates of child labour were produced for the first time in 1996. These estimates have received broad international recognition and have been widely quoted as official ILO figures. The innovative statistical techniques developed in preceding biennia were refined and used to conduct new national surveys in several countries. The results of these activities were consolidated in a report on the methodology of child labour surveys and statistics.(26) This work provided the basis for the formulation of a new project, in collaboration with ILO-IPEC, under which child labour surveys will be conducted in some 40 countries over the next five years. Towards the end of the biennium, statistics were also developed on the numbers of children involved in hazardous activities.(27)

The world's population of working children has yet to be counted accurately. Because it is often illegal and clandestine, child labour lies beyond the reach of conventional labour statistics. However, based in part on the pioneering methodologies and survey instruments refined and tested in Ghana , India , Pakistan , Senegal and Turkey and used in conducting national surveys in several countries, the ILO produced estimates of child labour, which reveal a tragedy of far greater magnitude than previously supposed:

Measuring underemployment

Although there have been international statistical standards on underemployment since 1957, few countries measure it in their national statistics. Yet estimates of employment and unemployment are often insufficient to understand national labour market situations, and measures of other aspects of labour market performance, such as underemployment, are necessary. This is particularly the case in developing countries, where many persons without work engage in marginal economic activities. Current international standards only cover visible underemployment, the definition of which is vague and leaves much room for differences of interpretation. An action programme was carried out during the biennium with the objectives of agreeing on:

Central to the work of the action programme was the holding of a Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics in October 1997. A report was prepared for the Meeting, addressing the conceptual and measurement issues of the subject. Statistical data on underemployment were compiled for 37 countries.(28) The issues involved were also discussed at other informal meetings organized by the ILO and attended by officials from national bureaus of statistics, as well as at meetings organized by the OECD and EUROSTAT. Based on the outcome of the Meeting of Experts, a report is being prepared for submission to the 16th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, to be held in October 1998, which will revise the current standards on the subject.

The outcome of this action programme is expected to result in the more widespread and effective measurement of both visible underemployment and a broader measure of underemployment, leading to a better understanding of national labour market problems, as well as an improved basis for international comparisons. Developing countries will probably benefit the most from the statistical recommendations that are made, although European Union countries are likely to be the first to apply them, as they have done in the case of other international recommendations on labour statistics.

Measurement of income from employment

Existing wage statistics are mostly limited to regular paid employment, with very little information being generated on the income accruing from atypical or non-standard forms of employment. Where statistics of income from self-employment have been compiled, they follow a variety of concepts and methodologies and are often not sufficiently exploited. With a view to helping member States produce statistics which more fully measure the income accruing to the whole working population, including the self-employed and employees with non-regular patterns of work, an action programme was undertaken on the measurement of income from employment.

Income from employment is the income generated by a person's economic activity, whether in paid employment or self-employment. Current international statistical standards related to the measurement of income from employment are limited to statistics of earnings and household income. Neither of them provides adequate statistical guidelines on the measurement of the full income accruing to workers by virtue of their employment situation, including certain wage and non-wage benefits which supplement regular earnings, as well as income from atypical and non-standard forms of paid work, and income from self-employment.

National practices in some 70 countries were reviewed and information was gathered on feasible data sources, data collection methods, concepts and the availability of data. Studies were also carried out of the situation in India, Latin America and Ghana.(29) A report was then prepared for the Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics, held in October 1997. Based on the outcome of this Meeting, a report was prepared for the 16th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, to be held in October 1998, which will adopt standards on the subject.

Policies and programmes for development

One of the ILO's most tangible contributions to the eradication of poverty is the assistance that it provides to constituents for the development of employment promotion policies and programmes. The activities carried out in this field concentrate on employment-intensive growth programmes and strategies which incorporate social protection for the workers concerned. These activities therefore contribute to the ILO's follow-up action to major United Nations conferences, such as the Social Summit and the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Assistance was provided directly to member States for the development of a policy environment which is conducive to employment-intensive growth, at both the macro and sectoral levels. Policy advisory activities covered a number of countries, including Chile,(30) Egypt,(31) Peru and Uzbekistan.(32)

The financing available through the ILO's RBTC fund for poverty alleviation was used to undertake a variety of activities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These activities were designed to combat poverty, particularly among disadvantaged groups, and to support the activities of employers' and workers' organizations in this connection. In one such activity, the Vice-President of the Grameen Bank provided training and advice in Egypt, which led to the setting up of a scheme to provide micro-finance to assist the rural poor in the creation of micro-enterprises. In another case, financing was provided for a research programme by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) to investigate the particular problems of temporary and seasonal workers, especially in sugar cane production. Research was also undertaken in Latin America into the problems and trends of home work (see Chapter 3).

With a view to providing an alternative policy framework to encourage employment-intensive growth in Africa, a programme was launched on employment generation for poverty reduction, known as "Jobs for Africa". This programme was the focus of discussions at the Fifth Meeting of African Employment Planners, held in Pretoria in January 1997, which was followed by a process of broad consultation, including policy advisory missions to Cameroon, Mauritius, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Focusing on policy-making and planning for employment creation, the programme will be launched in 1998 at the national level in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
 

Examples of poverty alleviation initiatives developed by member States

Policy advice resulted in important poverty alleviation initiatives being taken in a number of countries, including:

  • Egypt , where complete revision of the existing labour force survey has provided reliable estimates of employment and unemployment, and a policy framework has been adopted, entitled Job creation and poverty alleviation in Egypt: Strategy and programmes , designed to create jobs to absorb the half million new entrants arriving on the labour market every year while maintaining the quality of employment;
  • Peru , where employment promotion schemes were initiated on the Chilean model, particularly to assist unemployed youth in Lima and low-income heads of households, with emphasis on the organization of women workers; and
  • Uzbekistan , where a social policy framework has been adopted, including the setting up of a Social Transformation Fund with support from the World Bank, designed to ensure that growth is rapid, sustained and employment intensive.

Further guidance on employment promotion in Africa was provided in a report covering various aspects of the performance of African economies over the past two decades, which presents a programme of action for employment-oriented growth.(33) The report emphasizes that Africa has no alternative but to embark on a process of sustained growth if it is to avoid continued marginalization. The process of reform has to be deepened by going beyond stabilization and structural adjustment programmes, and by launching investment-led growth strategies that maximize employment and reduce poverty. This can only be achieved if the social partners, member States and the international community join efforts to adopt a more coherent, high-quality employment-led development strategy which takes full advantage of the opportunities for economic growth through increased exports and foreign investment offered by the process of globalization.

Employment-intensive programmes

Partly as a result of the ILO's work in this area over the years, it is now increasingly widely recognized by governments, donors (including the World Bank and the Nordic countries) and the social partners that one important key to employment-intensive growth, particularly in the poorest countries, is the integration of employment policy and investment policy. This is particularly true of infrastructure projects, such as the construction of a viable road network, which is in itself a vital component of national development. The adoption of employment-intensive methods in such cases means that the countries concerned reap the full benefits of their investment in terms of employment generation, as well as ensuring that the technologies adopted are conducive to subsequent maintenance by local contractors.
 

ILO employment-intensive programmes

The ILO's employment-intensive projects are among the best-known of its technical cooperation activities. For the past two decades, with strong donor support, they have had a profound influence on investment policies, employment and poverty reduction in over 35 developing countries, where as much as 70 per cent of public investment is in infrastructure. In total, more than $500 million has been invested in these projects, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, building capacities in the private and public sectors and orienting investments towards badly needed, cost-effective and technically sound infrastructure works. Some of the major projects have been carried out in:

  • Cambodia , where a major labour-based rural infrastructure development project, commenced in 1992, had by mid-1997 created 2.5 million workdays, trained more than 180 engineers and supervisors, and constructed or rehabilitated and established maintenance systems for 560 km of rural roads and 96 km of irrigation canals;
  • Ghana , where 93 small enterprises were provided with training between 1987 and 1996 to construct and maintain some 1,500 km of feeder roads, with each firm employing some 150 workers;
  • Mozambique , where the Feeder Roads Programme is estimated to employ some 6,500 workers, 20 per cent of whom are women, in 29 brigades which have rehabilitated nearly 2,400 km of feeder roads since 1989; and
  • Uganda , where the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication has placed some 5,500 km of trunk roads under labour-based routine maintenance through local labour contractors from the villages close to the roads.

Externally-funded subregional projects are being established to assist in the development of employment-intensive programmes and provide advisory and capacity-building services. One such project, "Advisory Support, Information Services and Training for Labour-Based Infrastructure Programmes" (ASIST), has been instrumental in supporting and expanding ILO employment-intensive activities in eastern and southern Africa.

