My name is Champa. I grew up in a village in Myanmar. When I was five years old my father died. I am the youngest of nine children, and as a daughter, I was the one who had to help my mother.  

As I got older, I began to notice that there were people in the village who had returned from a place they called Bangkok. Back then I didn’t know what Bangkok was. I didn’t know what country it was in. All I knew was they had nice clothes. They had money to give their parents. They built their own houses. Their houses were more beautiful than ours. So, I decided I would go to Bangkok and help support my mother. 

At the time you had to be 25 to travel alone as a woman. I was 16. So, I used the ID card of my elder sister. We looked very much alike, and I had very long hair which made me look older.  

My brother was already in Bangkok working as a gardener. He helped pay for the travel costs. It was illegal to cross the border, so I paid an agent to help me get to Bangkok. An older woman from our village travelled with me. We were lucky or maybe our agent was good. I don’t know why, but we didn’t get arrested. 

Domestic workers need social protection too

In Myanmar we are called Gurkha. I am of Nepali descent so I can speak Hindi. This helped me find work as a nanny and housekeeper at an Indian family’s home in Bangkok. They spoke English, Hindi and Thai. They were like my teachers. I learned Thai and English there. I am very grateful to them.  

But there were obstacles and problems. The first problem I faced was that there were no days off. I didn’t think about this when I asked to work there. I knew that the work would pay me 1,800 baht per month (USD 52). Other than that, I knew nothing.  

I used to wake up early every morning to work. My life was always full of work. One month passed by, then two, then three. There was no mention of a day off. The first month I was happy. The second month I got tired. By the third, I was exhausted. 

I had lots of extended family in Bangkok. I saw they were getting days off. Some came to visit me once a month and brought me snacks from Myanmar. When they would leave, I would get very sad. Why could they visit me, but I could not visit them? Remembering it now, I get goosebumps.

When I started working as a domestic worker I knew nothing about my rights.

I gathered my courage after several months had passed and I knew my employer better.  I decided I would wait until they were in a good mood, like when they were watching a movie. I would peek inside the door and look at their faces. This is true, I’m not overstating it! If they were happy and smiling I would ask if I could take a day off. I managed to get a day off every 3 months.  

The employers also had their excuses. For instance, they would say “You don’t have a visa.  If you go out you will get arrested.  Do you want that to happen?” 

At the time I was young. I thought I was naughty. I thought if I got caught, then oh well. I had to get out.

When I asked for a day off my employers would say: “You don’t have a work visa.  If you go out you will get arrested.  Do you want that to happen?”

Domestic worker and President, Network of Migrant Domestic Workers

After five years of this I wanted more days off, so I resigned. I kept changing jobs, looking for one that would give me regular days off. I found a job with one day off a week. Everyone on our street said, “You are so blessed.” I kept thinking this wasn’t right. Having a day off shouldn’t be based on fortune. It had to be based on law.

Back then, I didn’t know about workers’ rights. Then in 2014 I found out about a non-governmental organization called HomeNet Thailand. They ran an event for migrant workers. By then I had a workers’ visa. But then it expired. Not only mine. All migrant workers’ visas expired. 

When we arrived at the event, we met someone from HomeNet Thailand as well as officers from the Royal Thai Police Immigration Bureau. They told us what steps we would need to take in order to renew the visa. They understood the problems of migrant workers. They told us to share the information with our friends and that there was no need to panic. 

At a Regional Workshop on Organizing Migrant Domestic Workers, held in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2015 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

I started going to more and more such events. I got involved with HomeNet’s activities and began to learn about workers’ rights for domestic workers, such as a day off each week and holidays. These are basic things. These are our rights. It isn’t about whether or not you have good fortune, or a good employer.  

I learned from an ILO project about labour rights for migrant domestic workers. Back then we knew that there was a network of Thai domestic workers, so we joined them. But then we realised that our problems were not the same as those of Thai workers, who don’t have to deal with work permits and visas.  

Among our family and friends, we say that apart from breathing, our priorities are our passports and work permits. We joke about this.

Among our family and friends, we say that apart from breathing, our priorities are our passports and work permits.  

We agreed to gather as a group and provide information about labour rights to domestic workers, as well as migrant workers in other sectors. We help spread correct information and post it in our Facebook group. 

