insights

Policy Briefing
ISSUE 13 JULY 2009

Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work in the National Agenda: The Philippine Case
Mainstreaming is a worthy objective especially if the subject to be mainstreamed is as vital as employment and decent work.
Mainstreaming employment and decent work is the systematic consideration of the particular effects of all policies at the point of planning, implementation and evaluation on employment and decent work. The goal is for Filipinos to attain full employment and mainstreaming process aims to achieve such goal. Mainstreaming employment and decent work benefits the workforce as it may reduce absenteesims and lower staff turnover and introduce more flexible working practices to avoid discrimination against women with family responsibilities. It is also a way for labor groups to move from being on the agenda to setting the agenda. During development planning processes in all phases of mainstreaming, it must be ensured that two essential questions are continuously asked and addressed: First, will the policy, strategy, program or activity support job creation? Second, will the policy, strategy, program or activity ensure that the jobs created will be quality jobs? Decent Work as Integrating Framework Decent work refers to opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Its four pillars are as follows: Respect for fundamental rights at work. The first pillar demands that all those who work have rights at work. It calls for the improvement of the conditions of labor, whether organized or not, and whether work might occur, whether in the formal or informal economy, whether at home, in the community or in the voluntary sector (ILO, 1999). ______________________ This Policy Brief is written by Cynthia R. Cruz Executive Director of the Institute for Labor Studies. ISSUE 13 Mainstreaming Employment & Decent Work

POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS
* Mainstreaming should bring the consideration of employment and decent work issues right into the core of all policy work policy development, research, advocacy, social dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, planning, program implementation and monitoring so that they are central to all activities. * Mainstreaming employment and decent work to be effective needs political will and requires high level commitment, enabling policy environment, broad-based support and close involvement of communities of interest. * Mainstreaming needs to be backed up by effective performance indicators, monitoring and review. If allowed to lose impetus it could degenerate into tokenism, where public commitment is given but little is actually done. * The Decent Work Accountability Framework translating the Common Agenda into concrete actions should be operationalized to ensure that the principles of decent work are achieved.

INSTITUTE FOR LABOR STUDIES Creating employment opportunities for all. An enabling environment for enterprise development lies at the heart of this second pillar. (ILO, 1999). Social protection. The third pillar calls for protection against vulnerability and contingency. It lays down the responsibility to address the vulnerabilities and contingencies that take people out of work, whether these arise from unemployment, loss of livelihood, sickness or old age (ILO, 1999). Social dialogue. Social dialogue is a means of ensuring conflict resolution, social equity and effective policy implementation. It is the means by which rights are defended, employment promoted and work secured. It is a source of stability at all levels, from the enterprise to society at large (ILO, 1999). Along these four pillars are the six dimensions of decent work: opportunities for work, freedom of choice of employment, productive work, equity in work, security at work, and representation at work. The first two conceptual dimensions relate to the availability of work and the acceptable scope of work while the other four dimensions relate to the quality of work or the extent to which the work is decent. The Philippine Labor Index: Measuring Decent Work The Philippine Labor Index (PLI) is a summary measure that monitors the progress made toward achieving the labor and employment goals of the country. Expressed in index points, the PLI is similar to the Human Development Index (HDI) where the perfect score is 100. A high value of the index or the closer it gets to 100 would indicate progress while a low value or the further away it is from 100 would point to a deficit in the labor and employment situation. The PLI Framework is patterned after the ILO Decent Work Framework. Hence, it encompasses the quantitative and qualitative attributes of decent work and serves as a guidepost for policymakers and labor administrators on the progress made towards its promotion. It also provides a more balanced and objective assessment of the collective efforts and achievements made toward attaining the countrys employment goals. The indicators are categorized under each decent work dimension: Core Indicators, which shall comprise the index, and Non-Core Indicators, which shall be the explanatory variables to support or validate and to sharpen the analysis of the core indicators. The PLI results indicate that there is a need for more ISSUE 13 Mainstreaming Employment & Decent Work

sustainable measures in promoting and enhancing decent work in the country. An immediate revisiting and rethinking of measures in decent work, thus, become more urgent in formulating the third cycle of the Philippine National Plan of Action for Decent Work. The Philippine Decent Work Common Agenda 20082010 Clearly, there is a need for more sustainable measures in promoting and enhancing decent work in the country. The Philippine Decent Work Common Agenda 2008-2010 aptly themed Narrowing Decent Work Deficits provides these measures. It embodies the tripartite and other stakeholders aspiration of addressing and reducing decent work gaps to enhance workforce productivity and competitiveness and achieve equity at work. The tripartite partners are focused on workforce productivity and competitiveness in recognition of the fact that human resource remains and continues to be the countrys strength and competitive advantage. Decent work plays a critical role in sustaining this strength because decent work leads to greater productivity, which if provided with support at the firm and national level can lead to competitiveness. The Common Agenda revolves around three strategic priorities: Formal Sector Workers; Informal Sector Workers; and Migrant Workers. The basis for the selection derives from cognizance of gaping decent work deficits in these sectors, which are deemed most vulnerable. In developing the Common Agenda, the tripartite partners were guided by the following principles: decisions are based on tripartite consensus; participatory processes are observed for the whole program cycle; and outcomes are results-based and impact-oriented and with clear accountabilities.

Bridging research and policy

INSTITUTE FOR LABOR STUDIES 5/F DOLE Bldg., Gen. Luna St. Intramuros, Manila Phone: 632-5273490 Fax: 632-5273448 Email: advocacy@ilsdole.gov.ph Website: www.ilsdole.gov.ph