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Watch the interview of the government national focal point for the promotion of the MNE Declaration in Côte d’Ivoire.

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Watch the interview of the government national focal point for the promotion of the MNE Declaration in Côte d’Ivoire.

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Click here if you want to learn more about the contribution of MNEs to formalization.

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Interview Director General for Employment, Ministry of Employment, Social Protection, Côte d'Ivoire

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Watch this video with testimonials from national focal points:

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Watch this video with testimonials from national focal points:

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Voices from national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration

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2021: Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar and Mozambique

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Introduction

The European Commission (EC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), through its International Labour Standards Department (NORMES), have established a longstanding and productive partnership on supporting EU trading partner countries jointly identified to improve the application of the ILO Fundamental Conventions. This includes bringing labour law and practice in line with International Labour Standards (ILS), building the institutional capacity of public administrations, social partners and other relevant stakeholders to support law reform and reporting, and strengthening institutional frameworks to facilitate social dialogue and conflict resolution.

Since 2013, DG Trade and DG DEVCO have funded projects on International Labour Standards implemented by the ILO in numerous countries such as Armenia, Bangladesh, Cabo Verde, El Salvador, Guatemala, Myanmar, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Regular consultations between NORMES, DG TRADE and DG EMPL on labour related matters in selected countries have contributed to joint reflection to find appropriate solutions within the national contexts to improve labour relations and working conditions in line with core ILS, and were instrumental to monitor projects as they were implemented, facilitating decision-making on key issues resonant to their deliverables.

A dynamic boost was given to this collaboration when the ILO and the EC launched on 1 January 2019 the Trade for Decent Work Project which aims at improving the application of the ILO fundamental Conventions and working conditions in EU trading partner countries and contributing to the United-Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, through improved labour relations and working conditions. The project operates within a framework including a Global Facility providing global initiatives in the area of ILS and ad hoc support to specific needs arising in partner countries; and a Country-focused Facility supporting each year a number of target countries. The project started with the following beneficiary countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

Project Objectives

The project's objectives are focused on four overarching components:

1. Strengthening the capacity of constituents to actively participate in national processes to comply with International Labour Standards (ILS), particularly the Fundamental Conventions;

2. Consolidating the institutional capacity of the governments and social partners to fulfil reporting obligations regarding ILS, and concurrently abiding by its commitments to the EC to accept regular monitoring in accordance with international conventions.

3. Strengthening institutional frameworks to facilitate social dialogue, conflict resolution and industrial relations in order to enhance the implementation of ILS;
The project is promoting the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (2017), referenced in EU Trade for All Policy and sustainability chapters of EU Trade agreements through trainings of key actors (e.g. OECD National Contact Points) and dedicated events bringing together business and civil society, policymakers and international organizations.

4. Enhancing the capacity of tripartite constituents and other stakeholders such as the judiciary, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, human rights institutions, to advocate on the promotion and implementation of ILS.

Project management

The project has established an innovative approach with an overall coordination based in Geneva (NORMES) and a Steering Committee - consisting of broad cross-cutting representation from both organizations - meeting biannually. This Steering Committee provides support and guidance to review the project progress, to discuss policy, technical and operational issues related to furthering the objectives of the partnership and to redefine the project lines of implementation, if needed. Additionally, regular information sharing facilitates adaptation to challenges during implementation and response to contingent needs.

A communication strategy ensures central gathering of the information, visibility and common branding of the action, with the objective to get the community of stakeholders and constituents fully engaged in the project at the country level.

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The European Commission (EC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), through its International Labour Standards Department (NORMES), have established a longstanding and productive partnership on supporting EU trading partner countries jointly identified to improve the application of the ILO Fundamental Conventions.

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Click here to visit the webpage of the project.

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ProAgro: Promotion of Decent Work in Agribusiness

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ProAgro: Promotion of Decent Work in Agribusiness

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ProAgro aims to contribute to the creation of more and better jobs in the agribusiness sector. Its approach is based on two principles: it will both "push" people into the labour market, by providing them with the skills needed to access employment or start their business, and "pull" them, by supporting enterprise and value chain development so that the private sector can grow and provide more and better jobs. Key factors for ensuring the success of the "pull" and "push" approaches are a conducive policy environment and economic ecosystem, one that ensures that investment is linked to more and better jobs, and that employment services are effective in matching workers who are being "pushed" into the labour market with enterprises that are looking to "pull" in new talent.

The project is designed under the framework of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's (BMZ) Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation. It will be implemented in Ethiopia and Morocco.

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ProAgro: Promotion of Decent Work in Agribusiness

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ProAgro aims to contribute to the creation of more and better jobs in the agribusiness sector. Its approach is based on two principles: it will both "push" people into the labour market, by providing them with the skills needed to access employment or start their business, and "pull" them, by supporting enterprise and value chain development so that the private sector can grow and provide more and better jobs.