The ILO's approach to employment-intensive programmes is unique in that it links employment promotion, private sector development and poverty alleviation, on the one hand, with social progress and empowerment on the other. While primarily focused on employment creation for poverty alleviation, these programmes also make a concrete contribution to the achievement of the ILO's two other priority objectives of the protection of workers and democratization through transparent public/private contract systems and enhanced popular participation. Training in labour-based techniques is provided to interested small and medium-sized enterprises. The successful ones are preselected and allowed to tender, but in exchange have to accept certain labour clauses relating to conditions of work.

The biennium saw a number of interesting developments in ILO-assisted employment-intensive programmes , including:

During the biennium, policy and technical advisory services to assist in the establishment of employment-intensive investment policies and programmes for infrastructure development and maintenance were provided to Botswana, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Assistance in the promotion of existing programmes was also delivered to Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Nepal, Senegal, Sudan and Thailand.

Employment-intensive infrastructure programmes supported by the ILO expanded during the biennium in Ethiopia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia. In addition, major new project approvals were obtained for programmes in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Programme formulation missions were also carried out in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania and Uganda. Nevertheless, political upheavals created difficulties for employment-intensive technical cooperation projects in Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.(34)

The activities carried out to promote this approach at the national and regional levels included seminars held in India in January 1996 and Madagascar in May 1996, in which emphasis was placed on encouraging social and economic democracy through employment-intensive policies in such fields as irrigation and the construction and maintenance of rural roads. Feasibility studies on the creation of Employment and Investment Policy Units were also undertaken in Madagascar, West Bengal (India) and Uganda.
 

National courses in the use of labour-intensive methods

Labour-intensive methods are beginning to be taught in a number of African and Asian educational institutions, including:

  • University of Natal, South Africa , which has developed course modules for a civil engineering course on local resource-based technology, with the first seminar being held at the end of 1997;
  • University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana , which is modifying its undergraduate curricula to integrate concepts of technology choice and labour-based approaches to infrastructure development and maintenance;
  • University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , which organized an orientation course on labour-intensive technology in July 1997 for 18 participants;
  • University of Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania , which has introduced a course on labour-based road construction and maintenance at the undergraduate level;
  • Hanoi University of Transport and Communications (HUTC), Viet Nam , which has organized a two-day seminar on training programmes for rural development with emphasis on low-cost roads and means of transport and a short course on rural infrastructure development for engineers working in transport companies; and
  • School of Communication and Transport (SCT) and National Polytechnic Institute (NPI), Lao People's Democratic Republic , which have commenced training for trainers and study tours on labour-based construction methods.

These courses serve as an entry point for the ILO to introduce not only employment-related subjects, but also relevant labour standards, particularly those dealing with conditions of work and worker protection

With a view to the more widespread utilization of labour-intensive techniques, cooperation programmes were undertaken with eight African higher education institutions and five Asian institutions to strengthen their research and training capacities in labour-intensive technologies (see box). Agreement was also reached with the World Bank-supported AGETIP programme (Agence d'Exécution de Travaux d'Intérêt Public contre le Sous-Emploi) on the content of training curricula for small and medium-sized enterprises and their associations in French-speaking Africa. The training materials are under preparation.(35) Guidance for policy-makers and those responsible for programme planning and implementation was developed in the form of guidelines on appropriate labour legislation and the practical application of labour standards in employment-intensive programmes.(36) These guidelines were discussed and reviewed at a tripartite meeting held in Uganda in October 1997.(37) Papers containing guidance on local-level planning for improved accessibility to basic goods, services and productive employment were also prepared.(38)

Broad acceptance of the employment-intensive approach was further demonstrated by the publication of a World Bank technical paper concerning the large-scale application of employment-intensive approaches to road building,(39) the establishment of collaboration agreements in the field of rural transport, and the training of public sector agencies in the implementation of employment-intensive infrastructure works through social funds. Experience in this field was also synthesized in summary guidelines for entrepreneurship development programmes in the labour-based public works sector, which will be reviewed by the World Bank.(40)
 

Evaluation of an urban infrastructure programme

Hanna Nassif is one of over 40 unplanned settlements in Dar es Salaam with pressing infrastructure needs, including roads and drainage to avert the risk of flooding. A community-based labour-intensive upgrading project for Hanna Nassif was commenced in the biennium 1994-95. By August 1996, it had resulted in the establishment of a community-based organization, the construction of one kilometre of road, 1.5 kilometres of side drains and 600 metres of main drain, with the creation of nearly 25,000 days of paid employment in which women accounted for 35 per cent of the workforce. The evaluation pointed to:

  • a number of refinements required in the technical preparation of such projects;
  • the success of the project in mobilizing the community to carry out the work, although, probably due to the innovative nature of the project, it has proven more difficult to motivate a broader sense of ownership by the community of the infrastructure created;
  • the sound quality of the work carried out by unskilled workers;
  • the value of the project in creating capacity in the local and city administration and raising awareness of the benefits of the approach through numerous site visits, studies, surveys and radio programmes; and
  • the expansion of the project concept to similar programmes in Dar es Salaam and elsewhere, including the World Bank-financed Community Infrastructure Programme for seven settlements.

Urban employment

In recent years, both in the follow-up to the Habitat II Conference and in the context of the 1994-95 interdepartmental project on the urban informal sector, the ILO has been further developing and demonstrating approaches for the creation of employment in urban areas. These approaches target job creation in the informal sector and the adoption of employment-intensive methods for the construction of infrastructure, such as roads and drainage, which are in themselves important for the economic development of urban areas and the improvement of living conditions. Pilot activities showing how to put these approaches into practice have been undertaken in such countries as Burkina Faso, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. Evaluations of these activities, such as that of the Hanna Nassif Community-based Urban Upgrading Project in Dar es Salaam (see box), have shown that demonstration projects have a positive impact, both in terms of mobilizing the community concerned and in stimulating interest in other communities in the techniques and approaches adopted.(41)

The ILO-DECO project has contributed to the development of the construction industry in several countries. Over its ten years of existence, it has been instrumental in the creation of over 250 enterprises in some 12 countries, generating more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs and resulting in the construction of over 20,000 buildings roofed with local building materials.

One indication of the success of the project is that entrepreneurs and service partners in neighbouring countries have become more confident with the use of local building materials and have launched spontaneous activities for their production. The project also encourages enterprises which produce MCR tiles to diversify into other local building materials.

 The ILO has also developed expertise in recent years in the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction industry using low-cost local raw materials, thereby facilitating access to affordable housing. One good example is the ILO-DECO project, which is operational in some 12 countries in Africa and Asia, and has concentrated over the past ten years on the production and use of micro-concrete roofing (MCR). This roofing technology, which can be easily duplicated locally, lends itself to simplification while maintaining high quality in the roofing of buildings. In some of the countries where the project has been in operation for a number of years, MCR tiles are the preferred roofing material. One good illustration of the effectiveness of the project is that MCR tiles are due to be used in the near future in Nepal for the roofing of 550 primary schools.
 

Addressing urban employment issues: ILO participation in Habitat II

The two principal themes of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) were adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world. ILO participation in Habitat II focused on the key issue of urban employment, particularly through its organization of the Habitat II Dialogue event on the future of urban employment. As a result of the ILO's efforts, this issue was extensively covered in the Habitat Agenda, and specifically in its Global Plan of Action.

The text of the Habitat Agenda reflects the ILO's principal concerns of democracy, employment promotion and worker protection. It calls upon governments, including local authorities, in partnership with all relevant interested parties, including workers' and employers' organizations, to stimulate productive employment opportunities and pursue the goal of ensuring quality jobs, and safeguard the basic rights and interests of workers and, to this end, freely promote respect for relevant Conventions of the International Labour Organization, including those on the prohibition of forced and child labour, freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the principle of non-discrimination . With reference to ILO standards, it calls on Governments to facilitate the extension to the informal sector of the protection of human rights in the field of labour .

As a result of the warm reception of its report by Habitat II, the ILO is in a stronger position to give effect to its approaches through an urban employment programme, which will consolidate ongoing initiatives in the areas of informal sector development and the employment-intensive upgrading of urban slums. It will also promote exchanges at the global policy level on what cities and poor urban communities can do to create jobs and protect conditions of work.

The ILO's participation in the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements -- Habitat II (Istanbul, June 1996) offered an opportunity to present these policies and programmes to a broad public, including policy-makers and donors. The conclusions of the ILO's report to the Conference,(42) in addition to being widely quoted in the international press, have been warmly heralded by urban policy-makers around the world, with a consequent increase in requests for policy advice and assistance.

