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ILO’s Technical Assistance on Labour Law Reform in Pacific Island Countries (2012-2018) - Thematic independent evaluation
- eval_number:
- 3155
- eval_url:
- https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/3155
- lessons_learned:
- themes:
- theme:
- Tripartism & constituent partnerships
- category:
- Organizational issues
- comments:
- Programme management and staff of LLR, and tripartite constituents.
- challenges:
- The protracted process in LLR in Vanuatu is a result of the combination of several factors:
● the changing positions of stakeholders;
● a lack of broad buy-in from key government agencies; and
● political changes and natural disasters.
- success:
- There has been some success in embedding the TLAC as the focal point for LLR. Over the longer term, TLAC should be encouraged to engage with other stakeholders in the public sector so as to strengthen its mandate to develop proposed labour legislation.
- context:
- The process of developing new labour legislation in Vanuatu has been lengthy. Between 2012 and 2015, the ILO provided extensive technical support in developing a draft of the Employment Relations Bill. However, in 2015, the VCCI changed its position and requested modest amendments to the existing Employment Act rather than passing new legislation. This significantly impacted the LLR process.
Moreover, the Department of Labour had a low level of engagement with Ministers and other public stakeholders. For example, the State Law Office in charge of drafting new legislation has insisted that the ILO had to follow Vanuatu’s official drafting process in order to ensure the country’s ownership of the legislation. Without first obtaining the Attorney-General’s approval, the ILO should not engage its consultant to draft legislation. Otherwise, the draft will not be reviewed by the State Law Office.
In addition, significant political instability had led to frequent changes in Ministers between 2012 and 2017. A major cyclone also halted the law reform process for a period of time while the Vanuatu Government and UN agencies attended to recovery efforts.
- description:
- Multiple factors can affect the process of LLR. Among them, one lesson learned is that “ownership” of the LLR process should not be confined to labour ministries without reference to other public-sector stakeholders, including Ministers and legislatures.
- administrative_issues:
- At the design stage, the ILO should map the key public stakeholders in the LLR process, and engage with them during the implementation of LLR to ensure country ownership and buy-in.
- url:
- https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/248456
- location:
- country:
- Asia and the Pacific - regional
- region:
- Asia and the Pacific
- eval_title:
- ILO’s Technical Assistance on Labour Law Reform in Pacific Island Countries (2012-2018) - Thematic independent evaluation
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