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Advancing the Decent Work Agenda in North Africa- ADWA’ Project 

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Advancing the Decent Work Agenda in North Africa- ADWA’ Project 

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Egypt and Algeria

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Geographical area of implementation: North Africa

Project Background

The ADWA' project works at the upstream and policy-making level in order to support evidence-based decisions on different dimensions of the Decent Work Agenda. The focus of the project is to address together issues related to job rich growth, social and labour rights and the implementation of International Labour Standards, and the application of such policies by the private sector. These three aspects are fundamental for the development of the region, essential to advance towards the realization of the SDGs.

The project intervenes both at regional (North Africa) and at national levels, in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, with some specific activities carried out in Algeria. The multi-country approach also will enable the exchange of knowledge and experiences, generating also potential opportunities for South-South cooperation within the region and outside.

Decent work in North Africa

The North African countries are characterized by a series of similar labour market imbalances, which include high unemployment rates (the highest among the world regions), low level of economic activity and important levels of underemployment and precarious employment.

The youth (in the age group 15- 24) and the women are particularly vulnerable in North African labour markets: only one out of three young people is economically active, and among those who are participating to the labour market, one third is unemployed.

Among young women, the level of economic activity is as low as 20 percent. New entrants in the labour market are over-represented in the informal sector and in the underemployment. Around 30 percent of those who are employed (around 20 million people in the region in 2018) are in 'vulnerable' work and livelihood conditions.

Economic growth, even in the most dynamic periods, has not been able to sustainably reduce the existing labour market imbalances and reduce inequalities.

On the normative front, the countries of North Africa have a relative good record in the ratification of the 8 fundamental and 4 priority International Labour Conventions.

However, the de facto application of the relevant International Labour Standards (ILS) is still challenging: the formal ratification did not always go hand in hand with their actual implementation through the translation of norms and principles in the national legislation, or their implementation through the jurisprudence, resulting in some levels of exclusion from social and labour rights, especially for the most vulnerable (for example, for the workers of the informal sector).

Good practices in the implementation of the ILS in the private sectors, are often limited to niches and are far from being generalized.

The project focus: Supporting job-rich growth and enhancing the implementation of International Labour Standards and supporting the private sector in the application of such policies

The availability of more and better jobs for the North Africa, especially for the youth and women, requires action on the economic and on the social and rights fronts. From an economic perspective, the policy agenda in most of the North African countries is largely focused on maintaining macroeconomic stability and on improving the business environment.

These recipes alone have proven to be short in delivering job-rich growth, and in converting economic potential into sustained growth, available labour and skills into decent jobs. Public action in North Africa needs, therefore, to pursue more proactively a job-rich growth agenda: this is the first outcome the project will pursue, through the support to evidence generation and dissemination and the support of its use for decision making.The regional decent work challenge is not going to be met with success if the focus is only on the economic front.

Objectives and expected outcomes

The ADWA' project will operate mainly at the upstream level with the aim of supporting evidence-based decision making for policy, programmes and institutional strengthening. A mix of implementing strategies is going to be adopted, including evidence generation (data and analysis), knowledge management, capacity strengthening/building, especially on the use of evidence for policy making, advocacy, and knowledge brokering and promotion of international labour and social standards.

The overall objective of the project is to provide effective support to national and regional partners to address the Decent Work deficits in North Africa. By the end of the project, North African countries will have adopted a more proactive and effective policy stance for job-rich growth; and a stronger compliance with labour and social rights will have been achieved and applied by the private sector

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to effectively address to the decent work deficits in North Africa, by pursuing the following outcomes and outputs:

Outcome 1: Policy stances in North Africa steer job-rich growth.

1.1 Key decision makers and stakeholders' capacities are built to promote quality job creation and sustainable economic growth;
1.2 Governments in focus countries improve their macroeconomic analysis and policy diagnostic capacities for jobs and growth;
1.3. The Ministries of Employment/ Labour have enhanced capacities to fulfil more effectively their roles.

Outcome 2: Decision makers and influencers make better use of policy evidence to promote social and labour rights.

2.1. National parliaments and Governments in focus countries are better informed of ILS and of other key developments on the social and rights front;
2.2. ILS is better reflected in the national jurisprudence of focus countries;
2.3. The media and civil society are more knowledgeable of ILS and decent work and enrich the national discourse;

Outcome 3: The private sector and multinational companies engage to achieve decent work in different economic sectors

3.1: Labour standards are better applied in the telecommunication sector in Egypt;
3.2: Productivity and working conditions are improved in the Algerian automotive sector.

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Advancing the Decent Work Agenda in North Africa (ADWA')

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The ILO and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) have signed in November 2018 an agreement for a 5-year phase (2018-2023) for the project "Advancing the Decent Work Agenda in North Africa" (ADWA'). This phase builds on the 16 months pilot phase, which was successfully implemented throughout 2017 and 2018.

