Social cohesion and employment

Employment - key to development

Investing in employment is crucial for sustainable development and poverty reduction. Without new and better jobs we run the risk of increasingly divided societies where the poor do not benefit from growth, leading to social discord and instability.

In developing countries, unemployment and lack of social protection are compounded by large informal economies, where workers earn very little. The real problem is underemployment and the increasing number of working poor, especially women and young people.

Employment in EU development policy

The European experience shows that social cohesion is a driver of economic growth, not a hindrance. Accordingly, EU development policy seeks to ensure that globalisation creates jobs that come with fair conditions.

Commission action

• Working document on employment - proposes national and regional solutions and seeks debate on how national EU development policies can best promote employment, under the ILO’s decent work initiative.
• EU development consensus prioritises "employment and social cohesion".
• EU regional strategies.
• EU “Investing in people ” programme
• Decent work - EU policy paper - includes chapter on development.

Strategic partnership with ILO

Since 2004, the EU and the International Labour Organisation have been working together to devise common strategies on development issues of mutual interest, e.g.:

• promoting core labour standards, especially on education and child labour, in trade-related policies, capacity building and training
• corporate social responsibility
• social dialogue , drawing on e.g. the ILO-PRODIAF programmeemployment strategy to reduce poverty
• migration, especially the brain-drain and its financial implications
• social protection.

Commission-ILO meeting (2007) - conclusions

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