The ILO's visibility in international fora on urban poverty and employment issues was consolidated through its participation in the first and second International Conferences on Urban Poverty, held in Recife in March 1996 and Florence in November 1997 respectively, and the Eurocities Meeting on European Cities as Engines of Job Creation, held in Bilbao in October 1996. The impetus provided by these activities led to requests to formulate technical cooperation project proposals and provide technical advice on the community-based upgrading of urban poor communities in Albania, Indonesia, Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania and Togo. Training and technical advisory support for project development was also provided in Burkina Faso, China, Costa Rica, Philippines, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.

Policy advice for the wider replication of this approach to urban employment creation and poverty alleviation was also provided in the form of guidelines and publications. These included guidelines on employment-intensive participatory approaches to infrastructure investment for the alleviation of urban poverty, which were finalized and distributed to the ILO field structure to strengthen the provision of technical support to constituents.(43) Training materials on the urban informal sector for the use of municipal officials are also under development and will be completed in 1998.(44) Further guidance is provided in publications assessing current strategies towards urban poverty and the informal sector(45) and the informalization of advanced market economies.(46) Furthermore, action-oriented research carried out in the United Republic of Tanzania identified a number of indirect linkages between informal enterprises and infrastructure improvements, such as the building of roads and drains.(47) These include improved accessibility, greater competition from micro-enterprises in neighbouring districts and better health conditions as sources of diseases such as malaria are removed. It also found that workers in employment-intensive projects sometimes use their earnings to start micro-enterprises.

Entrepreneurship and management development

It is now almost universally acknowledged that most new jobs are created in the private sector, and particularly by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many ILO member States have adopted wide-ranging plans and programmes to promote and assist SMEs. These are already well-established in such countries as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan. More recent strategies have been adopted, often with ILO assistance, in Colombia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa, among other countries. However, in many member States, the efforts of small-scale entrepreneurs are still hindered by legal and administrative constraints, a lack of the required skills, and difficulties in obtaining the necessary support services, including access to credit, market information and new technology.

A major event during the biennium in the field of entrepreneurship and management development was the discussion at the 85th Session of the International Labour Conference in 1997 on general conditions to stimulate job creation in small and medium-sized enterprises . It was concluded that a Recommendation should be adopted by the Conference on this subject in 1998.

During the discussion, the speakers emphasized the importance of SMEs in the economies of all countries and in the creation of jobs in a context of high levels of unemployment. Many participants referred to the dynamism and resilience of SMEs and the need to develop a business-friendly environment which removes administrative and other constraints on their development. Others attached importance to the quality of employment as an integral part of a strategy to promote efficient and competitive SMEs, which probably employ the majority of the world's workforce. This involves promoting good working conditions, social protection, security, workers' representation and equal opportunities.

The ILO continued to pursue the following objectives in this field: the development of a policy and legislative environment which facilitates the establishment and growth of private enterprises; the promotion of sound management practices and the improvement of productivity; the design and implementation of entrepreneurship training programmes; the development of support services for small and micro-enterprises; and the adoption of policies and measures that are instrumental in upgrading informal sector enterprises and in facilitating their development in the formal economy.

As a follow-up to the Social Summit, and in order to focus attention and resources more effectively on the achievement of these objectives, the ILO decided in 1997 to launch an International Small Enterprise Programme (ISEP), designed to provide focus for ILO and donor support to small enterprise development. The blueprint for ISEP action will be the Recommendation on general conditions to stimulate job creation in SMEs, which is likely to be adopted by the Conference in 1998. Building on the networks that the ILO has already established, ISEP will work with entrepreneurs, government agencies, employers' and workers' organizations and other NGOs, universities and business schools. It will advise decision-makers on economic and regulatory policy options, help build local capacity to support small enterprises, identify and apply best practice and produce and use training packages to disseminate experience throughout the world. Particular emphasis will be laid in these activities on improving working conditions, assisting women entrepreneurs and supporting vulnerable groups, such as youth, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and groups and countries affected by armed conflict.
 

Best practice in business development services

For several decades now, many agencies, in both industrialized and developing countries, have been working in the field of non-financial support services for small enterprises. However, until recently, this broad experience had not been assessed in a comprehensive and systematic manner.

The Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development therefore decided to set up a working group to synthesize the major lessons learned and to develop benchmarks against which future efforts could be measured. Headed by the ILO, the working group analysed the experience and results of a wide variety of programmes and projects in such areas as basic business training, counselling and advice, the improvement of working conditions, institutional capacity building and macro-level support interventions.

The resulting report identified a number of important principles to improve the effectiveness of business development services, including:

  • their organization on a businesslike basis, with payment by clients for the services received;
  • the use and development of specialized indigenous agencies to achieve greater sustainability and cost-effectiveness;
  • the importance of a participatory approach in the planning and implementation of support programmes, to create a feeling of ownership and ensure they are adapted to the needs of clients; and
  • the development of criteria for the evaluation of support programmes.

The report is now being used by many agencies active in the promotion of small enterprises, including the World Bank, UNDP and bilateral agencies. It will form the basis of a major international conference to be held in Brazil towards the end of 1998.

During the biennium, the assistance provided to member States for the development of national small enterprise promotion strategies included a number of joint missions with other international organizations. In collaboration with the World Bank, assistance was provided to the Government of Madagascar to develop a private enterprise promotion programme. The assistance offered in partnership with UNIDO included the provision of policy advice to the Government of Bulgaria on the development of entrepreneurship education and to Cambodia on small business development policies and programmes. Guidance for the formulation of SME development strategies was delivered jointly with UNDP to a number of countries, including Jordan, Malawi and South Africa. The ILO also participated in a review of four small enterprise development programmes for women undertaken by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in the Middle East. The ILO's advice on how to make the programmes more effective was wel-comed and provided a basis for strengthened collaboration between the two organizations in similar programmes.

The first ILO Enterprise Forum was organized in November 1996, bringing together some 600 entrepreneurs and employers' representatives, as well as representatives of workers' organizations, governments and NGOs from 97 countries to discuss the theme "promoting social progress and enterprise competitiveness in a global economy".

The discussions at the Enterprise Forum reflected the growing acknowledgement of the important role played by enterprises, not only in employment creation, but also in relation to other fundamental ILO concerns. In particular, they highlighted the need for the social partners and civil society to work together with enterprises to achieve the twin objectives of economic efficiency and social protection. A second Enterprise Forum is planned for November 1999.

To date, more than 100,000 entrepreneurs have benefited from the SIYB programme . Evaluations have shown that, of participating entrepreneurs:

Further guidance on the development of a supportive small business environment is contained in a practical manual, which was developed as a tool for policy-makers and small enterprise development practitioners.(48) The manual provides a summary of the lessons learned over several decades of training and development activities for the entrepreneur-managers of small enterprises, with emphasis on the combinations of approaches required at the various stages of the business development process. The ILO also played a leading role in the rapidly expanding field of small business development services through its participation in the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development, which brings together around fifty donors, including the World Bank, regional development banks and most bilateral donors. In recognition of its broad experience in this area, the ILO was selected to head a working group set up to identify best practice in the provision of small business development services and the major lessons learned to date.(49)

An important activity in the effort to improve entrepreneurial skills worldwide continued to be the Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training programme.(50) The focus was on consolidating and expanding the use of the programme in English-speaking Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and on launching it in French-speaking African countries. SIYB materials, which have now been used in some 70 countries, were further updated and improved during the biennium to optimize their impact on business performance and employment generation.(51) In the South Pacific, SIYB materials were adapted for use in distance learning. The project commenced recently in South Africa gives some idea of the approach adopted in SIYB projects. During the biennium, the ILO introduced SIYB programmes to small enterprise support organizations in South Africa. The materials and training programmes were tested, adapted to the South African environment and translated into a number of local languages, including Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho. During the pilot period, 16 organizations participated in the trials. After only six months, 75 other organizations had been placed on the waiting list to benefit from the expanded project.

Activities to help improve productivity were undertaken in nearly 30 countries. The assistance provided consisted mainly of the dissemination of information on productivity improvement issues and the provision of training and advisory services to a series of government and NGO clients, including management development and productivity institutions, business schools, employers' organizations and, increasingly, workers' organizations. The approach adopted in all of these activities is that productivity is an issue that concerns and benefits all of those involved in the production process, including management, workers and society at large. To emphasize the important role of the workforce as partners in productivity improvement, studies were prepared on the role of workers as stakeholders in productivity and on gainsharing from productivity improvements.(52) A regional workshop on productivity improvement was also held in Zimbabwe in July 1997 for African trade union leaders.

