CO-506696

General

The programme will empower precarious workers in the highly informal agri-food sector - mostly micro, small and medium enterprises - in 3 ASEAN member-states (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) with the aim of addressing their rights, needs and vulnerabilities through the promotion of 3 pillars of the JSF Decent Work: labour rights at work, social protection and social dialogue for all. Climate change impacts, economic insecurity and occupational safety and health of these workers will be addressed by more adequate and shock-responsive social protection measures. Labour law enforcement will be enhanced to upgrade their livelihoods. These workers will be heard by employers and relevant government structures through dialogue and negotiation mechanisms. A particular focus is put on women workers who are impacted differently due to prevalent gender norms constituting additional obstacles to their empowerment, including gender-based violence and time scarcity due to long hours of unpaid care and domestic work. Without gender justice, decent work cannot be achieved. Following a rights-based and gender transformative approach, 16 local partners jointly cover the target groups in the 3 countries. They will cooperate to empower local groups and their leaders to influence power holders more effectively. 3 regional partners will add value through learning and knowledge building, tapping from experiences in the ASEAN region, while leveraging the relevant ASEAN policy frameworks, in particular those promoting decent work, social protection and gender equality. 9 collaborators, including the local Oxfam offices, will support the partners through capacity strengthening, knowledge sharing and brokering cooperation. At the end of the programme, these women workers will become more resilient to shocks and risks, have more agency and voice, and work and live on more equal footing in society. Other beneficiaries include male workers, network members and staff of partners and stakeholders. By 2026, 69.200 women workers in the agri-food sector, including small holder farmers, in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, exercise their right and have access to adequate labour and social protection contributing to gender equality and (shock) resilience, through better representation, policy and practice changes.