Baghdad, Iraq (ILO News) The ILO, the European Union and tripartite partners, including senior representatives from the government, employer and worker organizations held a final steering committee meeting to discuss key milestones in their joint efforts to enhance labour governance, inspection and working conditions in Iraq – under an EU-funded project implemented by ILO and key national partners.

Working closely with tripartite partners, the project’s focus has been on strengthening the labour inspection system and improving Occupational Safety and Health, in line with International Labour Standards, through policy development and capacity building.

Emphasis has been placed on compliance with decent work in the agricultural sector. In addition, several activities have been held to promote skills development and entrepreneurship among women and men in agriculture, paving the way for more and better job opportunities to achieve inclusive growth and improve job opportunities.

Since its launch, the programme has achieved several milestones that contribute to the socio-economic development of Iraq. Some of these include:

• Launch of policies and profile on labour inspection and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) that contribute to modernizing the labour inspection system and improving working conditions for workers and their employers, in line with International Labour Standards.
• Building the capacities of labour and OSH inspectors from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and other stakeholders through numerous trainings.
• Introducing ILO's Strategic Compliance Planning (SCP) methodology to help the labour inspectorate achieve tangible improvements in labour law compliance and ensure that all inspection activities are risk- and evidence-based.
• Supporting the development of the National Center for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) through the provision of portable tools and equipment to monitor environmental hazards in the workplace during inspection visits.
• Supporting the establishment of a new National Training Centre for inspectors at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The centre will build the capacity of labour and social security inspectors and other professionals from across governorates on the principles and functions of labour inspection, occupational health and safety and social security. 
• Introducing several ILO tool kits and programmes that promote business development and entrepreneurship, such as “GETAhead”, which is a global training package that seeks to develop entrepreneurial skills from a gender perspective – supporting women of low income; as well as Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB), one of ILO’s flagship business management training programmes.
• Building awareness on collective bargaining and labour agreements among tripartite partners.
• Introducing ILO’s Think.Coop and Start.Coop global learning tools, designed to promote cooperative development in various sectors.
• Introducing career guidance and employment service tools to job-seekers and youth.
• Raising the awareness of hundreds of workers, farm owners, cooperative members, union members and community leaders on Decent Work Principles, including Occupational Safety and Health, gender equality, business skills, and International Labour Standards.
• Supporting the development of several assessments to review regulatory frameworks and identify opportunities for market-based programmes in agriculture and the food value chain; and developing tools, policies, and guides for Labour and Occupational Safety and Health systems targeting inspectors, practitioners and experts in full consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, social partners and technical experts from the ILO.

For further information, see: Enhancing labour governance, inspection and working conditions in response to COVID-19