MEASURING DECENT WORK USING STATISTICAL INDICATORS

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MEASURING DECENT WORK USING STATISTICAL INDICATORS

• Richard Anker
• ILO Senior Advisor
• Strategy on Labour Statistics

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OUTLINE SLIDE

• Background on Advisory Group on Statistics (AGS)
• Why statistical indicators to measure decent work
• What is decent work and possible organising
  frameworks for decent work statistical
  indicators
• Specific indicators of decent work Some
  possibilities
• Some technical issues needing discussion and
  thought for identifying decent work indicators
• Integrating Office work on measuring decent work
  How to go about it

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BACKGROUND ON ADVISORY GROUP ON STATISTICS (AGS)

• AGS report Office-wide strategy and
  recommendations on statistics (available for
  dissemination)
• Publication ILO multi-country databases
  (available for dissemination)
• Follow up
• Need for integration across Office and Office
  working together (HQ Field STAT and Sectors)
• Need for further development of statistics in
  Office (quality, coverage, dissemination,
  usability etc.)
• Some specific newer needs (e.g. acceptable world
  estimates comparable data series state-of-world
  reports improved data collection measuring
  decent work)

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WHY STATISTICAL INDICATORS TO MEASURE DECENT WORK

• To measure decent work objectively
• To monitor and evaluate situation progress on
  decent work
• To communicate with constituents and public
• To provide framework for organising and focussing
  ILO work
• To provide framework for technical advice

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NEED FOR STATISTICAL INDICATORS OF DECENT WORK

• One important area in which we clearly need to
  invest is our information systems. In order to
  effectively promote the goal of decent work for
  all, the Office must be able to measure and
  monitor progress and deficits, and to respond to
  the demands of constituents and the general
  public for information about these issues. We
  have to have up-to-date and readily usable
  information on all aspects of decent work which
  can support diagnosis, evaluation and policy
  design.
•  
• We need to make a major investment in the design
  and implementation of our data and statistical
  base. We have defined our four strategic
  objectives and we now need to measure our
  progress. (Director General, ILC, 2001)

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WHAT IS DECENT WORK AND POSSIBLE ORGANISING
FRAMEWORKS FOR DECENT WORK STATISTICAL INDICATORS

• Many possible frameworks and examples
• Four ILO pillars are best for ILO
• AGS list
• Other ILO lists (e.g. AGS DW/PP KILM SES/IFP
  LABORSTA Multi-country databases)
• Other non-ILO lists (e.g. EU)
• Considerable further work and thought required to
  establish Decent Work indicator lists
• NOTE SERIES OF LISTS ARE INCLUDED AT THE END OF
  THESE NOTES

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• There are four main dimensions of decent
  work (i) work and employment itself (ii)
  rights at work (iii) security and (v)
  representation and dialogue.
• There are questions of both quanitity and
  quality for employment. It is not enough to
  have work we also have to take into account the
  content of this work The employment goal is best
  expressed as adequate opportunities for
  productive and meaningful work in decent
  conditions.
• Basic rights at work have been expressed in the
  ILOs core labour standards Security is a
  powerful need. Work can be insecure because it
  is irregular or temporary, or income varies, or
  it is physically risky
• Representation and dialogue is the way in which
  peoples voices can be heard at work. It is
  through social dialogue that widespread support
  fro the other three dimensions of decent work may
  be built (Gerry Rodgers, 2001)

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SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES NEEDING DISCUSSION AND
THOUGHT FOR IDENTIFYING DECENT WORK INDICATORS

• Discussion less necessary (more like statements)
• Need for international comparable data series (at
  present, much more data available for Employment
  issues among four Sectors)
• Need for restricted core list of DW indicators
  for international comparability
• Need for longer lists of DW indicators for
  national exercises
• Data availability vs. desirability/relevance
  (different choices for internationally comparable
  data series and national excercises)
• Need for absolute measures and relative measures
  (e.g. low pay poverty working poor)

