ILAB Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Improving Labor Systems in Southern Africa (ILSSA)

Protecting the Basic Rights of Workers

Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zambia

2003 – 2008

$6.9 million

The governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zambia are in the process of strengthening national labor law administration and compliance, particularly those laws related to the core principles embodied in the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.  These basic labor protections are essential to promoting open economies, higher living standards, and favorable investment for trade and investment.  Each of these countries, however, faces several obstacles that could undermine these intentions.  These obstacles include:

• The absence of comprehensive national strategies for improving labor law compliance.
• Inadequate policies, training and procedures for carrying out labor inspections.
• Weak institutional linkages between labor ministries, employers and workers/unions.
• Underutilization of data to strategically target inspections to the most problematic employers and sectors;
• Inefficient administrative systems for resolving labor cases in the courts, which lead to a burdensome backlog of cases.
• Lack of capacity of union officials to effectively represent workers and their interests in legal proceedings.
• Lack of awareness among workers of labor protections.

Labor ministries, employers, and workers.

• Increased compliance with national labors laws and improved labor-management relations in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zambia.

• Develop public awareness materials about labor law and its application; train the social partners to conduct seminars on current labor laws and available ministry services.
• Develop national plans for labor law compliance with senior ministry officials and social partners; train labor officers with the technical knowledge of modern inspection systems.
• Support the formation of tripartite advisory committees; organization of workshops to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders; and obtaining buy-in from stakeholders to plan and commit future resources to sustain the program.
• Conduct industrial relations and conflict management training; upgrade case management systems; develop codes of best practices, model agreements and guidelines for conciliators and arbitrators

Executing Agency: International Labor Organization

Office of Trade and Labor Affairs
Division of Trade Agreement Administration and Technical cooperation
(202) 693-4900

March 2007