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Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia

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Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia

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The Programme

With an initial focus on the garment and textile industries, the ILO in collaboration with tripartite partners has developed a comprehensive and coordinated programme to promote Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia.

The garment and textile industries are among the priorities of the Ethiopian Government under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) in the move of lifting Ethiopia to a middle-income country by 2025. According to the Plan of Action for Job Creation 2020- 2025, employment in the textiles and apparel industry is estimated at 798,752 in 2018 and is forecast to grow 86% through 2025, creating more that 683,000 new direct jobs and almost 868,000 new indirect jobs. However, poor working conditions and low wages resulting in low productivity, high turnover and absentee rates; as well as weak regulatory institutions, coupled with the limited capacity of the workers' and employers' organisations, hinder the proper functioning of the labour market and businesses environment.

The overarching development goal of the programme is to see improved respect of workers' rights leading to greater incomes and compensation, enhanced safety, equality, voice, and representation. The programme also aims to lift industrial productivity and competitiveness to enable a global competitive textile and garment sector; and encourage accountable and transparent government institutions.

Programme Intervention

The programme works at national, regional and factory levels involving different ILO departments and global programmes to address the key challenges to advance decent work in Ethiopia.

At the national level, under the leadership of the tripartite partners, the programme facilitates dialogue among multiple stakeholders to develop a common vision and strategies to make Ethiopia an African hub of socially responsible production of garment for both global and domestic market. The programme also supports the tripartite constituents in fixing a minimum wage as well as enhance the capacity of government institutions to prevent and resolve labour disputes.

At the regional and sectoral level, the programme will focus on strengthening employers' and workers' organization capacity for social dialogue and collective barraging. It also assists the labour inspectorate in building the capacity of its inspectors. To ensure occupational health and safety, the programme aims to establish a sustainable work place injury prevention, protection and compensation system.

At the factory level, the Programme aims to establish a robust, sustainable and inclusive compliance system. It provides demand-driven capacity building support to improve factory productivity, working conditions and industrial relations. At the same time, the programme. This includes improving management systems, supervisory and human resources skills; and incorporates gender equality and diversity principles to encourage women workers to assume leadership positions.

Holistic Intervention

Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization Programme brings not only the vast ILO experiences in different countries but also new way of delivering support in a holistic and coordinated manner. The programme brings together ILO's key departments and global programmes such as Better Work, Vision Zero Fund, SCORE, LABADMIN/OSH and INWORK to promote sound industrial relations, strengthen enterprise level practices, improve factory productivity, build labour inspectorate capacity, and ulti¬mately, provide a blueprint for the rollout of decent work practices into other industries.

Service Model

The programme service model is based on assuring continuous improvement with in factories to benefit the workers, factory and the industry at large. The learnings from the factory level will be used to inform interventions and policy dialogue at sectoral and national levels

SIRAYE's service delivery method coordinates key ILO departments and global programmes to deliver service on the following;

Better Work: SIRAYE works very closely with government, enterprises, workers, and brands through a robust, sustainable and inclusive compliance assessment and remediation system. In addition, the programme provides demand driven trainings targeting workers, managers and other stakeholders to improve compliance with ILO core labour standards and national legislations, working conditions, win-win social dialogue and, at the same time enhance factories' productivity and profitability.
Better work - a collaborative and comprehensive programme between the ILO and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC).

Enhance productivity: with a focus on improving factory level productivity, SIRAYE's programme service package rolls ILO's Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) modular training and in factory coaching related to quality management, efficient use of resources and industrial engineering concepts of productivity improvement. The training and advisory services also reinforces concepts of workplace cooperation needed to improve productivity by focusing on building trust, respect and communication between managers and workers; and setting performance improvement teams.

Occupational safety and health (OSH): with the aim of preventing work-related death, injuries and diseases, SIRAYE's programme service package works on creating enabling environment for the promotion of safe and healthy working conditions. The programme works closely with key stakeholders to improve legal and policy frameworks that promote and enforce OSH; as well as to ensure workers are covered by a sustainable prevention, protection and compensation system.

Occupational safety and health (OSH): with the aim of preventing work-related death, injuries and diseases, SIRAYE's programme service package works on creating enabling environment for the promotion of safe and healthy working conditions. The programme works closely with key stakeholders to improve legal and policy frameworks that promote and enforce OSH; as well as to ensure workers are covered by a sustainable prevention, protection and compensation system. The Vision Zero Fund (VZF), an initiative of the Group of Seven (G7) countries with the aim at preventing work-related deaths, injuries and diseases in the global supply chain supports the implementation of this service.

Labour Administration and Inspection: As part of SIRAYE's service package, ILO supports the strengthening of labour administration in building more effective labour inspection systems. In doing so, ILO aims to enhance capacity of the labour inspectorate in strategic compliance planning and implementation. As part of this, training curriculum and labour inspection information and knowledge management system will be designed and applied.

