# Working Environment Improvement/Employment Support/Human Resource Development

Men have to work for a living, but labour is not a commodity. From this point of view, Japan has cooperated with Asian countries in the area of “Working Environment Improvement,” “Employment Support,” and “Human Resource Development” through the voluntary contribution of Japanese fund to the ILO.

## ☐ Multi-bilateral Technical Cooperation Scheme

Japan is proud to be a founding member of the ILO and has been implementing cooperation projects for 36 years since the first multi-bilateral program in 1974, “Asia Regional Women’s Labour Administration Seminar.” For the implementation of cooperation projects, Japan has specified a general plan and overall goals of the projects and contributed the fund to the ILO, which has developed work plans and implemented the projects in recipient countries.

Donor Country (Japan)

【Planning, Funding, Observing, Evaluation】

Funding and evaluation

Application and report

ILO

【Detailed Planning, Project Implementation】

Project Implementation

Recipient

Counties

(ASEAN member

states, etc.)

## ☐ Overview of the Projects in 2009

### 1. ASEAN-ILO/Japan Industrial Relations Project

The project aims at contributing to improve industrial relations in the ASEAN region. Activities are conducted in close cooperation with ASEAN secretariat, aiming to build harmonious industrial relations in the region. In 2009, the project held the regional seminar in Malaysia with ASEAN member states and has shared good practices in the region, which are expected to be used to promote harmonious industrial relations in each country.

### 2. Promoting Youth Employment in South Asia

Unemployment seriously affects youth, who are mostly Tamils, in plantations in Sri Lanka because of language barriers, limited education, and limited access to labour market services. The project offers career guidance, vocational skills, and entrepreneurship to youth in some model provinces, and disseminates the development model over the country.

### 4. Promoting Green Jobs in the Asian Region

The environmental threat to development in the Asian region, compounded by climate change, is leading to major transformations in labour markets. The project aims to promote environmental friendly employment in middle income countries in the Asian region. Japan hosted the expert meeting with representatives from Philippines and Thailand, in which pilot projects were undertaken, the ILO, and Japanese social partners in February 2010. The ILO is expected to implement the project with respect to Japanese "KAIZEN," a voluntarily improvement activity of workers.

3. Managing Migrant Workers in ASEAN region

Migration of workers from Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia to Thailand has been taking place for many years, and informal migrations are growing recently. Those workers are unlikely to be protected legally and are easy targets of exploitation. The project aims to establish means of regulating the cross-border flow by enlightening on the rights of migrants and to provide opportunities of employment support in sending countries.

The closing session of the expert meeting included Mr. Hosokawa, Senior Vice Minister of MHLW, and Mr. Nagumo, Secretary-General of Japan Trade Union Confederation, and Mr. Kawamoto, Japan Business Federation's board of director, and Ms. Yamamoto, Director of ILO's Regional office of Asia and the Pacific.