ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme Making decent work a reality in practice

1. ILO/Irish Aid Partnership ProgrammeMaking decent work a reality in practice Barbara Murray, ILO, Geneva ICTU Summer School, Galway 2-3 September 2011

2. Making decent work a reality in practiceOverview • Background • International Labour Organization • ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme • Example: • Promoting decent work for persons with disabilities • Changing context • ILO/Irish Aid projects • Trade Union Involvement • Current • Future?

3. International Labour Organization • UN Specialized Agency, set up 1919 • Tripartite in Structure • represents governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations • Headquarters – Geneva • Regional and country offices/Decent work teams globally • 183 Member States

4. ILO Primary GoalDecent Work Promote opportunities for women and men, including those with disabilities, to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. • Declaration of Philadelphia 1944 • Edward Phelan, ILO DG, 1941 - 48 • Values • Equal Opportunity • Non-Discrimination • Equal Treatment of men and women workers

5. ILO means of action • Setting international labour standards • including Convention concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) No. 159, 1983 • Code of Practice – Managing Disability in the Workplace • Knowledge Development • Research • Guides to good practice • Tools on implementation • Advocacy • Equality of opportunity • Equal treatment of men and women • Non-discrimination • Services – includingtechnicalcooperationprojects

6. ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme • Three Phases to date • Phase 1: 2001 – 2004 • Themes: women entrepreneurship development, enhanced employability of persons with disabilities, reduction of trafficking, combatting of forced labour • Phase 2: 2005 – 2008 • Themes: women entrepreneurship development, persons with disabilities, forced labour, trafficking, Youth employment network • Phase 3: 2008 – 2011 • Themes: women entrepreneurship development, persons with disabilities, forced labour, child labour • Geographical focus • Selected countries of East and Southern Africa, and South-East Asia; Eastern Europe (Prevention of trafficking project)

7. ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme • Aim: contribute to goal of decent work for all • Link to Irish Aid objectives - • poverty reduction • reduce vulnerability • increase opportunity • Budgets • Phase 1 - £2.5m • Phase 2 – Euro 5.7m • Phase 3 – Euro 9m • Phase 4 - ?

8. Promoting decent work for persons with disabilities • What Status worldwide?

9. Rehabilitate Disabled Persons Charity, Medical treatment Adjustment to the norm Exclusion Little consultation Rehabilitate Society Rights Acceptance of differences Inclusion, participation, citizenship ‘Nothing about us without us’ Changing International contextThe UN CRPD – heralding a new era

10. Segregated employment Petty trading No legal provisions Limited choice Open Labour Market Small enterprises Coverage by employment laws Work freely chosen or accepted The CRPD and the Right to WorkShift in focus

11. Promoting decent work for persons with disabilities • ILO/Irish Aid Partnership Programme • ‘Top Down’ Approach • Enabling Legal, policy Environment • ‘Bottom Up’ Approach • Improving opportunities in entrepreneurship development, skills development • Promoting the access of persons with disabilities to general services

12. ‘Top-Down’ ApproachEnabling legal and policy environment • Review of laws and their effectiveness • Development of new laws - Consultative basis • Build capacity of governments, social partners, disabled persons’ organizations • Country and regional level workshops • ILO International Training Centre, Turin • 2 week courses • distance learning • Work with university law faculties • Sponsorship of Centre for Disability Law and Policy, University of Western Cape, South Africa • Work with Media

14. ‘Top-Down Approach’Some Results • Laws • New laws • Ethiopia • Kenya • Thailand • Tanzania Mainland • VietNam • Indirectsupport to newlaw – China • Review of laws – Uganda, Zambia • Policyimplementation – Zambia • Ratification of UN CRPD – processsupported in 6 countries • Disabilitylegislation • Part of lawfacultycurriculum in 5 countries • Centre forDisabilityLaw and Policy operational • Educational and Training guide – developed, tested, availableon-line

15. ‘Bottom Up’ approachOpening access to opportunity • Entrepreneurship Development, Vocational skills – Women with Disabilities • Phase 1, 2 and 3 • Access of persons with disabilities to general services • Phase 3 • Work with Media • Tackling mistaken assumptions, negative attitudes • Publicising achievements

16. ‘Bottom-Up’ ApproachSome Results • Inclusiveapproach to Women‘sEntrepreneurshipDevelopment • Demonstrated as viable • Nowpart of ILO‘s WED strategy, adopted in 2008 • Role-out in other ILO TechnicalCooperation Project • DisabilityInclusion Support servicessponsored and supported in 3 countries • DisabilityEquality Training approach to awarenessraising – engagingparticipants, incl. tradeunionists • Earlydays – approach innovative in manycountries

18. ILO-Irish Aid Partnership ProgrammeTrade Union Involvement • Involvement in Advocacyevents • Capacitybuilding • ITC Turin courses • DisabilityEquality Training workshops • Consultations on laws, policies • Disability Champions progamme, Thailand

19. ILO-Irish Aid Partnership ProgrammeScope for ICTU involvement?

20. Making societies inclusive of persons with disabilities • ILO/IA Partnership Programme • www.ilo.org/inclusion • ILO work on disability • www.ilo.org/disability