The Social Protection and Decent Work Program (PS-TD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo was officially launched during a ceremony organized by the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Claudine Ndusi M’Kembe, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium in the DRC, Roxane de Bilderling. This program, implemented by the Belgian Development Agency-Enabel, focuses on three cities in the country: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Kolwezi. It aims to promote decent work and social protection, with a focus on women and young people aged 16 to 35.
With funding of 16.2 million euros over a period of 5 years (2022-2027), the PS-TD Program has the general objective of enabling young people and women of working age to access decent work. , to be better protected by labor rights and to benefit from social protection. In collaboration with various partners, this regional program aims to consolidate the Country Program for the Promotion of Decent Work in the DRC and to fight against social inequalities.
The launch of this program comes in a context where the DRC has more than 80 million people, but only 4.9 million are employed and more than six million are unemployed. The Congolese government is therefore committed to working collaboratively to reduce poverty and create jobs. The PS-TD Program is thus a concrete response to these challenges, by promoting the creation of decent jobs and guaranteeing respect for labor rights, social protection and social dialogue.
Concretely, this program provides for several actions. For the creation of decent jobs, it aims to guide 12,000 people towards decent work, to provide 5,000 people with the services of the National Employment Office (ONEM) and to accelerate the development of 400 employment companies. social economy.
Regarding respect for labor rights, the program aims to inform more than a million people about labor law and standards, to train 5,000 people on labor standards and rights, and to achieve 1 300 labor inspections.
In terms of social protection, the program aims to inform more than a million people about social protection, to provide 50,000 people with better social protection, and to help 2,400 women during their pregnancy.
Finally, to strengthen social dialogue, the program plans to train and support more than 5% of members of unions and employers’ organizations, to train 250 union representatives, and to discuss 20 collective labor agreements.
This program is the result of close collaboration between Enabel, national and international government actors, such as the Ministry of Employment, Labor and Social Security (MINETPS), ONEM, the Federation of Congolese Enterprises (FEC) , mutual health insurance, trade union movements and the Belgian Decent Work Coordination Platform.
In conclusion, the Social Protection and Decent Work Program in the DRC is an ambitious initiative aimed at promoting decent work, social protection and social dialogue. By investing in these areas, it contributes to reducing poverty and creating sustainable jobs for women and young people.