What is Decent Work Agenda?

(Source : ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008)

The four objectives of Decent Work Agenda is expressed and which can be summarized as follows:

(i) Promoting employment by creating a sustainable institutional and economic environment in which:

      – individuals can develop and update the necessary capacities and skills they need to enable them to be productively occupied for their personal fulfilment and the common well-being;

      – all enterprises, public or private, are sustainable to enable growth and the generation of greater employment and income opportunities and prospects for all; and

      – societies can achieve their goals of economic development, good living standards and social progress;


(ii) Developing and enhancing measures of social protection– social security and labour protection – which are sustainable and adapted to national circumstances, including:

      – the extension of social security to all, including measures to provide basic income to all in need
of such protection, and adapting its scope and coverage to meet the new needs and uncertainties generated by the rapidity of technological, societal, demographic and economic changes;

      – healthy and safe working conditions; and

      – policies in regard to wages and earnings, hours and other conditions of work, designed to ensure a just share of the fruits of progress to all and a minimum living wage to all employed and in need of such protection;

(iii) Promoting social dialogue and tripartism as the most appropriate methods for:

      – adapting the implementation of the strategic objectives to the needs and circumstances of each
country;

      – translating economic development into social progress, and social progress into economic development;

      – facilitating consensus building on relevant national and international policies that impact on employment and decent work strategies and programmes; and

      – making labour law and institutions effective, including in respect of the recognition of the
employment relationship, the promotion of good industrial relations and the building of effective
labour inspection systems; and

(iv) Respecting, promoting and realizing the fundamental principles and rights at work, which are of particular significance, as both rights and enabling conditions that are necessary for the full realization of all of the strategic objectives, noting:

– that freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining are
particularly important to enable the attainment of the four strategic objectives; and

– that the violation of fundamental principles and rights at work cannot be invoked or otherwise used
as a legitimate comparative advantage and that labour standards should not be used for protectionist
trade purposes.

The four strategic objectives are inseparable, interrelated and mutually supportive. The failure to promote any one of them would harm progress towards the others. To optimize their impact, efforts to promote them should be part of an ILO global and integrated strategy for decent work. Gender
equality and non-discrimination must be considered to be cross-cutting issues in the abovementioned strategic objectives.