I think it’s good that we work this way. Also, I have been working for almost 30 years. I know several languages. There are so many people that don’t speak Thai. So, I think it’s my duty to help other migrant domestic workers.

Recently, I went to a HomeNet meeting on what labour rights are included for domestic workers. We learned that because we have employers, we should be entitled to social security. Then why don’t we get this right? 

I started to think about female domestic workers, and how they typically get fired when pregnant. Or even if they are not fired, it can be hard for them to work.   They are afraid to ask their employers for days off. This is not right. And after you deliver a baby, you have to take care of the baby, you have to have enough money. 

I feel I have a duty to help other migrant domestic workers.

I am working with other networks to lobby the government for domestic workers’ rights, in particular our lack of access to social protection. We’ve told them how having social security would help us. How our lives would be much better. 

Think about it. I have many Thai domestic worker friends who are 50 to 60 years old. They have worked since they were in their late teens or early twenties. This is their occupation. They have jobs and employers like other workers do. But the government has excluded domestic workers from receiving social security benefits. 

Look at me.  At 18 years old I was working and could have deposited money into the social security fund. I have been a domestic worker for 30 years now.  There hasn’t been a single month when I didn’t earn an income. Thirty years multiplied by 12 months. 

If we could contribute to the social security fund when we are able to work and have a salary, no one would have to worry about the future and which of their children would care for them. Whatever they earned, they could save for when they are old.

Now I am 46. Some of my friends are already 60. They are worried about when they will no longer be able to work. When we don’t have energy to work as domestic workers, who will take care of us?

Members of our migrant domestic workers network create signs calling for the Thai government to ratify ILO Convention 189, which sets out labour standards for domestic workers.

I want to convey a message to the government to please include domestic workers in Social Security Article 33 like other workers. Include everyone. Because we also have employers. We are workers. Domestic work is an occupation. It’s labour. Don’t think that domestic work is not productive work. Actually, we are productive for the country and the economy.

Many of our employers are even members of parliament. They can go to work because we take care of their children and grandchildren. Yes. But they don’t say that we are workers and a part of the economy of this country. They think this occupation is lowly. If people think like this, there is no way we can overcome this challenge. I think this is the most important point.

Whatever the government does, we want them to think about the millions of migrant workers out there. We want them to have easier visa and work permit renewal processes that allow everyone to live in Thailand legally. We want them to provide us with social protection. We don’t want talk about us being bad workers. We pay taxes like other people do. We want to be good workers and be able to earn money to feed our families back home.

It’s estimated that there are between 289,760 and 1.4 million domestic workers in Thailand, many in the informal sector. 

Many domestic workers are migrants from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar, as well as internal migrants within Thailand itself.

HomeNet Thailand is non-governmental organization, which has helped the Network of Domestic Workers in Thailand (NDWT) to organize and advocate for the rights of domestic workers.

Since 2015, HomeNet and NDWT have been supported by the ILO’s TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme, which aims to maximize the contribution of labour migration to equitable, inclusive, and stable growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

Thai domestic workers are eligible for fewer social protection benefits than other workers. Migrant domestic workers are excluded entirely. 

The ILO supports the Thai Ministry of Labour’s review of laws regulating domestic work. This review may provide more scope to extend labour rights and social protection to domestic workers.

The TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme (2015-2027) is a partnership between the ILO, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

Only six per cent of domestic workers have comprehensive social protection, says ILO

International Domestic Workers Federation

Global Call to Action for a Human-centred Recovery

What motivates someone to advocate for workers’ rights?  Meet Champa, head of a network of migrant domestic workers, who lives and works in Thailand.

Cooperatives EN_Future of work.mp3

Nadine Moawad stands outside one of the Dikkeneh Co-op grocery stores in Beirut, Lebanon, which she helped to found. 

Dikkeneh Consumer Cooperative shopkeepers attach a sign in Arabic, which reads "natural and local", to a shelf lined with pickled food in glass jars.

Dikkeneh Consumer Cooperative, Whatsapp +96176042473

The Cooperative Sector in Lebanon: What Role? What Future?

Decent work and the social and solidarity economy

These are uncertain times. Inflation has returned. A post-COVID recovery is under threat.  These problems will need innovative solutions. 

