Abstract
Twenty years ago, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a new strategy, the Decent Work Agenda, to ensure human-oriented development in the globalization of working life and to provide an effective response to the challenges of globalization. We searched for and analysed the origin of the Decent Work concept and identified the key principles in ILO policy documents, survey reports, and relevant United Nations’ (UN) documents. We also analysed the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) and examined the available external evaluation reports. Finally, we examined the objectives of the ILO Decent Work Agenda and the Decent Work targets in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in view of occupational health. In two thirds of the ILO’s Member States, the Decent Work Agenda has been successfully introduced and so far fully or partly implemented in their DWCPs. The sustainability of the Decent Work approach was ensured through the UN 2030 Agenda, the ILO Global Commission Report on the Future of Work, and the ILO Centenary Declaration. However, objectives in line with the ILO Convention No. 161 on Occupational Health Services were not found in the DWCPs. Although successful in numerous aspects in terms of the achievement of the Decent Work objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Decent Work Agenda and the Decent Work Country Programmes need further development and inclusion of the necessary strategies, objectives, and actions for occupational health services, particularly in view of the high burden of work-related diseases and, for example, the present global pandemic. In many countries, national capabilities for participation and implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes need strengthening.
Highlights
A total of 3.5 billion people—63% of the world’s population—belong to the global workforce.They spend more than one third of their adult life at work and produce a total world gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 88 trillion [1], maintaining the social fabric and providing the material basis for living for nations, communities, families, and individuals
The Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) were intended to be well coordinated at the national level with other International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations’ (UN) programmes on the development of working life, in order to make as effective use of scarce resources as possible
Four of the Lower Mekong sub-region countries were subjected to external high-level DWCP evaluation
Summary
A total of 3.5 billion people—63% of the world’s population—belong to the global workforce. They spend more than one third of their adult life at work and produce a total world gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 88 trillion [1], maintaining the social fabric and providing the material basis for living for nations, communities, families, and individuals. In spite of revolutionary technological development, the globalization of economies, digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotization, human work continues to be the key factor behind the material and social well-being of all countries. The health and safety of workers and their work ability, competence, skill, and labour participation are the key factors of the socioeconomic development and sustainability of every country.
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