Social Dialogue for Formalization and Employability in the Southern Neighbourhood Region

Project Background

Many countries in the southern neighbourhood of the European Union (EU) continue to suffer from the persistent effects of past major crises— the global recession of 2008 and the Arab Spring of 2011— coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis that had great influence on the potential and ambitions of their populations.

Although several countries have experienced sustained economic growth for several decades, this has failed to create enough opportunities in the form of decent jobs.

Conditions differ from country to another, yet job creation was often concentrated in the public or in low-productivity sectors, including the growing informal economy. The socio-economic reforms have largely failed to promote an increase in the private sector rich with jobs’ opportunities at a time when public sector employment is retracted.

While the informal economy is characterized by a great distinction in situations, both at the region and country levels, it has been exacerbated in most countries by, among other factors, structural adjustment, high unemployment, inequalities and social exclusion.

Most countries in the region have persistently experienced high unemployment rates, making unemployment in the Southern Neighbourhood one of the highest in the world.

Furthermore, youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa has a gender dimension. Although young women have made remarkable gains in educational attainment over the past five decades, these have not translated into comparable increase in their participation in the labour market.

In 2017, only 15 % of young women in the region were active in the labour market, compared to 36 % in the second lowest ranked region (Europe and Central Asia, ECA).

According to ILO recent data (2017, 2018), the participation of young women in the labour market is particularly low in Algeria (5.2 %) and in Egypt (11.4 %), while the total participation of women in the labour market in Lebanon is estimated at (29.3%)  and (19.5 %) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) , which are among the lowest rates in the world.

Objectives and expected outcomes

• Outcome 1: Enabling national policy frameworks to facilitate the transition of informal economy workers and economic units to the formal economy in place, developed through dialogue between the tripartite constituents.

• Outcome 2: Strengthened skills development systems that enable young people and women in the informal economy to access formal employment.

  
  Implementing partners

• Employers/Workers Organizations
  - Representative organizations of employers and workers
  - Membership-based organizations in the informal economy
• Partners at the regional level
  - European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
  - Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) 
  - Regional social partner organizations such as the “Arab Trade Union Confederation” (ATUC) 
  - BUSINESSMED
  - The Economic and Social Council of the Arab League 
  - The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 
  - The International Organization of Employers (IOE)
• Employers/Workers Organizations in Egypt
  - Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI)
  - Egyptian Trade Unions Federation (ETUF)
  - Egyptian Democratic Labour Congress (EDLC)
  - Small Farmers Unions

Beneficiaries

Workers and enterprises in the Informal economy in the MENA region, with a particular focus on women and youth.

Other countries of the Southern Neighbourhood (Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Libya, Syria) are included in the regional activities to exchange experiences and good practices.