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Article

22 Jan 2018

Author:
Simon Roughneen, Nikkei Asian Review

ILO report: Nearly 1 billion Asians remain in vulnerable employment characterised by informal work contracts and low wages

"Nearly one billion Asians in vulnerable jobs, says ILO," 23 January 2018

...[A]round 900 million more Asian workers remain in what the International Labour Organization deems "vulnerable" employment.

 Vulnerable employment refers to people who lack formal work arrangements or contracts, are often nonsalaried and working part-time in sectors such as agriculture or retail, and are sometimes self-employed. Such workers often can be fired without much notice and subsequently have no access to unemployment benefit.

Although the ILO's "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018" report... says that unemployment in Asia "should remain low by international standards at 4.2%" as the region is "expected to continue to create jobs at a fast rate," it also notes that the majority of the world's 1.4 billion people in vulnerable employment are in Asia.

In developing or poorer countries, economic growth has not always been accompanied by a reduction in vulnerable employment... 

But even though the proportion of vulnerable employment in farming tends to be high, the transition has not automatically meant a drop in informal or vulnerable work, as people move to the cities to work in sectors such as construction and retail where casual labor is common.

...[I]t appears that low wages go hand-in-hand with vulnerable employment: Worldwide, around 730 million workers have to get by on average incomes of less than $3.10 per day...

Many of those poorly-paid people are engaged in casual or seasonal work, lacking contracts and a guaranteed salary...

According to Sara Elder, to drive the levels of vulnerable employees below 30% -- as countries such as Malaysia and South Korea have managed -- countries will need to expand their manufacturing and services sectors, while "strengthening the institutions that promote and enforce 'good' jobs with contracts and living wages," such as labor laws, labor inspection and collective bargaining.

 

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Note: The ILO report, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018  can be downloaded here.