ILO

MSMEs in the Informal Sector: Formalization Ensure Sustainable Finance and Decent Jobs?

About 2 billion workers, or over 60 percent of the world’s adult labor force, operate in the informal  sector –at least part-time, according to the ILO. The COVID-19 pandemic hit informal workers  particularly hard, especially women. Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), both formal and  informal, make up over 90% of all firms around the globe and offer employment to one-third of 1.2  billion people in the world who work in the informal sector. They generate services for other sectors  like small and large industries, retail, tourism, transportation, construction, etc., and contribute to over  30% of GDP and more than 70% of all jobs created in developing countries. MSMEs were heavily  impacted by the pandemic and continue to face existential challenges on various fronts including but  not limited to business formalization.

MSMEs, both formal and informal, make up over 90% of all firms around the globe1 and contribute to more than half of the GDP in most countries irrespective of income2. As many countries struggle to cope with the growing debt burdens and limited fiscal space to finance the SDGs, the important role of MSMEs as catalytic forces for achieving the SDGs cannot be stressed enough. Despite formalization gathering pace, MSMEs and those in the informal sector also continue to struggle to access formal finance. Without the appropriate regulatory reforms, social protection measures, access to formal finance, and capacity building in tools such as financial literacy and numeracy tools to help manage finances effectively, inclusive growth and a decent work environment for those in the sector will remain a challenge. As part of the Development Cooperation Strategy 2020-25, the ILO is forging partnerships that advance policy objectives and coherence within the framework of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) that promote Financing Decent Work. In this panel, the speakers will share global and on-the-ground perspectives and explore steps countries are taking through regulatory reforms, access to finance, and capacity building to ensure sustainable finance and decent work for MSMEs in the informal sector.

Register here!

Speakers:  

  • H.E. Mr. Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the  UN (TBC) 
  • Ms. Chantal Line Carpentier, Chief, UNCTAD New York Office of the Secretary-General
  • Ms. Adriana Marina, Founder of Hecho por Nosotros & animaná, Argentina
  • Mr. Amar G. Prabhu, Principal of Don Bosco Industrial Training Institute Kurla, Mumbai, India
  • Ms. Sandie Ejang Elobu, CEO, Western Silk Road, Ltd., Uganda 
  • Ms. Nana Efua Brown-Orleans, Program Lead, Duapa Workspace, Ghana 
  • Ms. Estella Kabagaya Eldradaa, Founder, Mama Children Village, Uganda

Organizers: NGO Committee on Financing for Development, Virginia  Gildersleeve International Fund (DBA Women First International Fund), Salesian Missions Inc, Africa  Development Interchange Network, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sisters of Charity Federation

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

Creating an Enabling, Gender-Responsive Work Environment for the Future: The Role of ILO Convention 190 in Addressing Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

About: To achieve a job-rich recovery and just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy, the UN Secretary-General is calling for a Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection that would create at least 400 million jobs and extend social protection to 4 billion women, men, and children currently without coverage. (Link to the Global Accelerator web page). A robust recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic requires an emphasis on climate-friendly, technology-focused green jobs (SDGs 9, 14.15), including in the informal sector and migrant communities.

A green, inclusive, and gender-equitable work environment that is decent, safe, and free from violence and harassment (v&h) will enhance the resilience of communities, in the face of economic and environmental challenges. ILO C-190 commits governments and employers to implement measures to protect all workers from v&h. Therefore, legislative and policy frameworks that incorporate ILO C 190, as well as strategies to promote lifelong learning opportunities (SDG 4), including awareness-raising on the prevalence of v&h in the world of work and measures to combat it, must be integral to this process. Hence the vital need for multi-stakeholder dialogue on this important dimension of “building back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic and advancing implementation of the SDGs.

Register here!

Objectives: This side event will focus on ways to create an enabling, gender-responsive, safe work environment for the future, by incorporating into its framework the International Labour Organisation Convention 190 (ILO C 190, 2019) addressing violence and harassment (v&h), in the world of work (Link: Status of Ratification).

In the spirit of SDG 17, it will bring together multi-stakeholder partners: governments, the private sector, trade unions, and NGOs with the aim of exploring strategies to promote universal ratification and effective implementation of ILO C 190, as part of a broader push that goes beyond job creation to the provision of safe, violence-free environments with decent jobs for all (SDG 5, SDG 8). This side event aims to build on the conclusions of the Multi-stakeholder Interactive Dialogue and strategy session of 8 September 2021 on promoting ILO C 190, organized by The NGO Coalition to End Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.

