YEREVAN. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN’s specialised agency which promotes social justice and Decent Work, announced the launch of a new initiative to prevent informalisation of work and promote transition to formality in Armenia. The UN agency allocates USD 600,000 to this initiative, reinforcing international community’s response to the refugee crisis.
The United Nations reported that many of the working-age population who fled from the Karabakh region lacked access to employment opportunities, making their socio-economic integration difficult.
The labour market impact of the crisis may be felt by a broader group, according to the ILO. While informal employment was on the decline in Armenia prior to the crisis, the current situation is likely to stall or rewind the progress, affecting working conditions and workers’ rights, unless consorted interventions prevent it.
Against the backdrop, “the ILO mobilises its internal fund and specialists of various fields such as employment, labour standards, enterprises, and gender equality, to support Armenia’s a sustainable recovery from the crisis” explains Mikhail Pouchkin, Director of ILO’s technical team for the region. The ILO partners with the government, social partners, UN agencies in this new initiative, he added.
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Speaking of the complexity of addressing the informal economy and employment, Frédéric Lapeyre, Director of the ILO Priority Action Programme on Formalisation, emphasises that “we must work on multiple fronts simultaneously, preventing informalisation of the labour market by safeguarding decent working conditions, assisting refugees’ access to jobs, and creating more productive employment opportunities”.
The Armenian economy recorded a high growth the past two years. “Economic growth is a prerequisite to reduce informality; however, the process is not automatic”, says Lapeyre, stressing the vitality of well designed and coordinated policy interventions.
A window of opportunity is open for Armenia to address the chronic challenges of informal employment. The new ILO initiative intends to translate the growth momentum into creation of decent work and formalisation of deep-rooted informal employment.
UNO Yerevan,
UN Department of Global Communications
