Formalization

Webinar: Evidence Based Policy Making for Informal Employment in Mongolia

Background

Within the framework of the ILO project on Promoting Formal Employment for Economic Diversification and Inclusive Growth, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP) and its Research Institute of Labour and Social Protection (RILSP) have conducted the Informal Employment Survey and presented its preliminary findings to stakeholders. The survey aimed to contribute to the implementation of the Government’s long-, medium-, and short-term employment policies, by gathering information needed to develop and implement a new informal employment policy and by identifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on informal workers.


In the recently concluded National Tripartite Agreement for Labour and Social Consensus (2021-2022), the Mongolian tripartite partners have committed to developing an informal employment policy and measures to facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal economy. In this context, MLSP is organizing a series of policy seminars with technical inputs of the ILO.

The first policy webinar aims to discuss and distil the findings from the above survey, and to move towards policy recommendations on issues identified in the survey relating to the employment conditions of informal employment workers, the transition to formal employment, and the impact of the pandemic.

The output of the workshop will feed into two further policy seminars to be held sometime in August and September, which aim to move the policy discussions in a more focused and concrete manner.

Sessions and issues to be covered

Session 1: Profile and employment conditions of Informal employment workers
  • Who are more likely to be in informal employment?
  • Who among the informal employment workers are the most disadvantaged in terms of employment conditions?
  • Is informal employment a problem in Mongolia? Why?
  • Who should be targeted for interventions? Why?
  • What kind of interventions should be provided?
Session 2: Transitioning to employment
  • Perceived advantages of informal employment
  • Perceived disadvantages of informal employment
  • Views on transitioning to formal employment
  • Incentives needed to transition to formal employment
  • What are the major constraints to transitioning to formal employment?
  • What strategies should be employed to help those in informal employment transition to formal employment?
Further analysis of survey data on transitioning to formal employment and presentation on International Experience/best practice on transitioning to formal employment

Session 3: Addressing the impact of the pandemic on informal employment workers
  • Impact of pandemic and pandemic measures on employment or business
  • What are the most urgent needs of informal employment workers to address the impact of the pandemic?
  • What actions should be taken to address those needs? How to prioritize/target and strategize?
Further analysis of survey data on pandemic impact and presentation on international experience on Interventions that were found to be effective

Participants

Representatives from MLSP, RILSP, CMTU, MONEF, NSO, ILO, other relevant government organizations and international organizations.