Bringing together the concepts of productivity and quality, the ILO's new modular training and consulting programme encapsulates the increasingly manifest commitment by the most productive companies and many governments to promote a better quality of working life, greater participation by the workforce, market economy principles, individual initiative and creativity, and human-oriented management styles and practices. In so doing, it recognizes the importance of productivity improvement for the promotion of employment and participation, human resources development, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

The new modular programme is also noteworthy for the following reasons:

In support of this work, information, guidelines and training materials on productivity issues continued to be produced and refined. An important activity in this respect was the development, publication and launching of a modular programme, in cooperation with the Asian Productivity Organization, on productivity and quality management.(53) The ILO's handbook on productivity management,(54) which describes the basic principles and techniques involved, has now been translated into some 15 languages, with Arabic and Hungarian versions under preparation. A team of leading experts, practitioners and academics was also brought together to produce a revised edition of the ILO's popular guide to management consulting, which has been extended to cover such important new issues as consulting for productivity, privatization, quality assurance in consulting and information technology in consulting firms.(55) An important aspect of the improvement of productivity almost everywhere is the manner in which know-how is transferred between countries. Guidelines were therefore produced to help constituents identify the best channels for the transfer of knowledge and to provide guidance on the types of practices that can be incorporated most effectively from one business culture to another.(56)

Privatization

Privatization and restructuring processes are being carried out in many member States, and particularly in transition countries. Yet there is increasing concern among constituents at the employment and social effects of these processes, particularly where they are carried out without an appropriate legal, financial and institutional framework. An Interdepartmental Action Programme on Privatization, Restructuring and Economic Democracy (IPPRED) was therefore undertaken with the objective of developing a participatory, tripartite approach to privatization and restructuring in order to achieve a smoother transition from a bureacratic to an entrepreneurial culture, taking into account both social considerations and the need for enterprises to be competitive.

Employee ownership has been one of the approaches to privatization adopted extensively in many Central and Eastern European countries. A study carried out in the context of the Interdepartmental Action Programme on Privatization, Restructuring and Economic Democracy (IPPRED) has found a number of advantages to this approach, including the political motivation of achieving a better social and political consensus on privatization. Some encouraging results of this method of privatization include the following:

A number of studies were carried out(57) to examine the policies and institutions involved in privatization, the methods adopted (particularly in the case of public utilities and social services), management and worker buy-outs,(58)their management development implications, the integration of social concerns through provisions in labour legislation and industrial relations machinery, and the splitting up of public enterprises into small and medium-sized enterprises. A number of tripartite seminars were held to provide opportunities for an exchange of views on experiences of privatization and restructuring. These contributed to a better understanding by government participants of the important role that can be played in these processes by employers' and workers' organizations, particularly where they are involved from the planning stage. They also helped employers' and workers' organizations clarify the respective roles that they can play in privatization and restructuring processes.

The lessons learned from the seminars and case studies will be synthesized in a manual for use by constitutents and ILO staff. The manual, which will be finalized in 1998, will contain guidelines to facilitate a participative approach to privatization and restructuring processes. A training package was produced for those directly involved in the planning and management of these processes for use in workshops and courses.(59)

Access to finance

The difficulties experienced by many enterprises and associations in gaining access to finance remain an important obstacle to their growth and the realization of their potential for job creation. Assistance in the development of solutions to this problem continued to be provided in the form of research and advisory activities. Technical advisory services were provided to a number of countries, including China, the Philippines, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. In China, based on the experience from several ILO guarantee fund projects, the advice provided focused on the use of guarantee funds to promote the development of SMEs. The Government of Zambia was assisted in drafting model leasing contracts for small building contractors and was advised on the development of an appropriate financial institution. The assistance provided to constituents in the field of micro-finance also took the form of technical cooperation projects in several countries, including Cambodia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe, as well as the West African subregion.

Assistance in the field of microfinance was provided through technical cooperation projects in a number of countries, including:

This work was supported by research activities, including the preparation of working papers to provide guidance on specific aspects of the design and management of credit funds and guarantee funds.(60) As part of the ILO's participation in the Donors' Working Group on Financial Sector Development, which brings together some 30 donor agencies, a study was prepared on collateral and collateral substitutes, with a view to informing financial institutions of the comparative costs (and risks) of the different ways of securing small business loans.(61) The study confirmed the importance of the lack of collateral as a constraint for many small and micro-enterprises, and especially for new entrants to the financial market. The best-known collateral substitutes are joint liability and credit scoring, although the transaction costs involved may prove a major obstacle to their more widespread application.

In an innovative research programme aimed at countries undergoing structural adjustment and financial sector reform, such as Ghana, Benin, Senegal and Zimbabwe, steering committees were set up, with the Central Bank acting as the secretariat to supervise the work by local researchers. The project is designed to promote understanding of the impact of financial sector liberalization on the access to financial services of small and micro-enterprises. This understanding should help ensure that future liberalization policies are more sensitive to the needs of the poor.

The ILO's approach to the use of microfinance for the promotion of employment was given greater exposure through its participation in the Microcredit Summit held in Washington in February 1997 and in the World Bank-led Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). The CGAP brings together some 25 bi- and multilateral organizations involved in microfinance. Its objectives are to disseminate good practice in microfinance among the donor community, coordinate donor activities in this field and test innovative approaches to micro-finance. It provides the ILO with an opportunity to share its experience in this area with other major actors and donors.

Cooperatives

Cooperative enterprises play an important role in providing income and sustainable employment for large numbers of people, particularly in rural areas and in countries in transition, where the capacity of governments to ensure the supply of jobs, services and products to the local population is diminishing rapidly. Cooperative enterprises and associations are also of great importance in industrialized countries, particularly in agriculture, marketing, retailing and the provision of social services, including insurance. However, cooperatives in general are facing something of an identity crisis. In developing and transition countries, with receding state control and support, they are having to become more self-sufficient and capable of survival in the private sector. In industrialized countries, their business success has often been to the detriment of their social identity.

The objective of the ILO's activities in this area is the creation and strengthening of democratically organized and managed cooperative enterprises which not only provide employment and other services for their members, but also take into account the needs of the communities in which they operate. These activities focused on the following issues:

The activities undertaken to establish and strengthen social service cooperatives are described in Chapter 3. Guidance was also provided to constituents through publications on industrial relations and cooperatives(62) and on the creation of a favourable climate and conditions for cooperative development in Central and Eastern Europe and in Latin America.(63)

In the context of the COOPREFORM programme, advisory missions were carried out in some 20 countries during the biennium, mainly in Africa and Asia, to assist in the formulation of cooperative legislation that is in tune with local needs and circumstances. These advisory services were provided in consultation with those directly affected, thereby contributing to the process of democratization in the countries and strengthening the autonomy of cooperative movements. As set out in the Cooperatives (Developing Countries) Recommendation, 1966 (No. 127), the assistance provided emphasized the independence of cooperatives from state involvement and the development of democratic procedures to ensure that they act in accordance with the interests of their members. The advice provided on cooperative policy led to the adoption of official policy papers on cooperative development in Mali in 1996 and Kenya in 1997. As a reference tool to support this work, examples of cooperative legislation continued to be entered into the ILO's NATLEX database (see Chapter 1), which now contains over 400 entries relating to cooperatives from nearly all member States.