ILO's Labour Inspection, Labour Administration and OSH (LABADMIN/OSH) branch supports the programme by drawing expertise and experience from various countries.

Improved Industrial Relation and Minimum Wage: The programme aims to promote sound industrial relations, working conditions and strengthen organizations' capacity for dialogue and collective barraging at enterprise, sectoral and national level. In addition, it will assist the Government and Social Partners with the development of minimum wage setting mechanisms and necessary capacity to set and adjust minimum wages in a sustainable manner. Further work will be done to build the capacity of Government Institutions to prevent and resolve labour disputes.

ILO's Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch (INWORK) will provide technical assistance to achieve this objective.

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SIRAYE: A programme on Advancing Decent Work and inclusive industrialization in Ethiopia:

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With an initial focus on the garment and textile industries, the ILO in collaboration with tripartite partners has developed a comprehensive and coordinated programme to promote Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia. The garment and textile industries are among the priorities of the Ethiopian Government under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) in the move of lifting Ethiopia to a middle-income country by 2025.

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The ILO Helpdesk for Business provides information on a wide range of labour topics.

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Étude de cas CFAO et Carrefour: Des entreprises engagées dans une stratégie de promotion des PME locales et de valorisation de la main-d’oeuvre nationale

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Étude de cas Le Groupe SIFCA: une entreprise qui s’engage pour un développement inclusif et durable et les populations locales

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Concrétiser le travail décentpour tous dans le secteur ducommerce et de la distribution

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Concrétiser le travail décentpour tous dans le secteur ducommerce et de la distribution

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L'abolition effective du travail des enfants en Côte d’Ivoire: Les orientations offertes par la Déclaration de principes tripartite sur les entreprises multinationales et la politique sociale de l'OIT.

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Inclusive business practices in Africa's extractive industries

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Inclusive business practices in Africa's extractive industries

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The Role of Multinational Enterprises in the Promotion of Decent Work in Rural Areas

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The Role of Multinational Enterprises in the Promotion of Decent Work in Rural Areas

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Widening income disparities in the developing world between urban and rural areas have renewed the focus on policies to spur growth and productivity in the rural economy. Large enterprises - whether multinational or domestic - have a crucial role to play in direct and indirect employment creation and skills development in rural areas, as well as the respect of rural workers' rights. This policy guidance note addresses how the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) can provide guidance on these issues. It concludes by providing specific recommendations for governments, companies, and employers' and workers' organizations.

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The Role of Multinational Enterprises in the Promotion of Decent Work in Rural Areas

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Widening income disparities in the developing world between urban and rural areas have renewed the focus on policies to spur growth and productivity in the rural economy. Large enterprises - whether multinational or domestic - have a crucial role to play in direct and indirect employment creation and skills development in rural areas, as well as the respect of rural workers' rights.

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Does your project/activities use or contribute to the promotion of the MNE Declaration in Africa?

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Does your project/activities use or contribute to the promotion of the MNE Declaration in Africa?

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Leave us a comment below and let us know!

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Discover below how national focal points are promoting decent work at the country level in the African region!

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Discover below how national focal points are promoting decent work at the country level in the African region!

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The ILO MNE Declaration at the centre of a transnational dialogue within the Labour and Social Dialogue Council of the West African Economic and Monetary Union 

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The ILO MNE Declaration at the centre of a transnational dialogue within the Labour and Social Dialogue Council of the West African Economic and Monetary Union 

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Dr Birane Thiam, Permanent Secretary of the Council for Labour and Social Dialogue of the UEMOA at the sensitization workshop on the MNE Declaration for Benin and Togo
West Africa is the region of the African continent that, along with North Africa, currently attracts most of foreign direct investment (FDI). This inflow of capital generates many reflections within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and its member States to encourage investments that contribute to sustainable development priorities and the realization of decent work in the sub-region. The WAEMU Labour and Social Dialogue Council turned to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and recognized the importance and relevance of the recommendations of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) for inclusive economic development and decent work for all.

The Labour and Social Dialogue Council is an advisory body of the WAEMU. Created by the Additional Act n ° 002/2019 / CM / UEMOA of March 17th 2009, it consists of 72 members representing governments, employers, workers and civil society. It pursues the following three missions: (1) examine and assess any issues likely to have a social impact in the Union; (2) strengthen the mechanisms of consultation and tripartite concertation within the Union and (3) consolidate the social dialogue process and structures in member States. Its role is to formulate opinions, make recommendations and proposals on its own initiative or on the initiative of the WAEMU Commission, the Council of Ministers and the social partners.

Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal (two of the eight UEMOA's member States) pioneered the appropriation of the MNE Declaration. They were the first African countries to designate national focal points for its promotion, thus demonstrating their willingness to implement its principles.

