EPWP

31 October 2013

Vic van Vuuren

ILO 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

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 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

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

IntroductionPolicy

NEDLACConstituencies buy-inGovernment driven

Coordination Project management

LMISRole of the ILO

ILO

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

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

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 Gender

Human rightsDevelopment pre-requisite

HealthLack of benefitsVulnerability 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

ILO

Environment of EIIP Short to medium term No accreditation Lack of skills enhancement

Two biggest underperformers EIIP Coops

ILO

CreativityLotteryPPPYouth/school leavers

Thank you