One option attracting attention is the social and solidarity economy, which will be the subject of a discussion at this year’s International Labour Conference.

The Social and Solidarity economy is sometimes described as a third sector; neither private or public sector enterprises, but an approach in which economic activities and projects are founded on the principle of solidarity.

One of the better-known forms of social and solidarity economy activity is the cooperative. These are enterprises that are owned, governed, and run by their members.  What are the challenges that cooperatives face in order to operate well?  How can cooperatives contribute to building resilient economies?

These are uncertain times. Inflation has returned. A post-Covid recovery is under threat.  These problems will need innovative solutions. 

One option attracting attention is the social and solidarity economy, which will be the subject of a discussion at this year’s International Labour Conference.

The Social and Solidarity economy is sometimes described as a third sector; neither private or public sector enterprises, but an approach in which economic activities and projects are founded on the principle of solidarity.

One of the better-known forms of solidarity economy activity is the cooperative. These are enterprises that are owned, governed, and run by their members.  What are the challenges that cooperatives face to operate well?  How can cooperatives contribute to building resilient economies?

What can the social and solidarity economy do for recovery?

My name is Akram. I am 14 years old. I have three brothers and I am the fourth. I also have three sisters.  I live with my parents in Mosul. Life is hard. My parents are poor. In Mosul, all families are in the same situation. They are all poor and tired. There is no work. Our situation is very difficult.

I used to have lots of friends, we used to have fun and play together. But after the war, they were gone. We got separated as we had to move.  

Before, when I went to school, I saw my friends and my teachers and I was happy. But then our situation became desperate. The COVID-19 pandemic started and my father was not able to work. Our financial situation was very bad. This is what made me work. I had to help my father. I left school and I started collecting scrap metal and selling it. 

I had to stop school and go to work because of COVID-19

My biggest challenge in life is collecting scrap metal. It affects my body. My bones hurt and my leg hurts.

When I was little I broke my leg. This is something I will never forget. I still think about it. I had platinum inserted in my leg. I have difficulty sleeping at night because my leg hurts. 

I cannot carry anything too heavy because it hurts my leg. But I carry metal and metal is heavy, so often I cannot carry it. I get tired when I work.

Recently I returned to school. I go to school in the morning and then I come home and do some homework for an hour. In the afternoon I work for four hours. I collect scrap metal with my father and then I go home. My father also sells second-hand clothes and sometimes I help him at the stall.

I am happy to see my friends and my teachers again.  

At school I like biology the most, because it’s taught me about human anatomy. I’ve liked learning about lungs and other parts of the body. It’s helped me explore and learn more so that when I grow up - if I succeed, God willing - I can become a doctor.

I do my homework at lunchtime before heading out to work.

When I am free and I don’t have to work, I like to garden.  I also like to fish, play football and go swimming.   Before COVID-19, we used to go to the beach. This is where I learnt how to swim.

My sports hero is the football player Cristiano Ronaldo.  He has many talents and ambitions.  He is very athletic.  That’s why I like him.  

My favourite TV show is a game show called “My Family Wins”. 

What would I say to other children in child labour? I think children shouldn’t work. They are still young and haven’t yet prepared for their future. They should study and look after their future.  

I hope that my siblings and I can continue studying and graduate and receive our diplomas. 

If I don’t become a doctor, I would also like to be a teacher so that I can teach other children how to read and write, and help them build their future.

Efforts to help Akram and his family are part of an ILO project implemented in Iraq to tackle the worst forms of child labour. 

It is funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II), a joint European initiative by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland and Switzerland. 

The programme targets children in or at risk of child labour among Internally Displaced Persons, refugees, and vulnerable host communities, including those in Mosul where the number of displaced and vulnerable children is high following years of conflict.

In Mosul, the programme is implemented in collaboration with the Al-Tahreer Association for Development.

It includes a Child Labour Monitoring System that identifies vulnerable children at risk of or already in child labour and refers them to the relevant services to receive support.

It also includes increasing access to tailored formal and non-formal education for children, and providing skills training and income-generating activities to older siblings and caretakers of vulnerable children.

The project continues to work with Akram and his family so that eventually Akram will be able to stop work altogether.