Senegal was already making history in August 2017 by creating the first Tripartite Commission for the promotion of the MNE Declaration within its High Council for Social Dialogue, thereby responding to the call of the A bidjan Declaration on strengthening the role and the impact of national social dialogue institutions for more effective and fair economic and social governance adopted by eleven social dialogue institutions from West and Central Africa.

The MNE Declaration sets out principles directed to multinational and national enterprises, governments of home and host countries, as well as employers' and workers' organizations for the achievement of decent work for all. Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal were able to sensitize more than 500 representatives of the government, employers 'and workers' organizations, enterprises within the framework of the project "Enterprises and decent work: promotion and application of the ILO MNE Declaration" funded by the French government.

In order to share the experience of Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal with the other six UEMOA member States, the WAEMU Labour and Social Dialogue Council invited the International Labour Organization (ILO) to present the MNE Declaration and to discuss its application in the sub-region at its 9th General Assembly in December 2018 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The Council, in accordance with its missions, then decided to dedicate the 5thmeeting of its Social Dialogue Commission to a reflection on the MNE Declaration and to the drafting of an opinion. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the Declaration, to reflect on the possibilities of promoting it among WAEMU member States and to prepare a draft resolution on this relevant instrument for consideration by the members of the Council.

In March 2019, the 16 members of the Council's Social Dialogue Commission chaired by Senegal were able to benefit from the support of the ILO to deepen their knowledge of the MNE Declaration, to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the different actors involved in promoting responsible and sustainable business practices and to initiate a reflection on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies to be strengthened or implemented at the WAEMU and national levels. Following this reflection, the Commission produced a draft opinion and an action plan for the promotion of the MNE Declaration in WAEMU member States.

On October 17th, 2019, at the 10th General Assembly of the Council, the members discussed the deliberations of the Social Dialogue Commission and adopted an opinion on the promotion of corporate social responsibility and the Declaration on multinational enterprises and social policy in WAEMU member States ( Avis No 009/2019 sur la promotion de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises et de la Déclaration sur les entreprises multinationales et la politique sociale au sein des pays membres de l'UEMOA).

The Opinion contains recommendations to WAEMU member States, to the Commission and to the social partners (employers' and workers' organizations) and addresses measures to be adopted to actively contribute to the promotion of decent work, to support the integration process at the sub-regional level and to improve social governance with regard to the operations of multinational enterprises and their investments. In particular, the opinion recommends to member States to:

integrate the principles of the MNE Declaration into investment policies, programmes and agreements;

strengthen technical and operational capacities of labour inspectors, social partners, social dialogue institutions and other stakeholders on CSR and the MNE Declaration;

develop and implement a national CSR policy which takes into account the principles of the MNE Declaration;

take into account the principles of the MNE Declaration in order to mobilize enterprises for the realization of Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs);

develop a national plan to promote the principles of the MNE Declaration;

encourage reporting taking into account the principles of the MNE Declaration by enterprises with a certain threshold of staff.

In addition, WAEMU member States' governments are encouraged to appoint national focal points on a tripartite basis with employers' and workers' organizations and to create platforms for enlarged tripartite social dialogue to enable tripartite constituents and multinational enterprises to consider possible opportunities and to identify the changes related to the activities of multinational enterprises in the national context. The WAEMU Commission is encouraged to adopt a CSR strategy, strongly inspired by the principles of the ILO MNE Declaration. It is also recommended to the social partners to take into account the principles of the MNE Declaration when concluding collective agreements and enterprise agreements.
Following a request for technical support sent by the Council, the ILO supported to WAEMU's efforts to promote the MNE Declaration in the context of a partnership. The partnership enabled the Council to organize tripartite awareness workshops for Benin and Togo (September 10-12, 2019) and with the High Council for Social Dialogue of Burkina Faso (October 8-10, 2019) with the technical and financial support of the ILO. Further requests for technical support were formulated by other WAEMU member States, which will benefit from sensitization and capacity-building workshops in 2020.

The ILO has analysed and documented the experiences of different countries in the field of tripartite social dialogue, multinational enterprises and foreign direct investment (FDI) in a study, which contains many interesting conclusions on areas in which national social dialogue institutions could potentially become involved, as well as opportunities and obstacles to their involvement.

The experience of the WAEMU and the role played by the social partners has been shared with other African regional organizations as well as with organizations from other regions. For Africa, this development allows to contribute actively through social dialogue to the structural transformation of the economy and to the achievement of decent work for all, objectives of the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

In the Abidjan Declaration "Advancing Social Justice: Shaping the future of work in Africa" adopted on December 6, 2019 following the 14th African Regional Meeting of the ILO, African states are also committed "continuing to promote the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, with a strong emphasis on supporting the tripartite constituents". The Abidjan Declaration also calls for the strengthening of synergies between the ILO and African institutions, namely the African Union Commission, the regional economic communities and the three labour administration centres, which play a supporting role in the implementation of the priority areas of the African Decent Work Agenda, a critical aspect to take into account in the implementation of actions aimed at promoting the MNE Declaration.

