ILO discloses why workers in Africa opt for poor quality work
…Says Africa’s economic growth rates will remain low by 2020
By Ukpono Ukpong, Abuja
Considering that only 4.5 per cent of the Africa’s working age population is unemployed, with 60 per cent employed, one will wonder why rather than indicating a well-functioning labour market, the region seems to be overwhelmed by poverty. According to the New data gathered for the International Labour Organization’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2019 (WESO), the report indicates that poverty is the leading cause why workers in Africa have no choice but to take poor quality work, lacking security, decent pay and social protection. It also noted that Africa’s labour force is projected to expand by more than 14 million per year and economic growth rates until 2020 are expected to be too low to create enough quality jobs for this fast-growing labour force. The report said although there is an impressive progress in reducing unemployment globally, it is not being matched by improvements in the quality of work adding that poor quality employment is the main issue for global labour markets, with millions of people forced to accept inadequate working conditions. As captured by the ILO Director of Research, Damian Grimshaw, in the New data gathered for the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2019 (WESO), which shows that a majority of the 3.3 billion people employed globally in 2018 had inadequate economic security, material well-being and equality of opportunity, this goes on to confirm that the progress in reducing unemployment globally is not being reflected in improvements in the quality of work. “Being in employment does not always guarantee a decent living. For instance, a full 700 million people are living in extreme or moderate poverty despite having employment.” said Grimshaw. The report, published by the ILO, cites the persistence of a number of major deficits in decent work, warning that, at the current rate of progress, attaining the goal of decent work for all, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 , seems unrealistic for many countries especially in Africa. “SDG 8 is not just about full employment but the quality of that employment. Equality and decent work are two of the pillars underpinning sustainable development.” said ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy, Deborah Greenfield. The report cautions that some new business models, including those enabled by new technologies, threaten to undermine existing labour market achievements in areas such as improving employment formality and security, social protection and labour standards unless policy-makers meet the challenge. Among the issues highlighted is the lack of progress in closing the gender gap in labour force participation. Recall that only 48 per cent of women are in the labour force, compared to 75 per cent of men. Women also make up far more of the potential, underutilized, labour force. Another issue is the persistence of informal employment, with a staggering 2 billion workers (61 per cent of the world’s workforce) categorized as such. Also of concern is that more than one in five young people (under 25) are not in employment, education or training, compromising their future employment prospects. The annual report also highlighted some pockets of progress. Should the world economy manage to avoid a significant downturn, unemployment is projected to decline further in many countries.