Iraq launches activities to combat child labour as part of nation-wide campaign

Tackling the worst forms of child labour in Iraq

Al Taheer Association for Development (in Arabic)

The European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II)

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the city of Mosul in Iraq, Akram’s parents lost their income and livelihood. Akram dropped out of school to help support his family by collecting and selling scrap metal.  An ILO project has helped him return to school.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many people in the rural areas of Colombia had to flee armed conflicts in the country. Many of them came to Rionegro in the province of Antioquia and found that there was no work for them. Collecting recyclable material from rubbish was one of the only things they could do to earn some money in the midst of the forced exodus from their territories. 

At the time, I was a business administration student at the Catholic University Luis Amigo and had gone back to studying after years of being married and working in the private sector. Returning to studying was a way of turning my life around. My fellow students and I were about to graduate and our dream was to generate employment for waste recyclers by creating a cooperative. My vocation had always been in social issues and the cooperative model appealed to me. I was the eldest of the founding group. We called the cooperative Planeta Verde.

The cooperative model has always appealed to me.

When we launched our cooperative it was very difficult at first, because there was a lot of scepticism on the part of the informal waste pickers. Because of their history of poverty and being uprooted, they thought that we were going to take advantage of them. Also, they had had bad experiences with other aid projects that had disappeared when the money ran out. We told them that a cooperative had nothing to do with the government, and that we were going to build it together, because cooperatives are based on partnership and solidarity. Gradually we gained their trust, and the first people who joined motivated others to do the same. Recycling is a survival trade and individualistic. Our job was to learn to think collectively. Later, we learned that our peers were joining an organization called Arreciclar, and at the national level, the Association of Waste Pickers, and we decided to join them as well. We always had the conviction that working together would help us achieve our goals.

Over the years, the members of the cooperative have learned to think and work collectively.

Today, after 22 years, we have 94 members. Historically, waste pickers have been excluded from society. Those who worked in waste picking were associated with delinquency, informality or drug use. We are proud to say that through our cooperative work, we have managed to transform the way society looks at waste pickers. Today, the state recognises them as providers of an essential public service, through which they receive a fee that compensates them for their work.

Today the state recognises the waste pickers as providers of an essential public service.

The work of the waste pickers has made an immense contribution to the environment. The current challenge is to continue to strengthen this commitment, to ensure that they are recognised as key actors in their own development, and key players in the recycling chain. We have been achieving this through basic literacy education, based on a programme developed by a university in the region, with which we began a project specialising in educating adults. Thanks to this, most of them now have a basic education.

The work of the waste pickers has made an immense contribution to the environment.

In terms of my challenges as a leader, it is worth mentioning that I am now 60 years old. I look back with great pride on all that we have done, and all the obstacles we have overcome. But I confess that I am worried about the future. When we started more than two decades ago, nobody talked about recycling. Now, this activity has become a business for private, non-cooperative companies. Companies with political and financial interests have arrived and are taking everything with their big trucks. Our colleagues take to the streets, and sometimes there is nothing left. We cannot compete with them because we are not on an equal footing. It is as if we were invited to a race but we are missing a foot.

However, at the heart of our organization is the notion of solidarity. We have developed training and mediation in order to share the work - as in the case of the Venezuelan migrant population settled in Colombia. During the pandemic for instance, we shared out the bags of food that were donated to us. All of us have helped each other in the most difficult moments.

We understand that there is a legacy to take care of. We were born to dignify the work of waste pickers, to make it something more than just fine words, to be vigilant in the face of political guilds that only want to join in the corruption and to follow their personal interests. Today we are not rich but we are cooperative activists who have managed to provide for 94 families with a clear social and political commitment. That is our wealth!

Today, we are not rich but we are cooperative activists who have managed to provide for 94 families with a clear social and political commitment. That is our wealth!

The social and solidarity economy comprises of entities that pursue social, economic, and environmental objectives in the collective interest of their members and users.  

The SSE is based on the principles of voluntary cooperation and mutual aid, democratic and participatory governance, autonomy and independence. People and social purpose are prioritized over capital and profits.

Cooperatives are part of the social and solidarity economy. They are owned, governed and run by their members.

After winning a legal battle in 2013, organised waste pickers in Colombia became formally recognised as providers of a public service and are renumerated by the government for their recycling work.

