Transcript University of Pretoria

EPWP
31 October 2013
Vic van Vuuren
ILO
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ILO Started 1919
First specialised unit of the UN in 1946
Only tripartite UN agency
 Role
of the trade unions at international and
regional level

Dual role of ILO
 International
Standards through Conventions and
Recommendations
 Development
ILO
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Around the world more than 1 billion people lack access to roads with nearly
1 billion without access to an all-weather road, 884 million do not have safe
drinking water, 1.6 billion have no reliable sources of energy, 2.4 billion lack
sanitation facilities and 4 billion are without modern communication
services. Infrastructure is the biggest share of public investments and has in
recent years become a growing part of development agencies’ portfolio.
Such infrastructure investments have the potential to alleviate the poverty of
many through the jobs they create. Unfortunately, this potential is often not
realized, as many projects are equipment-intensive and frequently rely on
foreign contractors. Studies have shown that making greater use of local
labour and resources is usually 20% less costly and save as much as 50%
of foreign currency requirements, in addition to creating three to five times
more jobs. And there is a multiplier effect of indirect benefits of 1.6 to 2.0
more jobs.
ILO
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In addition with the financial and economic crisis there is
even a stronger call for this kind of intervention; it has
increasingly been recognized that more needs to be
done – the challenge is now to grab this great
opportunity and help constituents realize the
employment potential therein and thereby an inclusive
social and economic development.
ILO
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Thirty years of experience in over seventy countries, linking employment
with infrastructure development, has endowed the Employment Intensive
Investment Programme (EIIP) with a unique and vast portfolio of both
productive employment creation for economic development and social
safety nets, as well as environmental measures for natural resources
restoration and management. The EIIP provides advice and tools facilitating
policy making and standard setting in favour of employment generation,
developing entrepreneurship and skills, and creating social dialogue and
protection through infrastructure works. This is carried out in both urban and
rural areas, during times of crisis and also as part of a longer-term strategy
of local development, creating sustainable institutional and economic
environments. The employment potential of infrastructure investments is
vast but, as many projects traditionally have been equipment-intensive, the
potential is often not realized.
ILO
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Introduction
 Policy
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NEDLAC
 Constituencies
buy-in
 Government driven
Coordination
 Project management
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 LMIS
 Role
of the ILO
ILO
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The EIIP promotes the orientation of infrastructure investments
towards the creation of higher levels of productive employment and
improved access to basic goods and services for the poor - in rural
and urban areas; as part of reconstruction and recovery in times of
crisis seeking to bridge immediate crisis recovery to long-term
development work; as well as contributing to longer-term national
employment policies, in the following ways:
ILO
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At macro level by providing advice to requesting governments in the design
and assessments of employment impact of infrastructure investments and
on active labour market and employment policies. At national level it works
on the creation of an enabling environment, through awareness raising, the
promotion of appropriate policies and legislation, and capacity building.
At meso level, the Programme works on institutional development and
capacity building; and with the private sector and civil society, to guarantee
the successful implementation of employment-intensive infrastructure
programmes.
At micro level, the Programme works at the municipal or community level
through active local-level planning and community contracting to create a
maximum number of productive jobs using labour-based technologies. At
community level the EIIP works on improving the communities’ capacities
for organization and negotiation to execute projects under Decent Working
conditions.
ILO Research
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Appropriateness of labour-based methods has been proved beyond
any doubt and endorsed in many programmes.
All stake holders in the rural development sector confirm that the
efficiency of rural infrastructure service delivery can be considerably
improved through participation of private sector small scale
contractors.
Major constraints faced by the contractors were;
 delays in settlement of their payment certificates by the Clients;
 unprecedented increase in the price of construction materials;
 high interest rates;
 need for further training;
 corruption and poor quality of supervision.
ILO
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Gender
 Human
rights
 Development pre-requisite
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Health
 Lack
of benefits
 Vulnerability
 Increased social interaction
ILO
 Audit
Assessments carried out to align with needs
 Coordination between government departments
 Availability of project management skills
 Alignment of skills towards a non-convetional
delivery approach
 Entrance to programmes by women and youth
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ILO
 Environment
of EIIP
Short to medium term
 No accreditation
 Lack of skills enhancement
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Two biggest underperformers
EIIP
 Coops
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ILO
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Creativity
 Lottery
 PPP
 Youth/school
leavers
Thank you