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The ILO MNE Declaration at the centre of a transnational dialogue within the Labour and Social Dialogue Council of the West African Economic and Monetary Union

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The Council for Labour and Social Dialogue of the Union économique et monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA)/West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is the first subregional social dialogue institution to discuss the promotion of the MNE Declaration and to adopt specific recommendations addressed to its member States and social partners for the application of its principles.

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Ministerial Declaration "Horizon Decent Work: Advancing Coherence, Connectivity and Inclusivity", Meeting of SADC Ministers for Employment and Labour and Social Partners (March 2018)   

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Ministerial Declaration "Horizon Decent Work: Advancing Coherence, Connectivity and Inclusivity", Meeting of SADC Ministers for Employment and Labour and Social Partners (March 2018)   

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Report on the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in Africa

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Report on the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in Africa

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Report on the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in Africa

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Report on the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy in Africapdf - 5.5 MB

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Advancing Social Justice: Shaping the future of work in Africa

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Advancing Social Justice: Shaping the future of work in Africa

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Advancing Social Justice: Shaping the future of work in Africa

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The Report contains a review of key regional trends and an assessment of the implementation of the Addis Ababa Declaration (AAD) adopted at the 13th ARM.

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From left to right Mr. Chiblee F. Kamara (Ministry of Labour and Social Security), Mr. Fodeba Dabo (Director General of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency), Mr. Alphonso O. Pratt (Sierra Leone Employers Federation),
Mr. Emmanuel Kamara (Sierra Leone Labour Congress)

In July 2019, Sierra Leone officially appointed four focal points for the promotion of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) and the application of its principles:

Mr. Chiblee F. Kamara from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security;

Mr. Fodeba Dabo, Director General of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency;

Mr. Alphonso O. Pratt of the Sierra Leone Employers Federation;

Mr. Emmanuel Kamara of the Sierra Leone Labour Congress.

These nominations are the result of tripartite consultations and reflect the interest of the Ministry of Labour and the social partners to collaborate and ensure strong synergies with the work of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency, a specialized semi-autonomous agency of the government of Sierra Leone charged with the responsibility to implement the Local Content Agency Act 2016. The agency and government's key priority and strategic focus is skills development and strengthening the capacity of local enterprises and its citizens for the enhancement of livelihood as formulated by the government of Sierra Leone's medium term National development Plan of 2019 - 2023. The Agency aims to ensure that there is sufficient linkages between Foreign Direct Investment and the local economy.
The focal points will shortly meet at the Ministry of labour and Social Security to identify the institutions to constitute a Working Group to roll the recommendations of the MNE Declaration at the country level. Sierra Leone is planning to concentrate its efforts in increasing awareness of the MNE Declaration to improve skills and productivity in the agriculture sector, and reduce unemployment and poverty.

Sensitization and training activities paved the way to these appointments. In March 2019, the ILO facilitated three one-day sensitization workshops for government officials, employers' and workers' organizations) in the context of the "Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development project for Sierra Leone" funded through ILO Regular Budget Supplementary Account (RBSA). The MNE Declaration was presented to the national actors and discussions took place to explore how to further translate the Sierra Local Content Act into action, using the guidance of the ILO MNE Declaration.

Sierra Leone also participated in the annual course " Multinational enterprises, development and decent work: the approach of the MNE Declaration " held at the International Training Center of the ILO, in Turin, Italy in May 2019. This course looked at how governments, enterprises and the social partners are encouraged to put policies in place and engage with each other through dialogue to maximize the positive contribution of multinational enterprises to socio economic development and the realization of decent work.

Sierra Leone is the fifth country, after Côte d'Ivoire, Norway, Portugal, and Senegal, to appoint national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration.

The MNE Declaration is the only ILO instrument that provides direct guidance to enterprises on social policy and inclusive, responsible and sustainable workplace practices. It is the only global instrument in this area that was elaborated and adopted by governments, employers and workers from around the world.

The ILO revised its Declaration on Multinational Enterprises in March 2017. To encourage uptake of its principles of the MNE Declaration by all parties, the ILO Governing Body adopted a range of operational tools, including a regional follow-up mechanism, the appointment of national focal points on a tripartite basis, a company-union dialogue, and an interpretation procedure on the application of the principles of the MNE Declaration. The ILO is assisting governments, employers and workers from around the world to build their capacity on applying the guidance provided in the MNE Declaration in the country context.

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The Sierra Leone Local Content Agency joins hands with the Ministry of labour, employers and workers as national focal points to promote the ILO MNE Declaration in Sierra Leone

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From left to right Mr. Chiblee F. Kamara (Ministry of Labour and Social Security), Mr. Fodeba Dabo (Director General of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency), Mr. Alphonso O.