But many waste pickers in other countries are not legally recognized as workers and suffer from poor working conditions and lack of social protection. It’s led many to set up cooperatives, particularly in Latin America and South Asia.

A committee is discussing the social and solidarity economy at the 110th International Labour Conference. This is the first such high level discussion within the United Nations system.

In Colombia, a Global Model for Inclusive Recycling is under Threat

Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations

ILO topic portal on the social and solidarity economy

General Discussion Committee: Decent work and the social and solidarity economy - 110th International Labour Conference

Twenty-two years ago, Martha Elena Iglesias helped found a waster picker cooperative in Colombia called Planeta Verde.  Over time, the cooperative has transformed how the local community views waste pickers and a sense of solidarity has developed amongst its members.

Our cooperative has dignified the work of waste pickers

My name is Muhammad Taher Muhammad al-Tahri. I’m 28. When war broke out in Yemen in 2014, the factory where I worked shut down. 

In high school I was an outstanding student and dreamed of becoming an electronic engineer. But the war meant I gave up on my dream.  

I looked for work in other factories but there were no opportunities. I was young, unemployed and couldn’t achieve my dreams for the future. I fell into a state of despair. 

Then one of my old classmates told me about an apprenticeship programme run by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ghadaq Organization for Development. Registration had opened for new applicants. When I went to register, there were lots of other people there and I wondered whether they would even look at my application let alone accept me onto the programme. But they did! By God I was happy.

An apprenticeship changed my life

I chose solar panel installation, repair and maintenance training, one of the options of the apprenticeship programme. 

When we started the training, I thought we would be in a classroom with paper and pen, but I was surprised that the course was both theoretical and practical. It was divided into several phases - a class training phase where I learned life skills, financial literacy and about occupational safety and health, and then specialized technical training, which was divided into two parts: I studied the theory in institutes and then had on-the-job training in a workshop where I worked with experienced craftspeople. After I completed the specialized technical training, I studied entrepreneurship, which taught me how to open and manage my own business.

I learned a lot from the on-the-job training. 

The combination of theoretical and practical training meant it was really comprehensive, both in terms of the work experience and the knowledge I gained. I learned how to install solar energy systems and connect them in parallel, series or mixed-mode; how to measure the battery and the panels; and how to maintain the panels.

We also learned the correct way to install home solar energy systems, as well as larger-scale systems for farms.

The apprenticeship has changed my life, thanks to God, and in a big way.

Solar panel installation and maintenance specialist

Solar energy systems are a good alternative green energy source in Yemen, particularly given the power outages caused by the war.  I want to expand the use of solar energy in many applications in my country.

At the moment the fighting has stopped in my region. I’m now working freelance and have enough work to keep me busy full-time.  

The apprenticeship has changed my life, thanks to God, and in a big way. My living conditions have improved. I am able to support my parents and younger siblings, and I am now on my way to achieving my goals in my personal life.

I am working on developing my own business by setting up a workshop and expanding to neighbouring areas. I am also trying to expand my list of clients through social media and WhatsApp. I am sure, God willing, that I will be successful.

My mother, my younger siblings and me. I am happy that I can help to support them. 

Apprenticeships are a hugely successful way to learn skills, especially for young people, because it moves young people from unemployment to hope and provides them with an occupation which helps them to improve their livelihoods.

In the past, I was a young man without any goal in life, nor did I have a job, but now, thanks to the apprenticeship programme I have goals and an occupation! I aim to expand my work in this field. I want to be more creative in my work and learn more. I feel needed and respected by people in my community, and I have developed greater self-confidence because of my occupation.

I enjoy my work in all respects, especially because I’m freelance and now have continuous work. 

1,822 vulnerable youths, 41 per cent of whom are women, have participated in apprenticeships in 11 priority occupations through the Supporting Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security in Yemen - Joint Programme (ERRY II).

The programme is implemented by the ILO, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The project seeks to boost resilience, livelihoods, food security, and climate adaptation in Yemen. 

The European Union (EU) and Sweden have contributed new funding totalling US$ 49.37 million for the third phase of the project, which covers a three-year period as of March 2022.

Apprenticeships will be discussed at the 110th International Labour Conference taking place from 27 May to 11 June, with a view to setting a new international labour standard.

