The document discusses the concept of 'decent work' as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and emphasizes the need for comprehensive indicators to measure progress towards this goal in Africa. It outlines various dimensions of decent work, including employment opportunities, social protection, and equity in the workplace, while also detailing the framework for gathering and analyzing relevant statistics. Additionally, it highlights the importance of adapting statistical definitions and frameworks to account for all productive activities, providing a foundation to inform policy making and improve working conditions.

1. Beyond-GDP in Africa:
Innovative idea for a Regional
Dashboard
MEASURING DECENT WORK INDICATORS AND WORK
STATISTICS
By
Dr Coffi Agossou
Senior Labour Statistics Specialist

2. Contents
I. Decent Work concept and ILO
Objectives
II. Decent work indicators
III. Quick look on 19 th ICLS Resolution
concerning statistics of work,
employment and labour uderutilization

3. I Decent Work concept and ILO Objectives

4. Global issues
unemployment poverty
lack of skills
governance
migration
globalization
jobless growth
informal economy
human rights
social security
safe work
child labour

5. what people, anywhere, want?:
• work for all who seek to work
– be it wage- or self-employment, in the formal or the informal
economy
• freedom of choice
– excluding forced or bonded labour and worst forms of child labour
• productive work
– providing adequate income, ensuring competitiveness
• equity in work
– meaning absence of discrimination in access to, and at work
• security at work
– as concerns health and safety, pensions and livelihoods
• dignity at work
– in terms of respect extended to workers and their rights at work

6. ILO concept of decent work
The concept of Decent Work has been defined by the ILO
and endorsed by the international community as
“Opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and
productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security
and human dignity.”
1999 International Labour Conference Report
ILO Department of Statistics

7. Decent work as a global goal
• Endorsed by ECOSOC, Presidential Summits and Head of State
Summits in all regions, UN system, European Union, among
others.
• ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008)
endorses Decent Work Agenda and its 4 dimensions:
(i) International labour standards and fundamental
principles and rights at work
(ii) Employment creation
(iii) Social Protection
(iv) Social Dialogue and tripartism
ILO Department of Statistics

8. II Different type of decent work indicators

9. Commitments to monitor
progress towards decent work
• 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair
Globalization recommends that ILO Members may
consider:
“the establishment of appropriate indicators or statistics, if
necessary with the assistance of the ILO, to monitor and
evaluate the progress made”
• Monitoring of Milennium Development Goals
(MDGs):
– Goal 1, Target 1B: Achieve full and productive employment
and decent work for all, including women and young people.
– Goal 3, Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and
secondary education (indicator 3.2)
ILO Department of Statistics

10. Principles and framework for measuring decent
work – launched in 2008 (1)
– Purpose: to (i) assist constituents to assess progress towards decent work and (ii)
offer comparable information for analysis and policy development.
– NO ranking of countries & NO composite index
– Covers all four dimensions of Decent Work
– New framework:
• Developed by a Tripartite Meeting of Experts; presented to the ILO Governing
Body and 18th ICLS in 2008
• Groups statistical/legal framework indicators under 11 substantive elements
• Includes 71 statistical (quantitative) and 21 legal framework (qualitative,
textual) indicators
• Layered approach to statistical indicators (main, additional, future, context) &
by sex
• Dynamic, international model that can adapt to national circumstances
– Information is derived from various official sources: household and establishment
surveys, administrative records, qualitative legal framework information, among
others
10
ILO Department of Statistics

11. Structure of Decent Work
Measurement Framework
Grouping of statistical and legal framework indicators under 10 substantive elements:
11
1. Employment opportunities (1 + 2)
2. Adequate earnings and productive work (1 + 3)
3. Decent working time* (1 + 3)
(Note: name change from “Decent hours”)
4. Combining work, family and personal life (1 + 3)
5. Work that should be abolished (1 + 3)
6. Stability and security of work (1, 2 + 3)
7. Equal opportunity and treatment in employment
(1, 2 + 3)
8. Safe work environment (1 + 3)
9. Social security (1 + 3)
10. Social dialogue, workers’ and employers’
representation (1 + 4)
11. Economic Plus one area on economic and social context for decent work
and social context
Note: 1 = Rights at work, 2 = Employment opportunities, 3 = Social Protection, 4 = Social Dialogue
ILO Department of Statistics

