Launch of the Social Protection and Decent Work Program in the DRC
On Thursday, September 14, 2023, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Claudine Ndusi M’Kembe, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the DRC, Madame Roxane de Bilderling, officially inaugurated the Social Protection and Decent Work Program (PS-TD ) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Implemented by the Belgian Development Agency-Enabel, this program aims to improve the working conditions and social protection of women and young people aged 16 to 35 in three cities in the country: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Kolwezi.
The PS-TD is funded to the tune of 16.2 million euros and will extend over a period of five years, from 2022 to 2027. Its main objective is to enable young people and women of working age to access to decent work, to be better protected by labor rights and to benefit from stronger social protection.
This program targets different categories of workers, including women traders (bread and fish sellers), market gardeners, processors (in the agricultural value chain), motorcycle taxi drivers, domestic workers, artisanal miners and job seekers.
In terms of expected results, the program plans to guide 12,000 people towards decent work, grant benefits from the ONEM (National Employment Office) to 5,000 people and accelerate the development of 400 businesses. social economy.
Regarding labor rights, the program aims to inform more than a million people about labor rights and standards, train 5,000 people on labor standards and rights, and carry out 1,300 labor inspections. work.
On the social protection side, the program aims to inform more than a million people about social protection, to provide better social protection to 50,000 people and to help 2,400 pregnant women to benefit from support during their pregnancy.
Finally, with regard to social dialogue, the program aims to increase the participation of members of unions and employer organizations by more than 5%, to train and support 250 union representatives, and to discuss 20 collective agreements of work.
This program is the result of close collaboration between the Congolese government and the Kingdom of Belgium, and demonstrates the commitment of both countries to promote decent work and reduce social inequalities in the DRC.
Minister Claudine Ndusi expressed her gratitude to Belgium for this program, which will contribute not only to the creation of decent jobs, but also to respect for labor rights, social protection and inclusive social dialogue..
For her part, Ambassador Roxane de Bilderling underlined the importance of social protection in a society based on justice and equity, while emphasizing the sustainable improvement of the living conditions of different categories of people. workers covered by the program.
This Social Protection and Decent Work Program thus strengthens the efforts of the DRC in its fight against poverty, job creation and improvement of working conditions, by offering new opportunities for women and young people to benefit from decent work and better social protection.