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Fostering a partnership approach

Building on the recommendations of the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), the ILO is providing technical assistance to Côte d'Ivoire since 2010 by fostering a public-private partnership approach to addressing one of the major challenge the country is facing: youth unemployment. The ILO intervention and assistance comprises data collection, dialogue facilitation, assistance for the formulation of joint action plans and their implementation.

Building a solid knowledge base

In 2010 the ILO surveyed approximately 30 multinational enterprises identifying ways in which they could through their business activities generate more and better jobs for local youth, both in their own operations and along their supply chains. The study was conducted in the framework of a UNIDO-ILO Youth Employment project financed by the Government of Japan. It aimed at encouraging the positive contribution of multinational enterprises to national economic and social development along the principles of the MNE Declaration, while at the same time ensuring that MNEs benefit through enhanced longer-term competitiveness and sustainability. This study entitled " Promouvoir la création d'emplois pour les jeunes dans les entreprises multinationales et leurs chaînes d'approvisionnement " looked specifically at employment creation prospects in the four economic sectors that were attracting most of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Côte d'Ivoire, namely agriculture and agri-business, banking, mining, and telecommunications.

Employers taking the lead: the Task Force on Youth Employment Promotion and Responsible Investment

The findings and recommendations of the study were presented to representatives of the MNEs, who subsequently established a multi-stakeholder Task Force on Youth Employment Promotion and Responsible Investment under the leadership of the Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Côte d'Ivoire, CGE-CI. This Task Force - comprising of representatives of MNEs, training and research institutions, universities and government institutions responsible for youth employment - ensured concrete follow-up to the recommendations of the study.

And a high level commitment from all actors leading to concrete action

A subsequent High-Level Policy Dialogue and technical workshop saw the participation of representatives of over 50 MNE representatives (all members of the Task Force) as well as of the government (Ministry of State, Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Solidarity, Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research).The policy dialogue provided a platform for key actors from both the public and the private sector to discuss how to translate their commitment to youth employment into concrete and joint action.

The participants adopted a policy statement highlighting the specific roles of government and businesses in contributing to youth employment creation. Action plans were developed for each of the four economic sectors (agriculture, banking, mining and telecommunications) covered in the study. The priority areas in each of the action plans were: 1) strengthening MNEs and SMEs linkages, 2) analyzing the impact of foreign and domestic investment on employment, and 3) scaling-up the MNE-Youth Employment initiative to the sub-regional level building on similar studies also conducted in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Translating commitments into action

The member companies of the Task Force on Youth Employment Promotion and Responsible Investment participated in a number of initiatives of the CGE-CI. Under the recruitment assistance initiative, for example, a network of Human Resources Managers of member companies initiated collaboration with the Agency for Employment Research and Promotion (Agence d'Etude et de Promotion de l'Emploi, AGEPE) on internship opportunities for hundreds of young women and men. A number of these interns were subsequently hired by the companies. Dialogue between MNEs, training institutions and the public employment services agency led to partnership agreements with a number of MNEs. Specific skills development needs were mapped per sector. The agro-industry sector, for example, committed to training 1,000 persons per year over a three-year period. Other initiatives included introducing fiscal incentives to promote youth employment and youth entrepreneurship.

On the agreed action plans, the following steps were undertaken:

1. The ILO undertook a second study " Le renforcement des liens entre les PME locales et les entreprises multinationales dans le cadre de leurs chaînes d'approvisionnement " in collaboration with the national research institute (Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Economiques et Sociales, CIRES) to assess the existing and potential linkages between MNEs and local SMEs to strengthen the supply chain dynamics. In July 2014, representatives of government, employers and workers participated in a workshop to discuss the recommendations of the ILO study. They adopted an action plan covering six strategic areas: 1) promoting local contracting, 2) establishing a permanent MNE-SME dialogue platform, 3) enhancing the human resources management capacity in SMEs, 4) evaluating the employment impact of FDI, 5) fostering an enabling environment for technology transfer from MNEs to SMEs, and 6) stimulating SME development.

2. At the request of the national investment promotion agency (Centre de Promotion des Investissements en Côte d'Ivoire, CEPICI) and CGE-CI, ILO technically supports the newly-established national commission in its plan to better evaluate the employment impact of foreign and domestic investment. Furthermore, ILO has been requested to play an active role in facilitating dialogues between government, business, workers, and new investors in Côte d'Ivoire.