12. Different types of statistical indicators
A layered approach to indicators:
Main indicators (M) Parsimonious core set of indicators to
monitor progress towards decent work.
Additional indicators (A) To be used where appropriate, and where data are
12
available
Context indicators (C) Provide information on the economic and social
context for decent work
Future indicators (F) Currently not feasible, but to be included as data
become more widely available
Legal framework indicators (L) Qualitative information included under the legal
framework
NOTE:
• Gender is a cross-cutting concern of the Decent Work Agenda
• An (S) suggests the indicator be presented by sex in addition to the total value
ILO Department of Statistics

13. 18 Main statistical indicators in the DW Measurement
framework: 12 titles have changed since 2008* or are new**
1 – EMPL-1. Employment-to-population ratio (EPR)*
2 – EMPL-2. Unemployment rate (UR)
3 – EMPL-3. Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET), 15-24 years*
4 – EMPL-4. Informal employment rate (IER)*
5 – EARN-1. Working poverty rate (WPR)*
6 – EARN-2. Employees with low pay rate (ELPR)*
7 – TIME-1. Employment in excessive working time (more than 48 hours per week)*
8 – ABLOL-1. Child labour rate (CLR)*
9 – STAB-1. Precarious employment rate**
10 – EQUA-1. Occupational segregation by sex
11 – EQUA-2. Female share of employment in senior and middle management*
12 – SAFE-1. Occupational injury frequency rate, fatal*
13 – SECU-1. Share of population above the statutory pensionable age (or aged 65 or above) benefiting from an old-age
pension*
14 – SECU-2. Public social security expenditure (percentage of GDP)
15 – DIAL-1. Trade union density rate (TUR)*
16 – DIAL-2. Employers’ organization density rate (ED)* (Note: definition suggested to be changed with title change)
17 – DIAL-3. Collective bargaining coverage rate
18 - DIAL-4. Indicator for Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work - (Note: To be developed by the Office)
Department of Statistics 13

14. 14
• Labour productivity growth rate,
• Labour productivity represents the total volume of output (measured in terms of
GDP) achieved per unit of labour (measured in terms of employed persons). The
purpose of this indicator is to assess the role of labour, which is one of the inputs to
the production process, in terms of GDP growth.
• Analysing labour productivity growth together with employment
indicators, for example, the employment-to-population ratio or the
unemployment rate can inform about labour utilization.

15. Coherence between national policies on
decent work and statistical planning
Tripartite constituents define decent work
policy areas to be targeted (Decent Work Country
Programme, DWCP)
Tripartite constituents define decent work indicators to meet
the needs for monitoring DWCP Feedback
mechanism
NATIONAL STATISTICS
OFFICE develops and
maintains surveys to
produce statistics for
construction of DW
indicators
MINISTRY OFLABOUR, SOCIAL
SECURITY AGENCY etc.
develop & maintain
administrative records that can
be used for statistics to
construct DW indicators
ILO Decent Work Indicator Manual
guides the construction of indicators
ILO Department of Statistics

16. III - QUICK LOOK ON THE 19TH ICLS RESOLUTION
on statistics of work, employment and labour
underutilization

17. New resolution
• Is Built on existing standards (1982) and good practice
• Provided expanded guidelines for countries
• Facilitated progressive implementation
• Enable reconstruction of existing series
• Promoted international comparability
ILO Department of Statistics 17

18. Scopes of the New resolution
• Forms of Work
– Employment, Own-use production work, Volunteer work, ...
• Measures of Labour underutilization
– Unemployment, underemployment, potential labour force
• Classifications of working age population
– By labour force status, main form of work
• Data collection programmes
– Pop. coverage, Age limits, Sources, Periodicity of collection /
reporting
• Indicators, tabulations
– To select minimum national set, including headline indicators
• National and international reporting
– Phased adoption of new standards (parallel series)