Support Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security in Yemen (ERRY II)

New programme phase to boost the resilience of the most vulnerable in Yemen (ERRY III)

ILO resources on apprenticeships and recognition of prior learning

Standard-Setting Committee: Apprenticeships – 110th International Labour Conference, 2022

When war broke out in Yemen, the factory where Muhammad Taher Muhammad al-Tahri worked shut down.  His job search was going nowhere, until he joined an apprenticeship programme in solar panel maintenance and installation.

On August 4, 2020, chemicals exploded in a Beirut port warehouse killing 218 people and causing devastation across much of the city. The blast came as an endpoint for me and for Lebanon. 

Even before the explosion, the country was in a very bad situation on all levels, particularly economically and socially. I was very desperate and felt that I needed to leave Lebanon as there seemed to be only two possibilities for my future if I stayed: the first one, death and the second one, failure.

The explosion at Beirut’s port killed at least 218 people, wounded 7000, and caused an estimated USD15 billion in damage to buildings.

I am an engineer and work for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Beirut, monitoring projects for our Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) across Lebanon.

After the blast, I stayed at home pondering my future. But then work called and I was put in charge of helping people clear rubble in Achrafieh, a Beirut neighbourhood. Once we had completed our work there, we moved on to other areas of the city. Bit by bit, I started to regain some hope.

Workers clear rubble on a Beirut city street.

We were then asked to rehabilitate some buildings in Beirut, including a municipal police station in Karantina, a neighborhood in northwestern Beirut. It was like a small example of the country as a whole. It was almost totally destroyed and the people working in the building were facing a very bad situation, with many economic and social problems.

Nearly all the windows, doors, lights and ceilings were damaged, as well as the electrical and water systems. The second floor was partially inaccessible due to a wall and part of the roof having fallen down. 

It was a big job. Even the workers who were recruited were not very motivated. So, it was a challenge and a risk for me to be on this project because if it failed it would affect our reputation. But I felt that I needed to act. We couldn’t stay at home just thinking and being pessimistic.

I felt that I needed to act. We couldn’t stay at home just being pessimistic. 

My job was split between two main roles. 

The first one was the social monitoring of the project. I ensured that the recruitment process was transparent, that we were hiring both female and male workers, as well as people with disabilities. It was also my job to check working conditions. This covered everything including working hours, whether all the necessary safety measures were in place, that they had all the safety and personal protective equipment they needed, and that the contractor was paying them regularly. If any problems arose, they could talk about them with me, so I could resolve any issues that came up.

My second role was to monitor the quality of the technical work and to ensure that the contractor abided by the architectural drawings and design. This included consulting with the director of the police station, the colonel, and other police officers. If they had comments or suggestions, it was up to me to find a solution to satisfy their requests.

Entire walls had fallen in on the second floor and had to be re-built.

And what happened during this project? Many workers’ mentality changed. They said that they didn't know that they could have a decent job, that they had rights. 

They saw that the jobs were organized and that there were rules. They had to sign a contract before starting their job. They learned about their rights beforehand and were trained on safety measures. It made them feel special. 

They expected to be a few days, maybe one or two weeks on the job, without any organization, doing random things, without any safety measures, but when they saw that this job was very different from the ones they were used to, they were very happy. They worked from their hearts. They were trying to provide the best work ever.

Safety and health were a priority for workers on site.

My mentality changed too, especially my view of women, it changed a lot, 180 degrees! It was already beginning to change from previous projects. I didn’t expect to see that women could do a better job than men.   

Many of these women had not been given a chance to show what they were capable of. In Lebanon, many women are afraid to work with men. Here they felt safe to carry out their work. We always tried to prevent any cases of harassment and it never happened. They had rights and they were paid the same as the men. 

In addition, they were hired to perform skilled jobs. They received training. Some women worked in painting, in plastering, in tiling and fixing false ceilings. They were performing skilled tasks that traditionally men perform. 

The result of this is that they felt very happy. They felt proud and it helped them to find other jobs. Recently at the official inauguration of the police station, one woman told me that she's now working elsewhere in a skilled job and she learned this skill from our project.   

We also hired five workers with disabilities. Before they started their work, we identified the tasks that would best suit them. They performed well and the quality of their work was excellent.

