Labour standards

While social protection is a fundamental tool against social exclusion and inequality, poverty and vulnerability, it is closely linked to the decent work agenda. The concept of decent work was launched and is actively promoted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is based on 4 main principles: freely chosen and productive work (1), with international labour rights (including fundamental labour standards) being observed (2), and a form of work which provides access to social protection (3) and in which workers are listened to through social dialogue (4).

So, social protection is one of the four main principles of the Decent Work Agenda of the ILO. More importantly still, labour and social protection can actually be regarded as two communicating vessels. On the one hand, labour is still the best guarantee against poverty, provided that it is “decent” work
obviously. And, for the vast majority of the world’s population, that is still a dream. On the other hand, social protection offers the guarantee of a decent standard of living, both in the case of people who have lost all or part of their work income as well as in the case of people who find it difficult or impossible to provide for themselves.

The majority of the members of the Asia Network on the Right to Social Protection focus on the area of Labour rights, as trade unions or social movements. They work to organize workers, also from the informal sector, improve labour rights by lobbying for better legislation or increased minimum wage, offer legal support to have existing labour standards be implemented correctly.

One of the issues of labour standards that is particularly relevant in Asia are Occupational Health and Safety. The number of deaths related to occupational illnesses was estimated to be 1.95 million, with 651,000 cases resulting from exposure to chemical products. These figures also show that there has been little change in the number of work-related accidents and diseases over the last ten years. Health and safety at work are, nevertheless, fundamental rights recognised by various international treaties. Investment in measures relating to health and safety at work also contribute to the well being and thus the productivity of the workforce.

In order to develop and implement a systematic approach to health and safety at work, effective consultation is required between employers’ and employees’ organisations, overseen by the government. However, workers’ organisations continue to raise the alarm bell as work conditions are often appalling. As a consequence, they are often the first to take the initiative to inform workers of the importance of occupational health and safety rules and, at the same time, they call upon employers and the government to effectively implement measures which are to protect workers against occupational accidents and illnesses.

Some specific workers the ANRSP focuses on are garment, domestic and migrant workers.