Speakers:

  • H.E. Ms. Mathu Joyini, Ambassador Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Carlos Amorín, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the United Nations (TBC)
  • Ms. Chidi King, Chief, Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Branch (GEDI), ILO
  • Ms. Maria Paz Anzorreguy, Director for ILO Coordination, International Organization of Employers
  • Ms. Rukmini V P, President, Garment Labour Union, Bengaluru, India
  • A representative from the trade union sector speaking about their efforts to support countries with the ratification process and recommendations for areas and regions where collective advocacy efforts are needed (TBC)
  • A representative from the private sector speaking about the policy measures they have taken to ensure a work environment free of violence and harassment and the importance of ratification of ILO C-190 to ensure such an environment.
  • Youth voice (TBC)

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship at the United Nations, please visit  ngocsw.org. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, please visit ngocstip.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit  ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Financing for Universal and Crisis-Responsive Social Protection and Decent Work: Proposals of 2021 UN Inter-Agency Working Group

Join the NGO Committee on Financing for Development on Tuesday, April 26, from 8 – 9:30am EST for an official side event of the 2022 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum on Financing for Universal and Crisis-Responsive Social Protection and Decent Work: Proposals of 2021 UN Inter-Agency Working Group

Speakers:

  • H.E. Mr. Phillippe Kridelka, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations
  • Mr. Helmut Schwarzner, Senior Social Security Specialist for the Americas, Social Protection Department, ILO Geneva
  • Mr. David Stewart, Chief of Child Strategy and Social Protection, UNICEF
  • Dr. Santosh Mehrotra, Research Fellow, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany
  • Ms. Tikhala Itaye, Director, Global Movement Building, Women in Global Health

Moderator: Dr. Barry Herman, Member Advisory Board, Social Justice in Global Development

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsfuqqrjwiHtLVutntuRo0xgsa9K_vEKxP

Co-sponsors: Vivat International, Women First International Fund, Salesian Missions, International Labour Organization, World Vision, Social Justice in Global Development

Background: Social protection refers to assuring a basic income floor and access to basic healthcare throughout the life cycle. It should be provided universally to all people in need, but that is far from current practice. While decent jobs, including self-employment, are mainly in the private economy, meeting the qualifications for most jobs usually requires education and good health, which are primarily public service functions. Thus, programs to promote social protection and decent jobs entail adequate, effective, and fair national systems of taxation, complemented by international assistance, often in the form of technical assistance but also sometimes in aid-financed budget support, as for low-income countries.

The experience of the pandemic laid bare inadequate systems to deliver cash transfers to compensate for the economic costs of the crisis and inadequate public health systems to deliver vaccines, tests, and protective equipment, along with the very limited capacity, especially in developing countries, to maintain employment during the crisis-induced economic contraction. The pandemic experience requires us to think about preparing better “shock responsive” social protection and health systems and stronger counter-cyclical policies. Preparation, in turn, requires consideration of ways to mobilize the necessary domestic and international financial resources on an ongoing basis and with the capacity to meet the higher expenditure needs at times of crisis.

While the inter-agency report concluded with 21 separate proposals, speakers in the side event will be asked to discuss one or more of the proposals. There is no expectation that all 21 proposals would be covered, nor is that necessary. What is necessary is to bring the attention of the FfD Follow-up Forum for consideration by policymakers the work of the 16 cooperating agencies in the task force and the civil society, labor, employer, and youth stakeholders that were consulted in preparing the report.

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations.

Understanding Public Attitudes towards Migrants Beyond Polarization

Dear GMPA network,

To mark the 2021 International Migrants Day, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) – in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European University Institute (EUI) are glad to invite you to participate to the event Understanding Public Attitudes towards Migrants Beyond Polarization, taking place on Friday 17 December from 14:30 to 17:30.

By discussing the challenges related to an increasing polarized debate about migration and migrants, the event will offer the opportunity to illustrate the E-MINDFUL project that OCEEA, ILO and EUI are implementing jointly. Concept Note and draft programme herewith enclosed for further information.

Addressed to delegations of the OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, the ILO’s constituents, key stakeholders, experts, civil society representatives and academia, the event will be organized in blended format, combining online participation via VTC Zoom with limited in-person access to the OSCE Hofburg premises in Heldenplatz, Vienna, Neuer Saal.

The working language will be English. 

Kindly register by sending an email to Magda Jugheli: Magda.Jugheli@osce.org before Wednesday 15 December. When registering, participants are requested to indicate if they will participate at the Hofburg in Vienna, or virtually via zoom.

Looking forward to your participation.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Changing narratives about unpaid care work and the economy

The pandemic has shown the critical importance of Care. It also exposed the challenges that women, particularly mothers, face in juggling paid work and unpaid Care responsibilities. At the heart of the problem is our current economic system, which considers unpaid care work – and nature – as endless and free commodities.
The Covid-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity to repurpose our economy, so that it serves the wellbeing of people and our planet. Bringing about such systemic change begins by changing narratives and perspectives on both unpaid care work and the economy.
Programme and list of speakers
Introductions:
  • Anne-Claire de Liedekerke, President, Make Mothers Matter
  • Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Moderator: Susan Himmelweit, Feminist economist, Emeritus professor of economics for the Open University in the UK, member of the UK Women’s Budget Group Commission for a Gender Equal Economy
Presentations:
  • Gary Barker, Founder and CEO, Promundo Global
  • Sonia Malaspina, Human Resources Director, Danone SN Italy
  • Anam Parvez, Research Lead in Evidence and Strategic Learning, Oxfam Great Britain
  • Shahra Razavi, Director, ILO Social Protection Department
Q&A

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

National Dialogue on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work in Nepal

As part of Global Action Week to promote the ratification of the Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment, and on the occasion of two-year anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention 190 (C190) on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, a National Dialogue on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work in Nepal will be organized on 25 June 2021.