Countries to which assistance was provided for the development of new or revised cooperative legislation included:

The international cooperative movement attaches particular importance to the training and education of its members. Support continued to be provided to cooperative educational and training institutions through the COOPNET programme, which covered nearly 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Central America and the Andean region. With considerable support from development partners in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Sweden, and in partnership with the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), the programme develops networking between cooperative training institutions through the provision of information, advice and consultancy services, as well as the organization of national and subregional workshops. In Latin America, one of the programme's networking activities has consisted of the establishment of a multimedia information service called "Coopnet al día", which is available on the Internet (http://www.oit.or.cr/hp-coop/coopdia.htm). To improve gender awareness among cooperative trainers, COOPNET's gender sensitization package was published in Spanish during the biennium.(64)

Over the years, the ACOPAM programme, which focuses on the French-speaking countries of sub-Saharan Africa, has proven very successful in promoting the achievement of food security and the management of resources in an environmentally friendly manner. The methodology applied is based on the use of local implementing partners and the involvement of the beneficiaries, through grass-roots cooperative organizations in rural areas, from the initial design stage of all activities. Although the programme initially concentrated on the achievement of food security at the local level through the establishment of cereal banks and marketing cooperatives, it has expanded to cover gender issues, cooperative finance and natural resource management, including the management of irrigated and wooded areas and agricultural land. The action taken to ensure that women benefit from ACOPAM projects has included an increasing number of projects directed specifically at women, including the development of income-earning opportunities of various types and credit schemes for women, as well as measures to promote their participation and raise their profile in other projects. These have often included greater efforts by project animators to organize women so that they are involved throughout the design and implementation of the projects. An analysis was published of the situation of women in the countries concerned, their participation in development projects and the experience acquired in ensuring that they benefit to the same extent as men from development activities.(65)

The INDISCO programme applies a similar methodology to indigenous and tribal peoples with a view to improving their socio-economic conditions through the promotion of cooperatives and other self-help organizations. The programme is designed to support the application of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). During the biennium, it expanded to Central America and Viet Nam and intensified its activities in India and the Philippines, where it assisted in the establishment of around 100 grass-roots organizations of indigenous peoples in each country. The programme also addresses such issues as involuntary displacement and environmental protection. Based on the establishment of grass-roots organizations of tribal peoples, the projects focus on the development of income-generating activities, particularly those related to the use of natural resources and the management of ancestral domains in the Philippines. They also emphasize the provision of literacy and technical training, the development and management of revolving loan funds and the organization of health services, including check-up and immunization camps.

INDISCO activities in India have included projects in:

The informal sector

Informal sector enterprises constitute an important segment of the private sector in many developing countries, often exceeding in number larger formal enterprises. They make a significant contribution to employment and GNP, and often help soften the negative employment effects of structural adjustment programmes. They often constitute the main source of income for disadvantaged groups. However, most informal sector enterprises operate under precarious conditions and few have been able to "upgrade" to the formal economy. In addition, they frequently face constraints such as low productivity (due to the use of inappropriate technologies), limited access to profitable markets and an inability to cope with the globalization of markets, difficulties in securing credit and the absence of a supportive policy and legislative environment.

The overall objectives of ILO activities focusing on the informal sector are the improved performance of micro-enterprises and the adaptation of the institutional, administrative and legal environment to encourage their development in the formal economy. The assistance provided in a number of African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Niger, Rwanda and Senegal, concentrated on promoting an enabling environment for informal sector enterprises. An examination of the situation of the informal sector, and policies affecting it, in each of these countries(66) showed that the constraints experienced by the enterprises concerned could be reduced through the adoption of simplified administrative procedures, a reduction in labour costs and more favourable fiscal measures. Another promotional measure for small enterprises is to avoid the setting of minimum requirements for incentives such as advantageous duty rates on the import of equipment, export facilities and subsidies, or the possibility of tendering for government contracts.

Building on the methodology developed by the interdepartmental project carried out in the biennium 1994-95, many activities concentrated on helping informal sector enterprises raise their productivity, progressively extending social protection to these enterprises and improving their conditions of work. As a follow-up to the work initiated under the interdepartmental project during the previous biennium, a seminar was organized in each of the cities covered by the project -- Bogota, Dar es Salaam and Manila -- and the project advisory committees established for the project continued to function. These committees are composed of ILO tripartite constituents, as well as representatives of informal sector associations, research institutions and NGOs. In Bogota, the project activities initiated under the interdepartmental project, including advocacy on behalf of micro-entrepreneurs, pilot training activities and the further development of self-help associations, continued to operate with funds raised in Colombia from public and private sources.(67) The experience gained by the ILO in this field, and in the establishment of the Central American Committee of Micro-enterprises (COCEMI), also continued to be applied with particular success in other projects in Latin America.(68)
 

Informal sector access to information

Support for informal sector enterprises in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama is provided through the PROMICRO project, the objectives of which include strengthening associations of micro-enterprises, improving the access of micro-enterprises to information and disseminating innovative approaches to the promotion of micro-enterprises. The project's interventions cover all the issues affecting micro-enterprises, including the regulatory environment, skills and management training, finance and access to business development services in such fields as technology, marketing and business plans. The project works through national micro-enterprise projects and programmes through their regional fora, national associations of micro-entrepreneurs which are members of the Central American Committee of Micro-enterprises (COCEMI), as well as NGOs, Chambers of Commerce, municipalities and local associations.

As PROMICRO has expanded in scope and associations of micro-entrepreneurs in the region have become better organized, the project has pursued the priority objective of improving the dissemination and sharing of information among micro-enterprises through interconnected computerized databases. A Web site has therefore been created on the Internet under the title of the Information System for the Promotion of Micro-enterprises (http://www.sipromicro.or.cr). The site offers a wide range of information, including major events, ongoing projects, economic data, counselling services, bibliographical references and interactive pages on thematic issues. It also allows enterprises to negotiate contracts with other members. It has been very successful in terms of "hits", with over 1,000 requests for information every month.

The project offers informal sector operators the possibility, like their larger counterparts in the formal sector, to use the most advanced technology to become part of the globalized economy. Through the Web site, they will be able to take advantage of the Internet to avail themselves of export opportunities and achieve economies of scale by teaming up with other partners to meet high-volume orders.

Action-oriented research was undertaken on improving the sustainability of service providers to micro-enterprises through the strengthening of private sector linkages, the promotion of associations of informal sector operators and assistance in the establishment of private and semi-private support organizations.(69) Activities were also undertaken in a number of countries, including Ghana, Kenya and Togo, to develop specific support services adapted to the perceived needs of small and micro-enterprises, rather than adapting services, such as management training, from the approaches used for larger enterprises. The services developed include exchange visits to other companies by groups of micro-entrepreneurs, rapid market appraisal, the organization of mini-trade shows, participatory technology development and various innovative methods of disseminating information, such as the publication of newspapers for small businesses financed through advertising. Because these services are perceived as being useful, the entrepreneurs are willing to pay for them, which increases their sustainability. The experience acquired in this field has been documented in a series of papers, which will be made available on a CD-ROM during the course of 1998.

Pilot private sector service providers to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) have been set up in the following countries:

The approach is being replicated in Benin, Cambodia, Gambia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe , with the service providers forming a network through the Internet for the exchange of experience.

Other technical cooperation activities were carried out in a number of countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Gambia, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia and Uganda. In many of the countries concerned, assistance was provided in the establishment of business centres for the provision of a range of services to micro-entrepreneurs. These centres are set up as pilot projects, with a view to their multiplication in other areas of the countries. Where possible, they are designed to be financially sustainable by the end of the project by selling some of the services that they provide and by handling a number of commercial transactions, such as marketing and the sale of equipment, to finance other services for which they are unlikely to be able to cover the cost through payments by clients. The staff of the four centres set up in Bosnia and Herzegovina is representative of the various political and religious components of the country, as a contribution to bringing the communities together in the world of work and enhancing political stability. In Jordan, the technical assistance provided concentrated on the development of handicraft projects, especially for women workers. This included the strengthening of handicraft centres, facilitating their access to markets and the provision of training for the workers involved.

Countries in which pilot projects have been commenced for the establishment of business centres include:

The above centres were designed as models for replication elsewhere in the countries concerned.

An important aspect of the assistance provided for the development of informal sector enterprises includes the mobilization of microcredit schemes. Access to credit is one of the services provided by most of the support centres described above, often as part of a package including other services, such as training and counselling.

Women entrepreneurs face more constraints than men in the creation and running of micro-enterprises. In addition to the traditional informal sector constraints, such as difficulties in gaining access to credit and training, women also have to cope with the problems of fulfilling a multiplicity of roles, including their family responsibilities. Four case-studies were carried out on the constraints facing women informal sector operators in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.(70) These studies document the broad discrimination suffered by women in the micro-business environment, as well as more specific forms of discrimination, and particularly the barriers they face in obtaining financing and technical and managerial training. A general recommendation that emerges from the studies is the need for an integrated approach to the development of women micro-entrepreneurs, not only based on specific support services for women informal sector operators, but also designed to influence overall policies in their favour.

One of the countries in which the ILO has been active in organizing credit for informal sector enterprises is Honduras , where advice was provided on the establishment of a credit line which has granted over 30,000 credits since 1992, of which some 60 per cent have gone to women. Most credits are accompanied by business development services.

The experience of the ILO in promoting informal sector micro-enterprises is achieving recognition in many institutions worldwide. For example, the United Nations Task Force set up to develop a special programme of support for the informal sector in Africa has adopted the ILO's participatory approach to supporting informal sector self-help organizations. The guidelines adopted by the Task Force for country project formulation missions indicate how organizations representing informal sector operators should be involved in policy reform strategies and the development of support programmes. Activities are due to commence in 1998 in around ten African countries to design programmes which complement existing projects and to develop inter-institutional cooperation.