3. ILO presented the experience in engaging with MNEs on the youth employment priority in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberia during to the annual meeting of the Fédération des Organisations Patronales de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, (FOPAO), the sub-regional employers' organization for West Africa. A sub-regional plan of action was drafted that includes a regional study on the promotion of youth employment in partnerships with MNEs, pilot country-level initiatives, and a mining sector study.
A firm commitment and a national mobilization
Technical support is currently provided to Côte d'Ivoire in the framework of the French-funded project "Business and Decent Work" (2017-2019). The project aims to further build the capacity of ILO constituents to mobilize national and multinational enterprises for the realization of decent work priorities. The project is also building national capacity to engage with new investors to maximize their contribution to sustainable development and inclusive growth.

Seven sensitization sessions presented the MNE Declaration as revised in 2017 to 172 representatives of different ministries, employers' and workers' organizations. Five sensitization sessions were also organized for the benefit of 100 enterprises. Following the sensitization workshops, the country designated three national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration (as provided in Annex II of the MNE Declaration).

A total of five training sessions allowed 95 resource-persons to gain a deeper knowledge of the MNE Declaration to translate its principles into practice. Among the training sessions carried out, a five-day training session in September 2018 was specifically dedicated to strengthening the capacities of the national focal points designated by the country.

A National Forum was organized in December 2018 during which a national actions plan for the promotion of the MNE Declaration in Côte d'Ivoire was presented by the government, employers' and workers' national focal points. The government, the employers and workers are currently actively working together to implement the activities agreed in the national actions plan and contribute to further promote the MNE Declaration in the country and translate it principles into practice.

Go to the MNE Declaration web site

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Engaging multinational enterprises on job creation for young women and men in Cote d'Ivoire

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As the economy of Côte d'Ivoire slowly recovers after a long period of crisis, building a bright future for the young generation is crucial. The increasing number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in the country are a promising yet largely untapped source for local job creation.

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On 22 December 2017, Mr. Samba Sy, the Minister of Labor, Social Dialogue, Professional Organizations and Relations with Institutions, officially appointed:

Mr. Ibra Ndoye of the Ministry of Labor as the government's focal point;

Mr. Alioune Ba of the National Employers Council (CNP) as the employers' focal point;

Mr. Babacar Sarr of the National Confederation of Workers of Senegal (CNTS) as the workers' focal point; and

Ms. Mame Khar Basse, President of the Commission for the Promotion of the ILO MNE Declaration in the High Council of Social Dialogue

as national focal points for the promotion and application of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration). The governmental focal point ensures the overall coordination and regular reports to measure the impact and performance of the actions undertaken will be produced.
Senegal is the second country after Portugal to appoint national focal points for the promotion of the MNE Declaration.

A unique feature of these appointments is that four national focal points have been nominated representing the government, employers, workers as well as a national tripartite social dialogue institution. Senegal was indeed the first country to respond to the call of the Abidjan Declaration on Strengthening the Role and Impact of National Social Dialogue Institutions for More Effective and Fair Economic and Social Governance adopted by eleven social dialogue institutions from West and Central Africa in May 2017, and to establish a commission within its national social dialogue institution in charge of promoting the MNE Declaration and creating partnerships for its implementation. Madame Basse, Head of Human Resources at Crédit du Sénégal from the Attijariwafa Bank Group, a multinational enterprise operating in Senegal, was appointed as chairperson of this tripartite commission.

The ILO revised its Declaration on Multinational Enterprises in March 2017. The MNE Declaration is the only ILO instrument that provides direct guidance to enterprises on social policy and inclusive, responsible and sustainable workplace practices. It is the only global instrument in this area that was elaborated and adopted by governments, employers and workers from around the world.

To encourage uptake of its principles of the MNE Declaration by all parties, the ILO Governing Body adopted a range of operational tools, including a regional follow-up mechanism, the appointment of national focal points on a tripartite basis, a company-union dialogue, and an interpretation procedure on the application of the principles of the MNE Declaration. The ILO is assisting many governments, employers and workers from around the world to build their capacity to promote the MNE Declaration and to apply its principles.

Senegal currently benefits from a development cooperation project financed by France for the promotion and application of the MNE Declaration. In this context, more than 200 national actors were met to raise awareness of the revised MNE Declaration, 18 resource persons were trained and concrete recommendations were put forward to promote the MNE Declaration across the country. The ILO's "Enterprises and Decent Work" project supports national focal points to develop a national action plan and define a strategy for its implementation. The national focal points will share good practices from enterprises contributing positively to the economic and social progress of the country and achievement of decent work for all.

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Senegal appoints four national focal points and lays the foundations of a national promotion strategy

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By appointing by ministerial order four national focal points responsible for the promotion and application of the MNE Declaration, Senegal has become the first country in Africa to appoint national focal points. Earlier this year, Senegal already made history by creating the first tripartite Commission to promote the MNE Declaration within a national social dialogue institution.

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If you want to know more on the work of the Multinational Enterprises and Enterprises Engagement Unit in Africa:

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If you want to know more on the work of the Multinational Enterprises and Enterprises Engagement Unit in Africa:

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Please contact Josée Laporte : laporte@ilo.org