At the event, key findings from a study on violence and harassment in the world of work in the health sector in Nepal will be presented, followed by experience sharing from the key stakeholders in the health sector which has been overburdened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will also feature key speakers working to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work to share their efforts around raising awareness on C190 and for its ratification in Nepal.

The event will elicit a call for a renewed commitment and ambitious actions to accelerating progress to prevent, address and end violence and harassment in the world of work for all.

Watch live here: youtube.com/watch?v=ACWzBbnT1qg&ab_channel=InternationalLabourOrganization

Learn more here: ilo.org/global/lang–en/index.htm

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit  ngosocdev.org.

From commitment to reality: Building forward a world of work free from violence and harassment

The ILO is pleased to invite you to join the launching event of the ‘ILO Action Week on Convention No. 190’. This high-level dialogue will mark the momentous entering into force of Convention No. 190 and elicit a call for a renewed commitment and ambitious actions to accelerating progress to prevent, address and end violence and harassment in the world of work for all.

Register here: ilo-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2SXaXNDGSleGIKsMCB7bZQ

Speakers:

  • Mr. Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
  • Ms. Gisèle Ranampy, Minister of Labour, Employment, Public Services and Social Legislation, Madagascar
  • Mr. Claudio Moroni, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Argentina
  • Mr. Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)
  • Ms. Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
  • Ms. Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, European Commission
  • Ms. Susan Kihika, Senator in the Kenyan Parliament and Member of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Live Captioning, International Sign, EN, FR, ES Interpretation available.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. 

Investments in social protection and their impacts on economic growth

The International Trade Union Confederation, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Development Pathways invite you to the webinar: “The Economic Benefits of Social Protection” with key findings from the new report.

Pre-register here: https://ituc-csi-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqc-yhqj8jG9ROvibSsRNfLvEAulZYJe9f

Opening remarks by Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
Presentation by Diloa Bailey-Athias, Economist at Development Pathways

Reactions:

  • Juan Carlos Durán Castro, Secretary of Social Security, Costa Rican Confederation of Workers (CTRN)
  • Reema Nanavaty, Head of Economic and Rural Development Activities, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India
  • Kwabena Ootoo, Director of Research, Ghana Trades Union Congress
  • Shahra Razavi, Director of Social Protection, International Labour Organisation

Followed by open discussion

Closing statement by Hajo Lanz, Director of the Fredrich Ebert Stiftung’s Geneva Office
Moderation by Evelyn Astor, Economic and Social Policy Advisor at the ITUC

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

109th Session of the International Labour Conference

109th Session of the International Labour Conference

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Office has organized extensive tripartite consultations with a view to enabling the Governing Body to finalize, at its 341st Session (15-27 March 2021), the exact format, dates, agenda, programme and participation modalities for the 109th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2021. The Office will inform in due course member States and invited observers of the decisions made in this regard by the Governing Body.

To stay apprised on information about participation, to view pertinent reports, and to view past International Labour Conferences, check ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/109/lang–en/index.htm.

Agenda – Standing items

I.  Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director-General

A. ILO programme implementation 2018–19

B. Report of the Director-General

Appendix: The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories 2020  and 2021

C. Reports of the Chairpersons of the Governing Body for the periods 2019–20 and 2020–21

II. Programme and Budget and other questions

III. Information and reports on the application of Conventions and Recommendations

A. Application of International Labour Standards 2020. Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations 

B. Promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape – 2020 General Survey published by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) 

Items placed on the agenda by the Conference or the Governing Body

IV. Inequalities and the world of work (general discussion)

V. A recurrent discussion on the strategic objective of social protection (social security), under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on social Justice for a Fair Globalization

VI. Skills and lifelong learning (general discussion)

VII. Abrogation and withdrawal of international labour Conventions and Recommendations *

A. Abrogation of eight international labour Conventions and withdrawal of nine international labour Conventions and 11 international labour Recommendations

B. Withdrawal of one international labour Convention

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. 

Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond {ILO Consultation with Civil Society Organizations}

Financing for development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond 

Cluster 2: socio-economic response: social protection, gender, youth, health, education, and  human rights 

Consultation with Stakeholders 

11 March 2021 

8:00-10:15am 

Consultation with Civil Society Organizations held under the auspices of the International Labour  Organization in its role as the Lead on Cluster 2: Socio-economic response: social protection,  gender, youth, health, education, and human rights, Financing for development in the era of COVID 19 and beyond. 

Lead Organizer: NGO Committee on Financing for Development, a substantive committee of the  Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations 

Partner Organizer: Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) 

Registration L

ink: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1G 

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CoNGO Notes: For more information about the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, see www.ngosonffd.org. For information about the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development Vienna, see www.ngocsdvienna.org.

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