More and better jobs through socially responsible labour practices in Asia – Phase II

Through their globalised production systems, multinational enterprises (MNEs), their subsidiaries and extended value chains, represent an important share of the private sector in many developing and industrialised economies. In 2010 developing economies attracted for the first time more than 50% of the global FDI inflow; in 2012 MNEs from emerging markets increased their share in FDI flows, with many of these MNEs expanding their global production networks actively into other developing and transition economies. Asia is home and host of many MNEs. With total FDI inflows of $426 billion in 2013, developing Asia accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the global total and remained the world's number one recipient region. The potential contribution of MNEs to the creation of more and better jobs is enormous and looks especially promising in developing economies. Despite this enormous potential, there is a widespread feeling that MNEs may not be sufficiently living up to that expectation. Many have come increasingly under pressure to demonstrate that they operate in a socially responsible manner and effectively contribute to development. As a result, many MNEs and large national enterprises have adopted policies governing labour and employment aspects of their operations at a global level, including in relation to their supply chains, as part of their sustainability strategies and a growing number are engaging in multi-stakeholder or industry initiatives. Governments are also introducing laws and policies to stimulate good business behaviour both of foreign MNEs in their countries and of their own MNEs operating in other parts of the world. Significant progress has been made in increasing awareness of the importance of responsible business. However, collective action is needed in order to change how supply chains operate and to maximize the contributions that MNEs could make to decent work and inclusive and sustainable development. The ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (the MNE Declaration) urges MNEs and representatives of government, employers and workers to come together to discuss issues of mutual concern with the aim of exchanging information, fostering synergies and identifying areas for possible collaboration. This project is a continuation of the same project, funded by the ILO/Japan Social Safety Net Fund for 2014. It will build on the outcomes obtained during Phase I. Specifically, the objective of Phase II is be to implement the findings and recommendations from the exploratory studies undertaken in Pakistan, with a view to contributing towards encouraging MNEs to contribute positively to economic and social development through socially responsible labour practices.

Project symbol

PAK/15/52/JPN

Admin unit

CO-Islamabad

Start date

01/03/2016

End date

30/04/2018

Total allocation

134986

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

134986

Development Partners

Japan, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Country/Countries

Pakistan

Outcomes

Strong and representative employers' and workers' organizations