Training

Increasingly, enterprises and individuals are having to rely on knowledge, innovation and technical ability to improve their performance and adapt to the changing demands of globalized competition and more flexible labour markets. At the same time, high levels of unemployment and the erosion of employment security are making it necessary to invest more in skill development to improve the employability of workers throughout their working lives. Against this background, the priorities of policy-makers are:

Meeting these priorities requires greater efficiency, flexibility and relevance in public and private training systems, and the participation of employers' and workers' representatives, alongside governments, in the development of training policies and programmes. The objective of ILO action in this field is the design and implementation by governments and employers' and workers' organizations of training policies and systems which are responsive to changing labour market conditions and offer access for all workers to opportunities for life-long learning.

With a view to strengthening national capacity in training policy analysis and development, policy advice was provided to Bahrain, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Côte d'Ivoire, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Lesotho, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen and Zimbabwe. National and regional workshops for tripartite policy-makers were held for Oman, the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the African region, Ethiopia, the Pacific island States, China and the Asian region.

The experience gained over recent years in analysing and evaluating the performance of training systems and formulating alternative training policies was set out in a modular training package to facilitate its dissemination through training courses to the policy-makers concerned.(71) The training programme outlines a step-by-step process of reflection on how training systems can be made more effective and efficient. An approach is set out for mapping demand- and supply-side aspects of training supply and examples are provided of the policies adopted by various countries to reform their training systems. The training modules were tested in regional workshops organized for officials from Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. The programme has been designed to be flexible so that it can be constantly improved and adapted to new needs and circumstances as they arise.

With assistance from the ILO, vocational training policy measures adopted in member States during the biennium included:

With the aim of strengthening collaboration between international organizations working in the field of training and harmonizing the advice that they provide, the ILO undertook a research project with the World Bank to document recent experience in a broad range of developing and transition countries in reforming their training systems. Based on case-studies covering 17 countries, as well as studies of the nature of the reform process in Australia and the lessons that low- and middle-income countries can draw from the German "dual system", a synthesis report was prepared.(72) The main messages of the review point to:

The results of this work, when they have been reviewed, will be disseminated by the ILO and the World Bank in a joint publication and through a series of joint workshops for constituents.

The analysis and documentation of national experience, as a basis for the provision of guidance to constituents, also concentrated on training legislation, the application of international labour standards in training policy and systems, strategic training partnerships between the State and enterprises, and the evaluation of training. Based on a review of training legislation in nearly 60 countries, a comparative study was prepared on training and labour legislation.(73) National studies were carried out on ten countries and regional reports were prepared for Africa and Latin America on the problems encountered in the application of international labour standards in the context of national training policy reforms. A national tripartite workshop was held in the Philippines to discuss the findings of these studies, which will provide the basis for the preparation of a practical guide on the promotion and application of the Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142) and Recommendation (No. 150), 1975, requested in March 1997 by the Governing Body Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards. Based on ten case-studies of strategic training partnerships between the State and enterprises, a policy paper was presented to the ILO Enterprise Forum and a regional seminar was held in Chile in May 1997 on strategic alliances for training.(74) Finally, an approach to the evaluation of training outcomes which reflects ILO values and concerns was developed for the use of policy-makers and training practitioners in member States.(75)

Assistance to enhance the management of vocational education and training systems was provided to a number of countries, including the Philippines and Thailand. Training seminars were also held on this subject for policy-makers from South-East Asian countries, Eastern European countries and Central Asia. Newly prepared modular learning materials for senior vocational training administrators were tested in these training activities.(76) The new materials are based on experience, current trends and best practices in 11 countries. They address separately the issues of vocational education, labour market training and enterprise training systems. They analyse different types of organization of training systems, the decentralization of training services, sources of funding and the allocation of resources.

With ILO assistance, a number of member States have made significant progress in the introduction of modular training methods and programmes , including:

(CIS), as well as 37 regional centres in the various countries, with regular seminars being organized to train coordinators and representatives of enterprises and training institutions.

Assistance projects to introduce the competency-based modular approach to training were also commenced in 1997 in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine .

The provision of lifelong learning opportunities for all workers requires increasingly flexible systems of training delivery, and particularly systems which are based on a modular approach. Advice on the introduction and adaptation of modular training was provided during the biennium in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Several projects were carried out to introduce modular training methodologies and curricula. The methodology was further refined on the basis of a review of innovative practices using the modular approach and the adaptation of training to the needs of employers and individuals in Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.(77) Building on the Modules of Employable Skills (MES), the Staff Development Package and a number of elements were revised or developed. Training materials were also produced on community-based training for employment and income generation.(78) Technical advisory services for the introduction or strengthening of community-based skills training for self-employment and income-generating activities were provided to Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Indonesia, Poland, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. A project to develop community-based organizations for the promotion of employment in Pakistan led to the establishment of some 30 employment schemes in 136 villages and 24 urban sites over a three-year period. There were around 9,000 beneficiaries of the schemes, including 7,000 who were organized in community-based organizations. The beneficiaries received skills training, entrepreneurship training and small loans. From the employment that they found as a result of the schemes, household income rose by between 30 and 120 per cent, generating demand for other goods and services and thereby creating additional employment opportunities and improved standards of living.

Conflict-affected countries

The large number of countries affected by armed conflict and the resulting socio-economic and physical destruction pose a major challenge to the fight against poverty, the advance of democracy and the protection of workers. Skills training and employment promotion are critical components of the efforts required to reconstruct communities, reintegrate the large numbers of conflict-affected groups and promote sustainable peace. However, innovative training and employment promotion strategies are required to overcome the inherent problems of conflict-affected countries. An action programme was therefore undertaken on skills and entrepreneurship training for countries emerging from armed conflict with the objective of enhancing capacity in these countries to design and implement programmes and measures for the effective reintegration of all conflict-affected groups and the building of sustainable peace.

The situation of various conflict-affected groups and the action taken to improve their situation were analysed in a series of country studies covering Angola,(79) Bosnia and Herzegovina,(80) Cambodia,(81) El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala,(82) Lebanon,(83) Liberia, Mali, Mozambique,(84) Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,(85) Uganda(86) and Zimbabwe. The studies focused on small enterprise promotion and micro-credit schemes,(87) vocational training, the situation and role of trade unions, conflict-affected women and other gender concerns,(88) child soldiers, conflict-affected youth, persons with disabilities(89) and increased drug abuse as economic activities become criminalized in conflict and post-conflict situations. A compendium was also prepared of relevant reintegration programmes and institutions.(90)

The key products of the action programme, which were examined by the participants at the Interregional Seminar on Reintegration of Conflict-affected Groups through Skills Training and Employment Promotion , are:

A consultative meeting for workers' representatives from 40 conflict-affected countries, which was held during the Conference in June 1997, revealed the full extent of the problems facing workers' organizations in the countries concerned.(91) A Tripartite Interregional Seminar on Reintegration of Conflict-affected Groups through Skills Training and Employment Promotion, bringing together tripartite representatives from 11 of the ILO's conflict-affected member States, took stock of the action programme's outputs and findings, and mapped out the urgent follow-up action required of the ILO and its constituents.(92) The participants at the seminar emphasized that the ILO had originally been set up in 1919 in the aftermath of the First World War as part of the reconstruction process and that the Declaration of Philadelphia, adopted as the world emerged from the Second World War, asserted that lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice. They also pointed out that around one-third of ILO member States are currently experiencing, emerging from, entering or re-entering, or affected by conflict and that the ILO's usual responses and approaches require adaptation to the specific context of conflict-affected countries. They noted that the action programme had proven very effective in drawing attention to the magnitude of the problem constituted by the reconstruction of conflict-affected countries, the importance of employment and social issues in building sustainable peace and the important role that should be played by the ILO in assisting conflict-affected countries.

Notes

1. Adjustment, employment and labour market institutions in sub-Saharan Africa: An emerging consensus on policy design?, Employment and Training Papers No. 3, 1997.

2. World employment 1996/97: National policies in a global context, 1996.

3. Globalization: A view from the South, by J. Mohan Rao, Employment Papers No. 8, 1997.

4. Impact of regionalization on employment: ASEAN, by O. Cortes, S. Jean, M. Fouquin and L. Mytelka, Employment Papers No. 9, 1997.

