Report Dean Ofreneo- Advancing Decent Work

Asia and the Pacific: Advancing Decent Work Amidst

Deepening Inequalities-Dean Rene E. Ofreneo

In partial completion of IR220- HRD @ the National Level

Prof. ROSA MERCADO

By Alfredo V. Primicias III


Prof. ROSA MERCADO


Asia and the Pacific: Advancing Decent Work Amidst Deepening Inequalities

1. Extreme poverty is widespread2. About 2.8B people (nearly half of the world’s pop.) subsist

on less than US$2/ day3. 1/5 of children from Angola, Congo, Liberia die before 5

years old4. Every day nearly 30K children in developing countries die5. 17% of world pop. is undernourished6. In Asia and Africa, 1 woman dies during childbirth every

minute7. In 2000 there were 875M illiterate adults in the world8. There are only 4 years of average school time for children

in Africa and South Asia9. ILO states that at least 180M child laborers are either 15

y/o or younger; while 8.4M children are in slavery,trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution and pornography

Poverty becomes a trap when a vicious cycle undermines the efforts of the poor, in whichconditions of poverty feed on themselves and create further conditions of poverty.

Stephen C. Smith- author of Ending Global Poverty and Eco prof. @ George Washington Univ.


Prof. ROSA MERCADO


What is Decent Work?


UN Millennium Dev. Goals:

• Eradicate extreme

poverty and hunger.

• Achieve universal

primary education.

• Promote gender equality

and empower women.

• Reduce child mortality.

• Improve maternal

health.

• Combat HIV/ AIDS,

malaria and other

diseases.

• Ensure environmental

sustainability.

• Develop global

partnership for

development.

“Decent Work are opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and

productive work under conditions of freedom, equity, and human dignity.”Somavia, J., ILO Director General, 2001

ILO (1999) described freedom, equity, security and human dignity by the

following standards:

(a) Opportunities for all to find any kind of work, including self-

employment, family work, and wage employment in both the informal

and formal sectors;

(b) Freedom of choice of employment, i.e. excluding forced, bonded and

slave labor and unacceptable forms of child labor;

(c) Productive work, providing adequate incomes and ensuring

competitiveness;

(d) Equity in work, including absence of discrimination in access to and

at work;

(e) Security at work, as far as health, pensions and livelihoods are

concerned; and

(f) Dignity at work, not only in the respect that is extended to workers,

but also in their freedom to join organizations which represent their

interests and to voice concerns and participate in decision making

about working conditions.


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



Economist Celia Reyes, PhD, (2003):The Poverty Fight: Has it Made an Impact reported the following:

PhilippinesMalaysiaIndonesiaThailandVietnam

*poverty*

1990:19%

Philippinesvs.

51%Vietnam

*poverty*

BAD News:1985- Poor Families @

44.2%

GOOD News:

1997- Poor Families @

31.8%

BAD News:2000

Asian Fin. Crisis + El

Nino = 33.7%

Due to Increasing

Population:4.36M

declared poor in

1985

Due to Increasing

Population:5.14M

declared poor in

1990

Education: Poverty

Incidence of 6.5% to

2.5%-college

graduate

GLOBALIZATION?


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



Asia: 4Billion

Exceptional Trade Performance

Strong Domestic Demand

World Merchandise

Export = 24.2%

World Services Export = 17%

FDI’s destination = Asia

Pop. 2000 = 3.7BPop. 2050 = 5.2B

Pop. 2050 decline in JP, CH, KOR, SG

Pop. 2050 INDIA overtakes CH

767M poor (-US$1) is in Asia

Climate Change = Calamities

2004 Tsunami = 600K Indonesians

lost their jobs

2004 Tsunami = 400K Sri Lankans

lost their jobs

2004 Tsunami = 2.7M Indianslost their jobs

,

SOURCES:

• ADB: Key Indicators 2002, op. cit. p. 34.

• United Nations: World Population Prospects, The 2002 Revision (NY, 2008)

• Page 14, Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 2. ILO, Oct. 2005.