19. Work
New statistical definition (I)
“Any activity performed
by persons of any sex and age
to produce goods or provide services
for use by others or for own use”
Para 6,Resol I. (19th ICLS, 2013)
Concept for reference purposes
Not for direct measurement !
Recognizes all productive activities as work
But WORK ≠ Employment
ILO Department of Statistics 19

20. Work
New statistical definition (II)
• Aligned with General production boundary (2008 SNA)
– Must fulfill third person criterion
– Must result in production of goods or services
• Can be performed in any kind of economic unit
– Market units (i.e. for profit units, such as corporations, quasi-corporations
and household unincorporated market
enterprises)
– Non-market units (i.e. government & non-profit institutions)
– Households producing goods or services for own final use
• Irrespective of formal, informal nature or legality of
activity
Enables coherence between work statistics and economic statistics
ILO Department of Statistics 20

21. Economic production as per 2008 SNA
“Economic production may be defined as
an activity carried out under the
control & responsibility of an institutional unit that
uses inputs of labour, capital, goods & services
to produce outputs of goods or services”
Para. 6.24, 2008 SNA
Defines the General production boundary
ILO Department of Statistics 21

22. Economic production and Work
Activities
Productive activities
New reference concept of “Work” == ALL productive activities
3rd person Previous activity scope for “employment”
criterion
ILO Department of Statistics 22
Market units
Services Goods
Non-market units
Services Goods
Households
producing for own final use
Services Goods
Non-productive
activities
Self-care
Sleeping
Learning
Own-recreation
Begging
Stealing
General
production
boundary
SNA production
boundary

23. Productive activities outside the
SNA production boundary
• Services for final use by households
– Excluded when provided
• Unpaid by household members
• Unpaid by volunteers
– Rationale (as per 2008 SNA):
• Productive, but not easy to value
• Limits relevance of statistics to assess market behaviour
– NOTE: These activities are included when provided
• For pay by domestic employees
ILO Department of Statistics 23

24. Form of Work statistics
Intended
destination
of
production
For own use Use by others
Forms of
work
Own-production
work
19th ICLS resolution 2013
Employment
(work for
pay or
profit)
QLFS
Unpaid
trainee
work
QLFS
Other
work
activities
?
Volunteer Work
VAS, TUS
of
services
TUS
of
goods
QLFS
in
market
and
non
market
units
in households
producing
goods services
Relation
with 2008
SNA
Activities within SNA production boundary
Activities inside SNA general production boundary

25. Forms of work framework (II)
• Distinguishes different “types” of work (i.e. productive activities)
– Main intended destination of production (own final use / use by others)
– Type of transaction (for remuneration / without remuneration)
• Enables their separate measurement in full
• Supports more targeted monitoring to inform policymaking
• Permits coherence with national accounts
– National production & satellite accounts
ILO Department of Statistics 25

26. Forms of work framework (III)
By main intended destination & transaction type
Productive activities
(i.e. activities to produce goods and services)
For own final use
(by households)
Own-use
production
work
For use by others (i.e. other units)
For remuneration (i.e. for pay or profit)
Employment
ILO Department of Statistics 26
Without remuneration
Unpaid
trainee work
Other work
activities
(compulsory
unpaid work)
Volunteer
work
S G Services Goods S G S G G S

27. Conclusion
• Workers experience decent work (or decent work deficits)
from a perspective which goes beyond the scope of
traditional labour statistics. They might ask:
– How family-friendly are work arrangements?
– Do I get a living wage?
– Do workers have to work long hours?
– Can I join a union?
– Do migrant workers face discrimination?
– What happens when I fall sick?
– How dangerous is work?
– Will I get paid maternity / paternity leave when I get a baby?
• On some of these questions, traditional labour market statistics can give answers –
but it’s more difficult for others.

28. Resources and Contact
• ICLS Resolutions and Guidelines
http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and databases/standards-and-guidelines/
• ILO contact
statistics@ilo.org
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29. Thank you!