5. MERCOSUR and Brazil automobile and food industries, by M.C. da Silva Leme, 1997; and Argentina, MERCOSUR and labour, by R. Soifer (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

6. Labour market effects under NAFTA, by B. Campbell (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; and Maquiladoras prospects for regional and global integration, by R. Galhardi (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

7. "Impact on workers of reduced trade barriers: The case of Tunisia and Morocco", by M. Boughzala, in International Labour Review, Vol. 136, No. 3, 1997.

8. Western hemisphere economic integration, by J. Weeks (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

9. Adjustment, stabilization and the structure of employment in Brazil, by E. Amadeo and V. Pero, Employment and Training Papers No. 4, 1997.

10. Employment, structural adjustment and sustainable growth in Mexico, by J. Ros, Employment and Training Papers No. 6, 1997.

11. Opening, stabilization and sectoral and skill structures of manufacturing employment in Brazil, by E. Amadeo and V. Pero (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; and Technology, work and job qualification in a globalized economy: A case study of Brazil,, by D. Kupfer and L. Caruso (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

12. Jobs, technology and skill requirements in a globalized economy: A case study of Canada, by M. Lavoie (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

13. Jobs, technology and skill requirements in a globalized economy: A case study of the Republic of Korea, by B. Cheon (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

14. Changes in the occupational structure and skill composition of labour in manufacturing in Mexico, by D. Alarcón and E. Zapada (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

15. Jobs, technology and skill requirements in a globalized economy: A case study of Singapore, by L. Low (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

16.The continuing employment crisis in Kyrgyz manufacturing: Analysis of findings from the second round of the Kyrgyz survey of manufacturers, by C. Evans-Klock (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

17. Options for human resource development in Egypt: The labour market context, by C. Evans-Klock and Lin Lean Lim (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

18. The role of the social partners in the design and delivery of active labour market policy measures, by H. Mosley, S. Speckesser and T. Keller (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

19. The evaluation of active labour market measures, by N. Meager and C. Evans (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

20. State labour market intervention in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay: Common model, different versions, by A. Marshall, Employment and Training Papers No. 10, 1997.

21. Yearbook of Labour Statistics, 1996; Annuaire des statistiques du travail, 1996; Anuario de Estadísticas del Trabajo, 1996 (55th edition) (a trilingual publication), 1997.

22. Bulletin of Labour Statistics; Bulletin des statistiques du travail; Boletín de Estadísticas del Trabajo (a trilingual publication), four issues per year.

23.Statistics on occupational wages and hours of work and on food prices: October Inquiry results, 1995 and 1996 -- Special supplement to the Bulletin of Labour Statistics; Statistiques des salaires et de la durée du travail par profession et des prix de produits alimentaires: Résultats de l'enquête d'octobre, 1995 et 1996 -- Supplément spécial au Bulletin des statistiques du travail; Estadísticas sobre salarios y horas de trabajo por ocupación y precios de artículos alimenticios: Resultados de la encuesta de octubre, 1995 y 1996 -- Suplemento especial al Boletín de Estadísticas del Trabajo (a trilingual publication), 1997.

24. Sources and Methods -- Labour statistics, Volume 5: Total and economically active population, employment and unemployment (population censuses); Sources et méthodes -- Statistiques du travail, vol. 5: Population totale et population active, emploi et chômage (recensements de population); Fuentes y métodos -- Estadísticas del trabajo, volumen 5: Población total y población económicamente activa, empleo y desempleo (censos de población), second edition (a trilingual publication), 1996.

25. Economically active population, 1950-2010, fourth edition, by F. Mehran, available in the form of two diskettes, 1997.

26. Methodological child labour surveys and statistics: ILO's recent work in brief, by K. Ashagrie, 1997 (unpublished document).

27. Statistics on working children and hazardous child labour in brief, by K. Ashagrie, 1997 (unpublished document).

28. Final report, Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics, 14-23 Oct. 1997.

29. Income from employment: An Indian experience, Paper presented by the Socio-Economic Research Centre, New Delhi, Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics, 1996; Income from employment: Report on the use of household surveys in Latin America as a source of data on income from employment, by L.A. Beccaria, 1996; and Income from employment: The experience of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, by P.K. Wingfield Digby, 1996.

30. Chile: Crecimiento, empleo y medios de vida sustentables, 1997, subsequently published under the title: Chile: Crecimiento, empleo y el desafío de la justicia social, 1998.

31. Review of the labour force sample survey in Egypt: Estimates of employment and unemployment and proposals for improvement, by S. Radwan, 1996 (also available in Arabic); and Job creation and poverty alleviation in Egypt: Strategy and programmes, by S. Radwan, 1997 (also available in Arabic).

32. Growth, jobs and incomes in Uzbekistan: A policy statement and programme, unpublished report available from the Government of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, July 1996 (also available in Russian).

33. Jobs for Africa: A policy framework for an employment-intensive growth strategy, Report of the ILO/UNDP Programme on Employment Generation and Poverty Reduction, ILO, 1997.

34. Of nets and assets: Socio-economic effects and impacts of employment-intensive programmes. A review of ILO experience, by W. Keddeman (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

35. Matériel de formation pour l'Afrique francophone pour les investissements à haute intensité de main-d'œuvre (HIMO) (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

36. Labour management for employment-intensive infrastructure: Policies and practices, by D. Tajgman and J. de Veen (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

37. Tripartite review of the guide on labour management policies and practices for employment-intensive infrastructure works , Report on proceedings, Kampala, Uganda, 6-7 Oct. 1997.

38. Wasted time: The price of poor access, by G. Edmonds (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; and Accessibility planning and local development: The application of possibilities of the IRAP methodology, by K. Dixon-Fyle (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

39. Expanding labor-based methods for road works in Africa, by E.A. Stock and J. de Veen, World Bank Technical Paper No. 347, 1996.

40. Labour-based contractors: Project formulation and implementation -- Summary guidelines, by P. Bentall, A. Beusch and J. de Veen (forthcoming).

41. Evaluation of Hanna Nassif community-based urban upgrading project, Phase I, by J.M. Lupala, J. Malombe and A. Könye, Dar es Salaam, 1997 (a joint publication of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, UNDP, National Income Generation Program, Ford Foundation and the ILO).

42. The future of urban employment, Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, background paper for Dialogue No. 4, organized by the ILO and promoted by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), by S. Miller and H. Lim, 1996.

43. Urban employment guidelines: Employment-intensive participatory approaches for infrastructure investment, by Liu Jinchang (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

44. Training modules on the informal sector for municipal officials (forthcoming).

45. Urban poverty and the informal sector in developing countries: A critical assessment of current strategies, by S.V. Sethuraman (a joint ILO/UNDP publication) (forthcoming).

46. Informalization in advanced market economies, by S. Sassen, Issues in Development Discussion Paper No. 20, 1997.

47. Linkages between infrastructure development and improved productivity and working conditions in informal sector enterprises: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by G. Muteta et al. (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

48. Training and development of entrepreneur-managers of small enterprises: Pointers and lessons learned, by A.L. Tolentino, Enterprise and Management Development Working Paper No. 19, 1997.

49. Business development services for SMEs: Preliminary guidelines for donor-funded interventions, Report to the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development; and Business development services for SMEs: A guideline for donor-funded interventions, Summary of the Report to the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development (forthcoming) [subsequently published] -- both of these documents will be available only through the ILO Web site under ENTREPRISE.

50. The "Start and Improve Your Business" programme: Achievements and experience worldwide, by P. Samuelsen, 1997.

51. SIYB materials are adapted for use in each country. There is therefore no single product for which a reference can be given. More information on SIYB activities can be obtained from the ILO Web site under ENTREPRISE.

52. Productivity gainsharing, by C. Bernolak, Enterprise and Management Development Working Paper No. 16, 1997; and Workers: Stakeholders in productivity in a changing global economic environment, A.L.Tolentino (ed.), Enterprise and Management Development Working Paper No. 18, 1997.

53. Productivity and quality management; A modular programme: Part I, Productivity and quality improvement: Concepts, processes and techniques, and Part II, High potential productivity and quality improvement areas, J. Prokopenko and K. North (eds.), 1996.

54. Productivity management: A practical handbook, by J. Prokopenko (second impression, with modifications), 1992.

55. Management consulting: A guide to the profession, third (revised) edition, M. Kubr (ed.), 1996.

56. Localizing global production: Know-how transfer in international manufacturing, by K. North, Management Development Series No. 33, 1997.