• ILO Response to the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster in the Indian Ocean, Geneva, 2005.

• ILO Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor (Geneva, 2002).• Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 2. ILO, Oct. 2005.


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



Introduction: WHY ASIA IS NOT FLAT

700M+ Asians are

out of poverty

(ADB, 2012)

China = 2nd

World Largest

Economy (10%

consistent from ‘80s)

India, SKorea,

Indonesia = emerging

economies

Failed to deliver

promised decent living

standards

GLOBALIZATION?

Economic Injustice = Wide Gap between the Rich and the

Poor

Asia’s GDP Global Share =

29.2% in 2009

Joblessness=

337M jobs in 1980s vs. 176M jobs in 1990s

Rise of CASUALization

UnprotectedUnregulated


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



Inequalities in Surging

Asia

Less Trade Opportunities

in the Rural Areas

Slow integration of

Asian Countries in the Global

Eco.

Washington Consensus

Race to the Bottom

Factory Asia (growth of Informal

Economy)


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



Precarious ASIA: Sea

of Informals

and Migrants

PRECARIATS1.) Informals2.) Migrants3.) Casuals

Informals = 65% of non-agricultural

employment(93% in India )

Migrants = looking or

hired across national

boundaries (214M 2010)

Casual or Flexibilization

of work


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



LABOR REFORMS

NEO LIBERALS – free labor market; free from rigid laborregulations to create more jobs

TRADE UNIONS – decent work through fair IR based on just rulesof work engagement to protect the rights of workers

STRICTER Implementation of Labor Laws – governments (exceptSKor) have relaxed labor laws

ADB + WB: Social Protection – financial support to aid countriesmust comply with Freedom of Association, CBA, non-discrimination, elimination of child labor, non- used of forcedlabor among others


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



WHAT’S NEXT?

MAKE Trade fair, balanced and inclusive… Put PEOPLE at thecenter of economic development

DEVELOP coherent policies on economic, social, labor andenvironmental policies

STRENGTHEN Labor and IR Institutions reaching the PRECARIATS

EXTEND Social Protection to all

ENFORCE standards of Corporate Behavior (TNCs and NationalCorps.) and STOP the Race To the Bottom phenomenon


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



The “Philippines was the first country the ILO supported under the

DWPP (Decent Work Pilot Program).” The ILO- driven program was

to test the integrated approach to decent work which was also based

on the Medium- Term Philippine Development Plan for 2001- 2004.

The overall aim of DWPP would have the following key results:

1. Productive employment as the sustainable route out of poverty;

2. Promoting decent work throughout all stages of life;

3. Establishing rights at work and good governance;

4. Addressing discrimination and vulnerabilities;

5. Strengthening tripartism and social dialogue;

6. Responding to crises, disasters and conflicts.

Sources:Page 5, Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 1. ILO, Oct. 2005.

Page 29, Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 1. ILO, Oct. 2005.

Page 32, Decent Work in South- East Asia and the Pacific, ILO, Oct. 2003.


Prof. ROSA MERCADO



In 2002- 2003, the Philippines has reported “successful results in

promoting policy and institutional support in the informal economy.

The project built on good practices that were already in place and thus

took an incremental approach towards instituting policy, legal and

institutional reforms.”

“In the Philippines, the Decent Work agenda has been widely used to

express employment aspirations and policy goals.” It was during the

employment summit in March 2001 when then President Gloria

Arroyo made a deliberate declaration that employment is on top of

her development agenda, or so called the Philippine Medium Term

Development Plan 2001- 2004 that includes, “promoting full, decent

and productive employment.”

Sources:Page 5, Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 1. ILO, Oct. 2005.

Page 29, Making Decent Work an Asian Goal- 14th Asian General Meeting. Vol. 1. ILO, Oct. 2005.

Page 32, Decent Work in South- East Asia and the Pacific, ILO, Oct. 2003.

Report Dean Ofreneo- Advancing Decent Work

Economy & Finance

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