Labour Conditions for Construction Building Cities, Decent Work and the Role of Local Authorities

by Lawrence, Roderick; Werna, Edmundo

• ISBN13: 9781405189439
• ISBN10: 1405189436
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-09-15
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This authoritative guide promotes safe, healthy and non-exploitative working conditions for the construction industry. It combines theoretical analysis and case-studies from around the world, offering recommendations for best practice.The book results from a project funded by the Geneva International Academic Network, with staff from the International Labour Office and the University of Geneva. It presents and discusses the challenges and potential of local authorities to promote decent work in construction.Existing literature on decent work focuses mainly on the roles and responsibilities of actors in the private sector but the contribution of the public sector should not be ignored. Local authorities play a crucial role in economic development through a range of policies and programmes in the construction sector and related services.Labour Conditions for Construction: building cities, decent work & the role of local authorities includes a methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative information. It defines and validates a set of criteria to evaluate the capacity of local authorities, combining criteria about decent work, the construction sector and the policies and programmes of the local authority in each case study city.The book fills an important gap in focussing on the role of local authorities in creating and promoting decent work and will be of interest to managers and policy-makers in construction, health and safety and labour relations as well as to researchers and students in construction management.

Author Biography

Dr. Edmundo Werna, Construction Sector, International Labour Office, Geneva

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. ix
Foreword	p. xiii
Foreword	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Terms and Abbreviations	p. xix
Dedication	p. xxi
Acknowledgements	p. xxii
Introduction	p. xxiii
Conceptual and Methodological Issues	p. 1
What is decent work?	p. 2
Origans of the concept	p. 3
Conceptual issues	p. 5
Interrelations between the four key components of decent work	p. 5
Contradictions and conflicts between components of decent work	p. 7
Universality of the decent work concept	p. 9
Understanding the interrelationships between employment, construction and local authorities	p. 10
Criteria for defining indicators of decent work	p. 11
Criteria for the construction sector	p. 12
Criteria for local authorities	p. 12
Research methodology	p. 13
Case studies in local authorities	p. 14
Methodology for case studies	p. 15
Notes	p. 20
Measuring Decent Work	p. 21
Review of proposals to measure decent work	p. 22
Indicators of the employment dimension	p. 27
Employment opportunities	p. 27
Remuneration of work	p. 29
Working conditions	p. 30
Indicators of the social security dimension	p. 33
Indicators of the workers' rights dimension	p. 35
Forced labour	p. 35
Child labour	p. 35
Inequality at work	p. 39
Freedom of association	p. 42
Indicators of the social dialogue dimension	p. 43
Synthesis	p. 46
Notes	p. 50
Local Authorities and the Construction Industry	p. 51
Decent work in urban areas	p. 52
Employment dimension	p. 53
Social protection	p. 55
Workers' rights	p. 56
Social dialogue	p. 58
Cross-cutting analyses	p. 59
Local authorities	p. 60
Evolution of the role of cities in the global economy	p. 60
New roles for local authorities	p. 62
The construction sector	p. 63
The construction sector: definition and general characteristics	p. 64
Implications for decent work	p. 65
Recommendations for action	p. 68
Local authorities and decent work in the construction sector and related services	p. 70
Conclusion	p. 81
Note	p. 81
Bulawayo	p. 82
Introduction	p. 82
National, regional and local context	p. 83
The national context	p. 83
Regional and local context	p. 90
Decent work indicators	p. 100
Indicators of employment	p. 100
Social security indicators	p. 108
Indicators of workers' rights	p. 111
Indicators of social dialogue	p. 115
Workers' rights and social dialogue in Zimbabwe	p. 118
Synthesis: decent work indicators in Bulawayo	p. 121
Decent work in Bulawayo: initiatives and evidence	p. 122
Equality and the indigenization policy in the construction sector	p. 122
Managing centre local relations	p. 124
Realistic strategic planning and citizen participation	p. 124
The role of Bulawayo in promoting employment creation	p. 125
Bulawayo and the promotion of cooperatives	p. 126
Decent work: evidence, obstacles and potential	p. 127
Decent work and development in Zimbabwe	p. 127
Methodological and conceptual considerations	p. 128
Women's rights at work and health and safety in the construction sector	p. 130
The informal economy: opportunities in Bulawayo	p. 131
Future activities: Bulawayo's procurement dividend and the decent work audit	p. 133
Obstacles and potentials for decent work promotion in Bulawayo	p. 134
Notes	p. 139
Dar es Salaam	p. 141
Introduction	p. 141
Background on Tanzania	p. 142
National, regional and local context	p. 142
National context	p. 142
Economy, employment and the construction sector	p. 147
Regional and local context	p. 153
The evolution of local government	p. 153
Demographic and economic development in Dar es Salaam	p. 155
The growth of the informal sector	p. 156
Government response to growth of the informal sector	p. 158
Growth of informal settlements and government response	p. 160
Decent work indicators	p. 161
Indicators of employment	p. 161
Indicators of social security	p. 171
Indicators of workers' rights	p. 173
Indicators of social dialogue	p. 176
Synthesis: decent work indicators in Dar es Salaam	p. 181
Decent work in Dar es Salaam: best practices	p. 182
Initiatives of the Dar es Salaam City Council	p. 182
Synthesis: decent work, evidence, obstacles and potentials	p. 192
Evidence	p. 192
Obstacles	p. 194
Potentials	p. 197
Notes	p. 198
Santo André	p. 200
Introduction	p. 201
National, regional and local context	p. 201
National context	p. 201
Regional and local context	p. 208
The informal sector	p. 211
Decent work indicators	p. 213
Indicators of employment	p. 213
Indicators of social security	p. 216
Indicators of workers' rights	p. 217
Indicators of social dialogue	p. 221
Synthesis: Santo André decent work indicators	p. 223
Decent work in Santo André: best practices	p. 225
The 'Santo André Mais Igual' (SAMI) program	p. 225
The Public Centre for Employment, Labour and Income (CPETR)	p. 231
Integrated Program for Qualification, PIQ (Programa Integrado de Qualificaç&abar;o)	p. 232
Selective Collection and Income Generation Program	p. 232
Decent work: synthesis and recommendations	p. 233
Notes	p. 235
Conclusions and Recommendations	p. 236
General findings	p. 237
Recommendations and guidelines	p. 240
Conclusion	p. 247
References	p. 250
Index	p. 269
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