57. Bilan et perspectives des privatisations en Afrique francophone: Une étape de la démocratisation?, by B. Chavane, Working paper IPPRED-1, 1996; Enterprise privatization and employee buy-outs in Poland: An analysis of the process, by R. Schliwa, Working paper IPPRED-2, 1997; Management development in Russia, by I. Gurkov, Working paper IPPRED-3, 1997; Social and employment consequences of privatization in transition economies: Evidence and guidelines, by B. Martin, Working paper IPPRED-4, 1997; Issues in privatization and restructuring in sub-Saharan Africa, by A. Etukudo, Working paper IPPRED-5, 1997; Small enterprise development as a strategy for reducing the social cost of restructuring and privatization: Public and private initiatives, by C. Tawney and J. Levitsky, Working paper IPPRED-6, 1997; The role of employers' organizations in privatization, by A. Wild, Working paper IPPRED-7, 1997; Traditional trade unions during transition and economic reform in the Russian Federation, by F. Hoffer, Working paper IPPRED-8, 1997; Privatization in two state enterprises in Lao PDR , by M. Allal and F. Bonnet, Working paper IPPRED-9 (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; Privatization in Russia and China, by J. Prokopenko, Working paper IPPRED-10 (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; Privatización de los servicios municipales a través de microempresas: El ejemplo de Lima, by J. Price, Working paper IPPRED-11 (forthcoming); Employee ownership in Hungary: The role of employers' and workers' organizations, by B. Galgóczi, Working paper IPPRED-12 (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; Privatization in Slovakia: The role of employee and management participation, by D. Brzica, Working paper IPPRED-13 (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

58. Employee ownership in privatization: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe, by D. Jones et al. (forthcoming).

59. Training material on privatization, by G. Manu and Ken Khaw, a manual containing seven modules (forthcoming).

60. Monitoring guidelines for semi-formal financial institutions active in small enterprise finance, by B. Wesselink, Poverty-oriented Banking Working paper No. 9, 1996; Assessing the efficiency and outreach of micro-finance schemes, by R.T.Chua and G.M.Llanto, Poverty-oriented Banking Working paper No. 15, 1996; Migrant worker remittances in Lesotho: A review of the deferred pay scheme, by T. Sparreboom and P. Sparreboom-Burger, Poverty-oriented Banking Working paper No. 16, 1996; The performance of the Lesotho credit union movement: Internal financing and external capital flow, by P. Sparreboom-Burger, Poverty-oriented Banking Working paper No. 17, 1996; Guarantee funds and NGOs: Promise and pitfalls -- A review of the key issues, by M. Bastiaenen and P. van Rooij, Poverty-oriented Banking Working paper No. 18, 1997.

61. Collateral, collateral law and collateral substitutes, technical paper prepared for the Donors' Working Group on Financial Sector Development, 1996.

62. Industrial relations and cooperatives, by E. Dülfer, Occasional discussion paper No. 96-1, 1996.

63. Creating a favourable climate and conditions for cooperative development in Central and Eastern Europe, 1996; Creación de un clima positivo y condiciones favorables para el desarrollo cooperativo en América Latina, 1996.

64. Temas de género en cooperativas: Una perspectiva OIT-ACI, International Co-operative Alliance, San José, 1997.

65. Genre et développement: Analyse de la place des femmes: Une expérience au Sahel, programme ACOPAM (Appui associatif et coopératif aux initiatives de développement à la base), 1997.

66. Le secteur informel en Afrique face aux contraintes légales et institutionnelles, by C. Maldonado et al. (forthcoming); Secteur informel: Fonctions macroéconomiques et politiques gouvernementales " Le cas du Bénin, by C. Maldonado (forthcoming); Le cas du Burkina Faso, by B. Gaufryau and C. Maldonado, 1997; Le cas du Congo, by B. Gaufryau and C. Maldonado, 1997; Le cas de la Côte d'Ivoire, by B. Gaufryau and C. Maldonado, 1997; Le cas du Gabon, by H. Panhuis and J. Gasarian (forthcoming); Le cas du Niger, by J. Gasaryan and C. Maldonado (forthcoming); Le cas du Rwanda, by B. Gaufryau and C. Maldonado (forthcoming) [subsequently published]; Le cas du Sénégal, by B. Gaufryau and C. Maldonado, 1997.

67. El sector informal en Bogotá: Una perspectiva interdisciplinaria, C. Maldonado y M. Hurtado (eds.), 1997 (published jointly by the ILO, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Colombia and the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA) de Colombia).

68. PROMICRO: Un programme sous-régional de promotion des organisations, structures et programmes d'appui à la micro-entreprise en Amérique centrale, by C. Maldonado, 1996.

69. Les organisations des commerçants ambulants en Amérique latine, by C. Maldonado et al. (forthcoming); Méthodes et stratégies d'appui au secteur informel en Afrique, by C. Maldonado et al. (forthcoming); Economie informelle en Afrique: Structure, dynamiques et politiques, by C. Maldonado et al. (forthcoming); Le secteur informel à l'heure de la globalisation, by C. Maldonado et al. (forthcoming).

70. Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, by F. Bonnet and Data International (forthcoming); Women entrepreneurs in the Philippines, by P. Nichols-Marcucci (forthcoming); Femmes, emploi et micro-entreprises en Tunisie; Women's employment in micro- and small enterprises in Zimbabwe (forthcoming).

71. Training policy analysis: A methodology, by F. Fluitman (Training package with trainer notes and slides), 1997.

72. Skills and change: Constraints and innovation in the reform of vocational education and training, I. Gill and F. Fluitman (eds.) (World Bank/ILO) (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

73. Formación y legislación del trabajo, by H.H. Barbagelata, 1996; Trends in labour legislation and training, 1997.

74. Strategic partnerships between State and enterprises, by A.G. Mitchell, 1997.

75. Plain talk on the field of dreams: The roles of evaluation for vocational education and training, by N. Grubb and P. Ryan (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

76. Managing vocational training systems: Handbook for senior administrators, by V. Gasskov (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

77. Towards more flexibility in training delivery: A review of some experiences to rationalize the provision of vocational qualifications, by A. Tchaban (forthcoming) [subsequently published].

78. Community-based training for employment and income generation, A training manual with six modules, 1997.

79. Angola -- Study of vocational rehabilitation, training and employment for persons disabled by conflict, by E. Medi, 1997.

80. Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrating women's special situation and gender perspectives in skills training and employment promotion programmes, by M. Walsh, 1997.

81. Promoting local economic development in a war-affected country: The ILO experience in Cambodia, by R. Hakemulder, 1997.

82. Population issues and the situation of women in post-conflict Guatemala, by S. Loughna and G. Vicente, 1997.

83. Post-war Lebanon: Women and other war-affected groups, by N. Nauphal, 1997.

84. Post-conflict Mozambique: Women's special situation, population issues and gender perspectives and their integration into skills training and employment promotion, by S. Baden, 1997; Training and employment for war-affected populations: Lessons from experience in Mozambique, by C.Bryant, 1997; The reintegration of war-affected youth: Experience of Mozambique, by S. Maslen, 1997; Mozambique -- study of vocational rehabilitation, training and employment programmes for persons disabled by conflict: Experiences and issues, by E. Medi, 1997.

85. Life skills for the world of work: Experiences of South Africa, by S. Lobner, 1997.

86. Guns into ox-ploughs: A study into the situation of conflict-affected youth in Uganda and their re-integration into society through training, employment and life skills programmes, by R. Muhumuza, 1997.

87. ILO and conflict-affected peoples and countries: Promoting lasting peace through employment promotion, 1997; ILO's technical assistance projects in conflict-affected countries: A sample, by N. Smith, 1997.

88. Sustainable peace after war: Arguing the need for major integration of gender perspectives in post-conflict programming, by E. Date-Bah, 1996.

89. Handbook -- Accessibility and tool adaptations for disabled workers in post-conflict and developing countries, by D. Dilli, 1997.

90. A compendium of employment promotion initiatives in conflict-affected countries, 1997.

91. Trade unions in conflict-affected countries: Experiences and roles in peace negotiation, social healing, reconstruction and development, Report on a consultative meeting for workers' delegates, Geneva, 17 June 1997.

92. Report of the ILO Interregional Seminar on Reintegration of Conflict-affected Groups through Skills Training and Employment Promotion, Turin, 3-7 November 1997; the papers submitted to the Seminar included: Towards a framework for ILO policy and action in the conflict-affected context: Training and employment promotion for sustainable peace, 1997; Guidelines for employment and skills training in conflict-affected countries, 1997; Dynamic training support of ILO constituents and other actors in promoting employment in conflict-affected countries (training materials), 1997; and Employment for peace: A comprehensive international programme of technical assistance to conflict-affected countries -- A follow-up proposal to the ILO action programme, (forthcoming) [subsequently published]. 


Updated by VC. Approved by RH. Last update: 26 January 2000.

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