ILO/Korea Fellowship Training on participatory approaches to improve working and employment conditions in the informal economy at Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA)

A. Background:

Working conditions refer to a variety of issues men and women face either at work or in relation to their work. These include maternity protection, work-family issues, working time, wages and incomes, welfare facilities and all aspects of occupational safety and health. Adequate working conditions are even more difficult to improve in small enterprises and the informal economy where rules, regulations, information and protective mechanisms are lacking. To explore these issues and prepare for responding appropriately, the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy, in cooperation with the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Employment Programme in Geneva (TRAVAIL), the Decent Work Technical Support Team for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, the ILO-Korea Partnership Programme, is organizing for a seventh year this international workshop in partnership with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA).

Throughout this workshop, the ILO intends to disseminate its experience and facilitate knowledge sharing and discussion using national experiences and practices based on participatory methods promoting the development of innovative approaches to improving employment conditions and the working environment in different economic sectors (manufacturing, agriculture, construction, etc.) and in the formal and the informal economies.

B. Objectives:

The course aims to provide participants with experiences and analytical skills for the formulation of national strategies for the improvement of working and employment conditions, with a particular focus on enabling and supporting action at workplace level. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

- Describe the ILO experience for the improvement of working and employment conditions and OSH.

- Analyze different approaches and strategies for the improvement of working and employment conditions, with the effective participation of employers and workers in social dialogue.

- Establish conclusions and recommendations on the feasibility of applying different strategies analyzed to their contexts in the framework of national policy.

- Promote dialogue within and among country delegations resulting in more effective policies to improve working and employment conditions.

- Transfer knowledge on different approaches for the improvement of working and employment conditions to local stakeholders concerned who take charge of this issue.

- Train local trainers in their own countries to disseminate the participatory methodologies for improving working and employment conditions and OSH.

- Build networks with the other training participants and the ILO for exchanging practical training experiences.

C. Participants:

The workshop is aimed at government officials from institutions in charge of the planning and administration of labour and social policies, specifically in the improvement of working and employment conditions, as well as workers’ and employers’ representatives involved in this issue. The course could also be of interest to representatives of other civil society organizations active in this field.

D. Methodology

A combination of theory and practice, presentations by experts, discussions and group work will be used throughout the workshop. A structured workplace visit will ensure a common grounding in the realities of improving working and employment conditions at the workplace. Participants will be able to formulate relevant conclusions for the effective implementation of participatory approaches in their respective countries and/or organizations by learning from international experiences. Insights for establishing or reviewing national policies will be shared. Participants will receive documentation with the technical information on the topics developed during the course.

E. Structure of the programme

Please note that the Course will start for registration and overall guidance on the course on Sunday September 26. A programme, comprising the following aspects, will be provided to participants at registration:

- Improving working and employment conditions by conducting the action-checklist exercise in a small enterprise (study visit);

- Analyzing national frameworks of Korea as a model to improve OSH and working conditions;

- Regional experiences in implementing participatory approaches;

- New technical material and pilot experiences in social dialogue;

- Policy and practical issues in implementing participatory approaches;

- Knowledge sharing of achievements

F. Assignments

Participants are encouraged to bring the photos of improvement of OSH and working conditions in small enterprises and informal economy workplaces, and training and information materials. These will be displayed and used during the good practical photo contest session on Wednesday afternoon (29 Sep).