Labour Administration and Sustainability of Technical Cooperation in the Perspective of the ILO-IACML Project

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Labour Administration and Sustainability of
Technical Cooperation in the Perspective of the
ILO-IACML Project
Second Meeting of WG2 of the IACML - OAS Buenos
Aires, April 12, 2005

• Project Principles and Rights at Work in the
  Context of the XIII IACML-OAS
• Leonardo Neves, Project PTC
• ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the
  Caribbean

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ILO-IACML Project

• Chronology
• PHASE 1 September/2000 March/2002
• PHASE 2 September/2002 March/2004
• PHASE 3 May/2004 November/2005
• Donor
• United States Department of Labour (USDOL)
• Location
• ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the
  Caribbean

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ILO-IACML Project (Phase 3)

• Objective
• To contribute to the comprehensive application of
  the ILOs fundamental principles and rights at
  work and the improvement of employment and social
  conditions for the people of the hemisphere,
  through support for the implementation of the
  Salvador Action Plan of the XIII IACML.

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Objective of the Project to backstop WG2

• To achieve through research, consultation and
  social dialogue horizontal cooperation
  agreements and technical cooperation projects
  that build the capacity of Ministries of Labour
  to effectively enforce labour laws and standards
  contemplated in the ILO Declaration, as well as
  in other areas of labour administration.

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Importance of Labour Administration
• Labour administration is a fundamental issue in
  regional integration processes.
• Leading role
• Ensuring enforcement of and respect for
  fundamental principles and rights at work,
  fostering integral development of individuals and
  their productive potential
• Improving labour institutions to increase
  economic security for workers and their families
• Improving the functioning of the labour market
  and understanding of the impact of integration on
  labour.

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Project activities in this area
• Labour administration assessments and support for
  the formulation of corresponding Action Plans.
• Assessments to date as part of the Project
• PHASE 2 PHASE 3
• Ecuador (October/2003) Jamaica (August/2004)
• Nicaragua (April/2003) Saint Lucia
  (August/2004)
• Paraguay (April/2003) Panama (November/2004)
• Peru (February/2003)
• Trinidad Tobago (April/2003)

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Labour Administration Assessment
• Use of methodology designed by the ILO INFOCUS
  Programme for Promotion of Social Dialogue,
  Legislation and Labour Administration.
• Assessments make no judgments about specific
  national policy or legislation, but attempt to
  analyse systems for enforcement of these policies
  and programmes, as well as administrative
  procedures.
• Includes study of Ministries of Labour and their
  dependent bodies, at both the central and
  territorial level, and other relevant national
  agencies and institutions (judiciary, training
  institutes, social security institutions, etc.).
• Relationships among social actors (governments,
  workers and employees) are evaluated.

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Labour administration functions analysed
• 1. Workplace and Labour Relations
• Labour inspection safety and health at work
  dissemination of information about labour norms
  conciliation, mediation and arbitration
• 2. Employment
• Employment and professional training operational
  bodies and programmes job-creation policies and
  programmes placement or employment offices
• 3. Relations with representatives of the
  community
• 4. Generation of information and analytical
  capacity
• 5. Human and material resources
• 6. Organisation and functioning

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Principal conclusions of the assessments
• Labour administrations suffer from severe budget
  weakness, which limits their institutional
  capacity.
• Lack of personnel, and poor working conditions
  for staff (stability, public service career,
  adequate remuneration, etc.).
• Inadequate and insufficient material conditions,
  especially in territorial units.
• Labour inspection review processes for
  supervision and oversight develop preventive
  programmes and a results-based system for
  scheduling visits computerise services and
  generate periodic reports train personnel and
  establish selection criteria for inspectors.
• Safety and health at work notable shortcomings
  in prevention and oversight of working
  conditions lack of comprehensive approach and
  institutional coordination.
• Employment Area policies reduced to providing
  workers (primary system, few resources, unknown
  to or ignored by users).

