Decent Work: Making It Your Own! Social Marketing Training

          The International Labour Organization and the Department of Labour conducted Decent WorkTraining of Trainers on Social Marketing at Kimberly Hotel, Tagaytay City on  Nov. 3-5, 2010. The participants were coming in tripartite :  1)government, 2) workers, and 3) employers.   Asec. Tetey Soriano of the Department of Labor, in her closing remarks, exporessed high hopes for Decent Work to be owned by the workers, employers and government in its respective roles in the economy.         
       
          The toolkit for the Trainers attempts to put a framework, approach and easy-to-use tools for Decent Work Advocacy . 

          "Decent work is an expression of a universal aspiration of people towards productive work under the conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.  It reflects personal goals for individuals, development goals for countries and solidarity with others". ....  ILC 2002 documents 
          The informal sector leaders in the Philippines, believe, that addressing decent work deficits in the informal economy is a way out of poverty.

          Susanita "Babes" Tesiorna, in her time as the  Sectoral Representative for the Workers in the Informal Sector-National Anti-Poverty Commission succeeded in the advocacy for the members of the 2005 Sectoral Assembly of the NAPC-Workers in the Informal Sector Assembly to adopt the Sectoral Agenda :  Addresing Decent Work Deficits in the Informal Economy".  The last council, Sectoral Assembly 2010, sustained the said agenda.
                                                                          



ILO Training Center in Turin, Italy hosted the "Social and Solidarity Economy Academy" Course

         The CIRIEC International conducted 5-days course No. A903002-Turin at the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization in Turin, Italy on Oct. 25-29, 2010. The course was about the "Social and Solidarity Economy Academy". 

        
 The Social and Solidarity Economy  (SSE) refers to organizations that are based on principles of solidarity and participation and that produce goods and services while pursuing both economic and social aims.

          Susanita "Babes" G.  Tesiorna, President of the Alliance of Workers in the Informal Economy/Sector (ALLWIES) is the only participant from the Philippines.

       
       The term "social economy" is often presented as having been used for the first time in the late 19th century to describe the voluntary and self-help organizations established by workers to face the consequences of the extension of industrial capitalism.

        These organizations share the goal of gathering autonomous organizations that aim to take place service to their members or the community ahead of profit and that incorporate democratic decision-making processes despite some differences  in terms of benefit distribution.  In some parts of the world (Belgium, France, Quebec and Spain) social economy benefits from political and economic recognition among ministries and administration and supporting policies.  

The Informal Economy and the SSE:
         The informal economy is a fact of life that cannot be ignored in any economy.  In some African countries, the informal economy generates incomes and "jobs" for more than 80% of the urban population.  How does the informal economy stand in relation to the social economy?

        The ILO defines the informal economy as a set of activities carried out by the workers and economic units who or which are not covered, or are inadequately covered, by formal arrangements. Their activities are not covered by legislation, which means that laws are not applied or that laws discourage compliance because they are inadequate or involve ponderous or excessive costs.

       Susanita Tesiorna is the co-presenter of two of the workshop groups, Asia. Kalpana Karunakaran, from India, is the co-presenter.