MINISTRY OF GENDER AND YOUTH, SPORT AND RECREATION AND MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

NATIONAL STUDY ON SOCIAL DIALOGUE IN LESOTHO

Introduction:

Since 2006 the Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation (MGYSR) and the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MEL) with support from the UNDP, ILO and UNICEF had been implementing the “Youth Employment Promotion towards Poverty Reduction in Lesotho” Project, which aims at improving decent employment opportunities for youth.  One of the biggest impediments to improved decent employment opportunities not only for youth but for the majority of the Labour Force is limited capacity of social dialogue mechanisms in the country. This situation leads lack of vital information in relation to social dialogue processes and structures in the country, which translates into low foreign as well as local investments and hence low job creation.

Arising from the above the MGYSR & MEL wishes to engage a competent consultant to assist in identify the capacity needs of the social dialogue institutions including the traditional and non-traditional social partners.  Interested parties are thus requested to submit proposals on carrying out the assignment on the following terms and conditions

Objective:

The study seeks to examine the situation in respect of social dialogue, both institutions and practices, in order to provide a basis for discussion between the social partners as regards priorities for development. It will examine, amongst other issues, the legal framework, the ability of labour administration to organise and support social dialogue; the state of employers’ and workers’ organizations and other non traditional tripartite groups (youth, women, civil society) and their capacity needs; the state of collective bargaining and dispute settlement.     

The study will be used as a basis for discussions by policy makers, social partners and other relevant stakeholders to assess existing law and practice and orient future action in social dialogue in the country.  

Methodology:

The study will include an analysis of existing law and practice on social dialogue, collective bargaining and dispute settlement, a review of existing literature on the subject in the country, as well as consultations with the relevant stakeholders in the country.

Tentative outline for the Study

Part 1: Basic data:

a)    Total workforce, number of employees; structure and characteristics (age, sex, skills, urban and rural) of employment by sector and main industries and employers;

b)    Main pieces of labour and employment legislation, scope of application, categories of workers excluded etc.

Part 2: Tripartism and Social Dialogue:  mechanisms and processes:

a)    Existing bipartite and tripartite institutions, mechanisms and processes of social dialogue concerning national and sector social and economic policies, programmes and strategies;

b)    Legal framework for bipartite cooperation and tripartite-plus dialogue;

c)    Composition, mandate, representativeness, agenda, influence and main outcomes of tripartite-plus bodies;

d)    Capacity of Government institutions to effectively participate in social dialogue

e)    Capacity needs of the employers, workers, youth, women and other civil society organisations to effectively participate in social dialogue processes and influence socio-economic policies;

f)    Ability of the labour administration system to support social dialogue institutions and processes;

g)   Institutional arrangements and capacity of institutions in relation to implementation and monitoring of decisions reached by dialogue institutions.

Part 3: The actors of the Indutrial Relations system in the country:

a)    Legal framework

·         Right of workers and employers to form or join unions or organizations and collective bargaining; Procedures for registration/deregistration of trade unions, employers’, youth and women organizations and civil society organizations.

·         Legislative accommodation of non-traditional social partners (youth, women, civil organizations) in social dialogue

b)    Government

·        Description of the system of labour administration;

·        The current situation in relation to industrial relations/social dialogue and the capacity needs of Government institutions to effectively support their constituencies in social dialogue.

c)    Workers’ organizations

·        Structure of trade unions: confederations/federations, industry-based or company-based unions, etc. and the extent of cooperation and collaboration amongst them; Data on trade union membership, international affiliation, etc.; Workers’ organizations in the public sector.

·         Youth and women representation in trade union leadership

d)    Employers’ organizations

·        Structure of employers’ organizations (trade/industry/business association); Legal framework for participating in collective bargaining; Data on membership, international affiliation, etc.; The organisation of the state as an employer at both central, district and local government level.

·         Youth and women representation in employers organisation’s leadership

Impact of globalisation, economic crisis, open trade and other developments affecting the capacity of the social partners (including women and youth and civil society), and their representation in new and emerging sectors.

Part 4: Collective bargaining:

a)    Legal provisions governing collective bargaining

·         Relevant legislative provisions pertaining to the right to bargain collectively:

·        Legal  rights and obligations underpinning collective bargaining;

·         Specific regulations for collective bargaining for workers in the public sector;

·         Obligation to bargain; Principle of bargaining in good faith;

·        Collective bargaining procedures; Scope and coverage of collective bargaining.

b)    Data and statistics:

·         number of CB agreements, evolution, coverage, main sectors, parties to the agreement, broad contents of the agreements;

·         Description of the various levels of bargaining

·        Enforcement of agreements - agencies, processes and legal framework;

c)    Collective bargaining in the public sector.

d)   Other labour-management cooperation or representation mechanisms.

e)    Trends, issues and debates, existing or emerging, related to collective bargaining; 

Part 5: Dispute settlement:

a)    Legal framework for settlement of collective labour disputes, including conciliation, mediation, voluntary arbitration and the right to strike;

b)    Existing mechanisms  to remedy grievances and dispute settlement in both the private and the public sectors;

c)    Data and statistics: number and types of disputes annually, disputes settled through third party intervention, backlog of disputes awaiting adjudication, main issues giving rise to individual and collective labour disputes at various levels, etc.

How to apply:

Interested consultants are requested to fill in the application form and submit a CV through the UNDP Corporate website http://jobs.undp.org/ where more detailed information is also given. In case you would like to apply as a company or consortium of consultants, it is important that the CVs of the lead consultant and those employees who are proposed to undertake the assignment are submitted in order for the selection requirements to be universally applied to all applicants. The selected candidates are requested to submit a technical and financial proposal in a later stage. The application deadline is September 29, 2010. Note: The position is only open for SADC citizens.

Please note that these terms of reference are approximate, and in no case limited to the functions hereby specified. The MGYSR & MEL and the collaborating partners (UNDP, ILO, and UNICEF) reserve their right to include the modifications they consider necessary to optimize the implementation.