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. 2020 May 12;17(10):3351.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103351.

Decent Work, ILO's Response to the Globalization of Working Life: Basic Concepts and Global Implementation with Special Reference to Occupational Health

Jorma Rantanen  1 , Franklin Muchiri  2 , Suvi Lehtinen  3
Affiliations

Decent Work, ILO's Response to the Globalization of Working Life: Basic Concepts and Global Implementation with Special Reference to Occupational Health

Jorma Rantanen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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.

Keywords: Decent Work; ILO; SDGs; globalization; occupational health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The ILO definition of decent work is collected from ILO key document to BOX [5].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Country programming process Modified from [14].
Figure 3
Figure 3
ILO results-based programming cycle. Modified from [14].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Overall assessment of DWCPs in the Caribbean. Source: [66].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Overall assessment of DWCPs in the Lower Mekong countries. Source: [67].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Overall performance assessment of DWCPs in the Western Balkans. Source: [68].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Overall performance assessment of DWCPs in the Four SADC Member Countries. Source: [69].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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