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DECENT WORK

*Dr.Shanmukha Rao Padala **Dr.N.V.S.Suryanarayana

            Decent work refers to opportunities for women and men to obtain work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. According to the ILO, decent work agenda is the balanced and integrated programmatic approach to pursue the objectives of full and productive employment and decent work for all at global, regional, national, secretarial and local levels. It has four pillars: standards and rights at work, employment creation and enterprise development, social protection and social dialogue. October 7, 2008 is set to be the World Day for Decent Work. During that day trade unions, union federations and other workers associations develop their actions to promote the idea of decent work. Actions vary from street demonstrations to music events or conferences held in many countries.

            Promoting decent and productive employment adequate income should be generated, adequate social protection should be provided and participation in the democratic process and sharing in responsibilities should be guaranteed through tripartism and social dialogue. It also means that we will strive to provide sufficient employment, where all workers could have full access to income-earning opportunities, as the constant objective of reforms. This concept marks a high road to economic and social development because it enables employment, income and social protection to be achieved without compromising workers’ rights and social standards.

            The concept of ‘decent work’ was launched in 1999, in terms of employment, social protection, workers’ rights and social dialogue, in the report of the Director-General to the International Conference meeting in its 87th session and the primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equality, security and human dignity.

            According to the International Labour Organisation, Decent work involves opportunities for work that is protective and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

Dimensions of Decent Work:

            Four components of the notion are elaborated in Report of the Director-General of the 87th Session of International Labour Conference: employment, Social Protection, workers’ rights and social dialogue. Employment here covers work of all kinds and has both quantative and qualitative dimensions. Social protection is essential component- defined according to each society’s capacity and level of development. The fundamental rights of workers like freedom of association, non-discrimination at work, and the absence of forced labour and child labour. Social dialogues, in which workers exercise their right to present their views, defend their interests and engage in discussions to negotiate work-related matters with employers and authorities.

            According to Richard Anker et.all, suggested the dimensions of decent work is: opportunities for work, work in conditions of freedom, productive work, equity in work, security at work and dignity at work. The first two dimensions of decent work- opportunities for work and freedom of choice of employment-are concerned with the availability and basic acceptability of work. The other four dimensions are concerned with the extent to which available and freely accepted work is ‘decent’.

            David Bescond et.all proposed seven indicators are slightly redefined and reset within a more concise framework. What the proposed indicators measure are in effect ‘decent work deficits’, namely low hourly pay, excessive hours of work for economic or involuntary reasons, national unemployment, children not at school, youth unemployment, the male-female gap in labour force participation, and old age without pension.

            According to Florence Bonnet et.all, three types of indicators were sought:         1. Input indicators- national and international instruments and rules to protect workers.   2. Process indicators- mechanisms or resources through which legislated principles and rules are realized. 3. Outcome indicators- showing whether or not the inputs and processes are effective in ensuring worker protection.

            Gary S. Fields describe that there is three elements are essential to the achievement of decent work objectives: the need for jobs, the honouring of core labour standards and the pursuit of further improvements in job quality, because beyond some point the achievement of one of these objectives may come at the expensive of another.

            The eleven indicators suggested for measuring decent work are: employment opportunities, unacceptable work, adequate earnings and productive work, decent hours, stability and security of work, balancing work and family life, fair treatment in employment, safe work environment, social protection, social dialogue and workplace relations and economic and social context of decent work.

Decent Work and Human Development:

            Iftikhar Ahmed examines the quantitative relationship between decent work and human development, on the one hand, and decent work and economic growth, on the other. It is estimates the relationship between decent work and human development by means of a regression analysis. From the quantitative statistical analysis of data for a balanced mix of developing, industrialized and transition countries, it is also clear that pursuit of that objective can contribute simultaneously to human development and to economic growth. The analysis makes it equally clear that high level of decent work can be achieved without high incomes and that high incomes do not guarantee high levels of decent work. Although the relative performance of a country is sensitive to the type of index used to measure decent work, several European Countries rank high irrespective of the index used- presumably because of the sound and balanced social policies they pursue.

Challenges:

            The Decent Work agenda requires national and international actors to commit to the objective of creating quality jobs globally and to pursue cooperative solutions to this challenge. However, governments struggle to convince their publics that development and job creation abroad is imperative to prosperity and employment at home. Some governments also face the temptation to close markets and lower labour standards to remain competitive in a global economy that is blamed for depressing wages and working conditions.

