Workshop on designing and implementing effective wage policies

This course focuses on designing and implementing coherent and effective minimum wage policies.

Programme

Context and objective

Recent academic literature and national experiences have changed the perception of minimum wages. The new emerging consensus is that minimum wages can have positive effects on the wages of low-paid workers and also reduce gender pay gaps — at little or no cost to employment. It is critical for policymakers and social partners to better understand the nature of wage policies and strategies for minimum wage setting to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth and achieve decent work for all.

To strengthen the capacity of constituents and policymakers to design and implement effective wage policies, the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin, in collaboration with the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Government of India, the ILO Decent Work team for South Asia and Country Office for India and the ILO Branch on Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch (INWORK), host a 3-day international training programme for members of ministries of labour and employers’ and workers’ organizations in South Asia.

The course explains how to design and implement wage policies at the national, regional and international level. It explores major wage policy issues and instruments, including collective wage bargaining, and reviews new trends, developments and a diverse set of country experiences. The training will highlight effective wages policies, providing examples of different systems around the world.

Taking into account current global perspectives, the course aims to:
  • Strengthen mechanisms for participatory and evidence-based minimum wage-fixing and collective bargaining in the target countries.
  • Showcase international minimum wage systems, the constraints and the challenges for promotion of decent work and inclusive growth.
  • Stimulate cross-national exchange of views and experiences among the policymakers.
The training methodology for the course will be highly participatory to ensure a ‘learning-by-doing’ process that encourages the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices among participants. It will combine lectures by experts and practitioners from the ILO, ITCILO, leading academic institutions and other organizations with practical insights from relevant case studies.

In the press

Wire news speaks to Wage specialist Xavier Estupinan on the gender pay gap in India and why effective wage policies are the way forward.