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The Project and Labour Administration

• State of the assessments
• Assessment powerful tool for evaluating needs of
  labour administrations, which should include
  follow-up and lead to the preparation of a
  corresponding Action Plan.
• Action plan important guide for adoption of
  measures leading to improvement in the quality of
  services provided and for development of
  institutional capacity, as well as for guiding
  complementary actions (horizontal or technical
  cooperation projects).
• Overall evaluation progress has been relative,
  unstable and highly dependent on direct technical
  assistance from the ILO or technical cooperation
  projects. Ministries of Labour show weaknesses in
  terms of resources and institutional capacity for
  implementing the assessments recommendations.
• Significant time lapse between presentation of
  the assessment results and follow-up action by
  the Ministries. Possible reasons ministry
  personnel turnover lack of focal point in
  ministry lack of analysis of internal needs
  lack of immediate pressure to begin reform
  process.

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Follow-up of activities
• Ecuador and Peru preparation of corresponding
  action plan. Ministries of Labour are receiving
  technical cooperation from FORSAT Project. The
  plans helped with definition of that projects
  activities.
• Nicaragua preparation of a fairly ambitious
  Modernisation Plan, with actions that go beyond
  the ILOs direct technical assistance.
• Paraguay development of a project for
  restructuring the Ministry, using the assessment
  as a basic reference.
• Trinidad Tobago preparation of post-assessment
  action plan pending.
• Jamaica and Saint Lucia assessment reports were
  recently delivered.
• Panama assessment report is in final review
  phase.

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The Project and Labour Administration

• Action Plan formulation grid

REQUIREMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS NATIONAL ACTIONS ACTIONS IN COOPERATION


Needs observed in assessment
Recommendations suggested in assessment
Implemented by National Admin. With its own
resources
Need horizontal coop., technical assistance or
international cooperation
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Horizontal Cooperation

• Technical assistance and horizontal cooperation
  can play a key role in building capacities of
  Ministries of Labour
• Represents a possible way of implementing
  activities outlined in Action Plans
• Exchange of good practices in the area of labour
  administration

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Horizontal Cooperation

• To what extent can the Project help promote
  horizontal cooperation in the inter-American
  environment?
• Implementation of important activities for
  defining concrete possibilities for horizontal
  cooperation in the region
• Preparation of a database of technical
  cooperation programmes and projects being carried
  out in the region
• Design and inclusion of specific survey on its
  Web page
• Funding for exchanges of experiences and support
  for signing of horizontal cooperation agreements
  among Ministries of Labour in the region

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Horizontal Cooperation

• Lessons learned
• Fostering exchange activities based on express
  requirements (demand) in post-assessment action
  plans is most effective for eventual signing of
  horizontal cooperation agreements.
• Labour administration assessments and their
  corresponding action plans make it possible to
  identify more precisely the demand for technical
  or horizontal cooperation.
• It is necessary to seriously address the supply
  mapping of good practices in the area of labour
  administration.
• It is not enough for a given country to have a
  good practice the country must be in a position
  to provide horizontal cooperation.

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Horizontal Cooperation

• Lessons learned
• Fostering missions for the exchange of good
  practices makes it possible to better identify
  areas, terms and effective possibilities for
  potential horizontal cooperation, by placing the
  ministers involved in direct contact and
  establishing the necessary institutional
  relations.
• The systematic documentation of these activities
  and their follow-up is crucial for encouraging
  the signing of horizontal cooperation agreements.
• A structured mechanism for coordination and
  follow-up is necessary for properly identifying
  exchange activities, organising and carrying out
  missions, and subsequent systematic documentation
  and follow-up leading to the signing of a
  horizontal cooperation agreement.

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Recommendations

• Activities to be implemented within sphere of
  IACML
• Continue carrying out new assessments that lead
  to attainable action plans (political priority,
  usefulness and applications).
• Establish an effective mechanism that encourages
  horizontal cooperation (mapping of cooperation
  supply and demand).
• Encourage exchange missions to promote the
  signing of horizontal cooperation agreements
  among interested Ministries of Labour.
• Periodically evaluate the results achieved,
  providing feedback to the cooperation mechanism.
• Promote the publicising of the mechanism and
  dissemination of the results.

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For more information about the Project

• http//www.oit.org.pe/cimt
• Project Staff
• Leonardo Neves
• Principal Technical Coordinator
• neves_at_oit.org.pe
• Silvia Muelle
• Administrative Assistant
• muelle_at_oit.org.pe