The municipal police building in Karantina before the rehabilitation work. Although the building was still standing, there was extensive structural damage to the roof and internal walls, the windows were shattered, and the electrics and water pipes weren’t functioning.

The municipal police building after the rehabilitation work was completed.

I am very, very happy because we rehabilitated a building that was destroyed, and I didn't expect that the result would be as good as it is. I am very proud and I am happy that those who worked on the project are finding it easier now to find other jobs.

It was the diversity of the people involved in this project that made it so special: male and female workers, workers with disabilities, plus the contributions of the local municipality, the police, and the contractor.  I think this is why the project has been such a success.

I no longer want to leave Lebanon. I saw that we can change even the most difficult situation and make things better.

The pessimistic side of me isn’t prevailing like it was at the time of the blast. I no longer want to leave Lebanon. I saw that we can change even the most difficult situation and make things better. 

We can improve, we can fix things, and we can help people. We can provide people with opportunities to learn new skills; we can also help people whose buildings have been damaged. 

We made some very positive impacts and it ended with a successful story. I hope that the future of this country will also be a story of success.

Some of the workers, foremen and the contractor, Mohamad Tabbaja, gather for the inauguration of the municipal police building. 

The ILO's Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) links infrastructure development with employment creation, using local labour and resources. 32 EIIP projects are taking place in 20 countries worldwide in 2022. 

Special attention is paid to equality and non-discrimination. EIIP beneficiaries include women and persons with a disability.

The EIIP programme was introduced in Lebanon in 2017. It employs Lebanese and Syrian refugee workers to build and maintain public infrastructure.

6,000 beneficiaries on the EIIP Lebanon programme worked for 240,000 days between 2017 and June 2021.

EIIP Lebanon is funded by Germany through the German Development Bank (KfW), and has partnered with UNDP and Lebanon’s Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs.

Employment Intensive Infrastructure Programme in Lebanon (EIIP)

Lebanese capital police hub restored by the ILO following Beirut port explosion

On August 4, 2020, large parts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, were devastated by a massive explosion in the port. For Hani Baltaji, the rebuilding of a municipal police station has not only helped towards Beirut’s recovery, but also his own.

How work gave me purpose after Beirut blast

My name is Domboué Nibéissé. I am 15 years old. When I was 9 years old I had to leave school to work in the cotton fields.  

I live with my aunt, I have five older brothers, five older sisters and three younger sisters. 

I started school when I was 8 years old, but one year later in CE1 (2nd year of primary school) I stopped school because we didn't have enough money. I was upset not to go. I didn't like it because my friends would go to school and leave me on my own.

A child should go to school, not to work

When I stopped going to school, I went to work in the fields to earn some money.

It was difficult work and tiring.  We picked cotton by hand. There were a few other children working alongside me.

I used to work in cotton fields like this all day long.    

I used to start sowing at 9am, rest around 1pm, and at 4pm I would go home. I was given between 500 (USD 0.79) and 750 francs (USD 1.19).

When it was not sowing or harvest time, on market days, I helped sell clothes to make some money.  

It was difficult work and tiring.  We picked cotton by hand.

When I was 11 years old, a school reintegration centre (Centre de Stratégie de Scolarisation Accélérée / Passerelle - SSA/P) contacted us so that I could return to school.  I was able to join the centre, and I was really happy because I knew I would learn a lot.

At the SSA/P centre, I learned to count and read in Dioula, we did our homework in Dioula, and then we learned to count and do calculations and homework in French. Thanks to this, I was able to go back to school in the formal system, in CM1 class (fourth year of primary school).

Now that I am back at school I feel good. I am very happy because I have found my friends.  During recess I like to play football with them. 

My favourite subject is the study of texts.  When I grow up I want to be a policeman.

Children belong in school, not at work. When I was working I didn't like it because it made me tired. And even though school is sometimes a bit difficult, I will learn and one day I will earn a living from it.

160 million children aged 5 to 17 work worldwide. 

70% of the world's child labour is in agriculture. Cotton is one of the most common commodities produced using child and forced labour.

Domboué Nibéissé was 9 years old when he stopped going to school and started to work in the cotton fields in Burkina Faso. Difficult and tiring work, two years later he was given an opportunity to return to school.

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