            Various actors can have an impact on the provision of decent work, although existing conditions and incentives do not always lend themselves to advancing the decent work agenda. To illustrate:

• National governments create decent work through economic and industrial policies. However, the forces of globalization-such as downward pressures on wages and reduced macroeconomic policy flexibility- have diminished the ability of national governments to achieve this goal on their own.
• Business create jobs from the local to international levels, and those operating across borders can affect international wages and working conditions. Multinational enterprises typically locate operations in countries where wages are at their lowest and so called ‘worker’s right’ are less prominent. This is antithetical to the decent work agenda, although it does contribute to economic development.
• Trade unions assist employees in advocating for elements of decent work, from a so-called ‘living wage’ to health insurance to workplace safety standards. Trade unions face the challenge of meeting their members’ immediate needs at home while supporting job creation and ‘workers’ rights’ around the globe.
• International financial institutions provide loans or other assistance to national governments, and require loan recipients to implement certain policy measures. Existing programs generally exclude employment targets and have even been known to have a negative impact on job creation in the short term, as jobs which exist only through government market distortions are replaced with economically viable employment.
• Trade negotiators can forward the decent work agenda globally by including labour standards in trade agreements, while legislators can support their implementation. However, many countries view the campaign for labour standards as an effort by other countries to make their own industries more competitive.

Decent Work and Decent Life Campaign:

            Five organizations, Solidar, ITUC, ETUC, Social Alert International and the Global Progressive Forum launched the Decent work, Decent life campaign at World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 and has since the worked in an alliance to promote decent work for decent life as solution to poverty. The idea to run a campaign on decent work was conceived at world social forum, 2005 in Porto Alegre. The campaign targets young people, trade union activists, NGOs and decision makers in developed and developing countries. The campaign’s objectives focus on building awareness of decent work and on promoting decent work as the only sustainable way out of poverty, democracy and social cohesion.

            The decent work, decent life for women campaign is a two years campaign launched on International Women’s Day 2008 (March, by the International Trade Union confederation (ITUC) and the Global Union Federations (GUF). The campaign aims to adequate decent work for women and gender equality in labour polices and agreements and to seek gender equality in trade union structures, polices and activities. The second objective aims at increasing number of women members in trade unions and women in elected positions. The campaign’s necessity stems from multiple forms of discrimination in both policy and practice on daily basis women are facing such as the gender pay gap, the lack of maternity protection and the higher unemployment rates among women.

Decent Work and Poverty Reduction:

            Catherine Saget is to explore the effects of changes in the minimum wage level on employment and poverty in developing countries. The underlying policy objective is to find more appropriate tools to integrate the agenda of poverty reduction and decent work. He concluded that, the study data gives strong support to the idea that the minimum wage may bring positive results in poverty alleviation by improving the living conditions of workers and their families, while having no negative effects in terms of employment. There is no evidence either of any effect of the ratio of minimum to average wages on the size of the informal economy.

About the Author

Dr. SHANMUKHA PADALA : The author is a well qualified and posses Vast teaching experience in Field of Management. He has great interest in the field of Human Resource Management and Accountancy. Now he is working as Faculty in the Department of Commerce and Management Studies, Andhra University Campus, Vizianagaram. He participated in several National and International Seminars, Workshops, Symposias,  FDP Programmes and published rich number of articles in reputed journals.       E-Mail: srpadaslaau@gmail.com and Mobile : +91 94403 23606.

2. Dr. N.V.S.SURYANARAYANA : The author is an eminent person in the field of Education. Presently he is working as Faculty in the Department of Education, Andhra University Campus, Vizianagaram. He has rich experience in the field of Teacher Education about a decade at Post Degree and PG level. He is very much fascinated to Psychology and posess much interested in Educational Psychology and Guidance & Counseling. He participated in so many National and International Seminars, Workshops, Refresher Courses, Symposia’s and published so many articles in reputed Journals. He produced a number of M.Ed and M.Phil Dissertations.He wrote so many books on recent trends in education and innovative Psychological concepts. He is having Lifetime memberships in various alleged Associations. E-Mail: suryanarayananistala@yahoo.in,  Mobile : +91 94403 48609, +91 7893136613. Res. (08922) 229339

Kimi Räikkönen in Brussels at the European Youth Forum for Road Safety (1)