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• Discussion important
• Need for qualitative indicators (e.g. rights
  perceptions laws) and quantitative indicators
  for labour market outcomes (e.g. employment
  wages)
• Need to measure at macro (international/national/r
  egional), meso (enterprise), and micro
  (individual/household) levels
• Conceptual relevance differences by level
• Limitations and advantages of data sources from
  each aggregation level
• Possibility of collecting new data vs. only using
  available data

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Some examples of national level and individual
level indicators for similar phenomenon
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(No Transcript)
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Examples of results from perception questions
from Peoples Security Surveys of IFP/SES
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• Discussion necessary
• Aggregation into one number vs. reporting
  separate aspects only
• National Decent Work Index (DWI) vs. only aspects
  of decent work
• Type of job/work vs. only elements of job/work
• Universality vs. vary by development level or
  region (e.g. allowing relative importance/weights
  to differ by region/development level)

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Example from EU of aggregating aspects of jobs
into an aggregate composite job type
 
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INTEGRATING OFFICE WORK ON MEASURING DECENT WORK
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT?

• Need for Office-wide effort and co-operation
• Data users and producers working together
• Field and HQ working together for collection
• Sectors and field discussions to identify
  specific indicators
• DCOMM and improving communications and headline
  world estimates
• Need for senior management to monitor activities
  and ensure Office-wide integration
• Need for national DW exercises
• Need for international comparable data series

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• Philippe Egger and Werner Sengenberger, Decent
  Work Issues and Policies, January 2001
• Access to employment (voluntarily)
• Fair and equal treatment in employment (no
  discrimination or harassment)
• Decent remuneration of work (and living wage)
• Fair conditions of work (intensity and overwork
  and hours)
• Safe work environment (and conditions)
• Protection in case of unemployment
• Social protection and employment (work-related
  problems and old age)
• Employment and training opportunities (to develop
  skills)
• Participation (in decisions affecting one
  directly) and motivation
• Voice and collective participation
• Possibility to voice complaints and grievances
• Workers groups

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AGS LIST OF TOPIC AREAS

• Labour utilisation and employment
• Labour under-utilisation and labour stock
• Social dialogue and worker representation
• Quality and security of work
• Core labour standards and fundamental rights at
  work
• Worker protection and vulnerability
• Wages and income
• Labour costs and labour productivity
• Poverty and inequality

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SPECIFIC INDICATORS OF DECENT WORKSOME
POSSIBILITIES (AGS REPORT)
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QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT (EUROPEAN COMMISSION)

• Intrinsic job quality
• Skills and life-long earning
• Gender equality
• Health and safety at work
• Flexibility and security
• Inclusion and access to the labour market
• Work organisation and work-life balance
• Social dialogue and worker participation
• Diversity and non discrimination
• Overall work performance

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KILM VARIABLES

• LABOUR FORCE ACTIVITY AND INACTIVITY
• Labour force participation rate
• Inactivity rate for persons 25-54
• EMPLOYMENT
• Employment to population ratio
• Employment status
• Employment by sector
• Part-time employment
• Hours of work
• Urban information sector employment

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• UNEMPLOYMENT
• Unemployment, total
• Youth unemployment rate
• Long-term unemployment rate
• Unemployment by educational attainment
• Underemployment (time-related)
• EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND ILLITERACY
• WAGE AND LABOUR COSTS AND PRODUCTIVITY
• Real manufacturing wage indices
• Hourly compensation costs
• Labour productivity
• Unit labour costs
• POVERTY AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION

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MULTI-COUNTRY STATISTICAL DATABASESIN STAT

• Employment and unemployment
• ILO Umbrella database on labour statistics
  (LABORSTA)
• ILO Comparable employment and unemployment
  estimates
• Informal sector employment
• Employment and unemployment
• (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly)
• Economically active population
• Employment and unemployment
• Sex segregation of occupations
• Public sector employment
• Economically active population 1950-2010

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• Wages
• Wages
• Minimum wages
• Hours of work and wages
• (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly)
• Wages and hours of work
• Prices
• Food prices (October Inquiry)
• Consumer prices (annual)
• Consumer prices (monthly)
• Other
• Trade union membership
• Occupational injuries
• Strikes and lockouts
• Hours of work
• Labour cost in manufacturing
• Household income and expenditure statistics