ILO's Caroline Mugalla Highlights Resource Mobilization and Social Justice Efforts in East Africa

Mugalla elaborated on the four pillars essential for realizing decent work: rights, employment, social dialogue, and social protection.

In an exclusive interview with Citizen Editor Mr. Mpoki Thompson at the Citizen video cast in Tabata, Dar es Salaam, Caroline Khamati Mugalla, the ILO Director Country Office Dar Es Salaam, described her regional supervision role as a “work in progress” rather than a key achievement since her appointment. She emphasized her focus on resource mobilization, visibility, and expanding the ILO's portfolio across East Africa over the past six months.

“We’re pretty busy in terms of ILO visibility in the region, resource mobilization, and growing the portfolio across East Africa. We’re not a funding agency but a technical UN agency,” she stated, underscoring the ILO’s commitment to advancing social justice through its decent work agenda.

Mugalla elaborated on the four pillars essential for realizing decent work: rights, employment, social dialogue, and social protection. She highlighted that the ILO works through a tripartite structure involving trade unions, employers, and governments to set standards, raise awareness about conventions, support ratifications, and assist countries in implementing these conventions and reporting on their progress.

Regarding the second pillar, employment, Mugalla discussed the ILO’s initiatives in promoting skills development, entrepreneurship, diversity, inclusion, gender equality, occupational safety, and health across the region. She also highlighted the importance of strengthening social dialogue institutions and social protection systems.

On Tanzania's progress in social protection, Mugalla expressed optimism about the government’s pending ratification of the social protection convention, which would help build robust social protection policies. “Tanzania is doing well in the social protection area, particularly around occupational safety and health through OSHA and workers’ compensation through WCF, compared to other countries in the region,” she noted.

During discussions on the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Mugalla mentioned that the conference addressed hazardous biological conditions in the workplace and the care economy. The care economy framework aims to improve the status of care workers by focusing on recognition, reduction, redistribution of unpaid care, reward, and representation. Additionally, she highlighted ongoing discussions on standard settings to address climate-related challenges impacting livelihoods.

Regarding child labour, Mugalla pointed out the new EU directive on corporate sustainability due diligence, which requires companies to address human rights, including child labour, in their supply chains. She stressed the urgency of tackling the surge in child labour, noting the ILO’s long-standing efforts in collaboration with various stakeholders to combat child labour globally.

Mugalla acknowledged challenges in monitoring the enforcement of labour laws to curb child labour at local levels but noted that most businesses in the region’s employers' federation are complying with directives.

On energy transitions, Mugalla highlighted the ILO's focus on just transition initiatives. Tanzania has been identified as having high potential for green energy employment, alongside Zanzibar, which is recognized as a major blue economy hotspot. The ILO is working with geothermal power companies in Kenya and biofuel initiatives with Eni, emphasizing skills development, social protection, and market systems development. In Kigoma, the ILO is promoting entrepreneurship through initiatives like “Green Your Business.”

“We are working on just transition at a regional level. In Kenya, we’re collaborating with a geothermal power company under a Private-Public Development Partnership model and on biofuels with Eni, focusing on skills, social protection, and market systems development. We are also working in Kigoma on entrepreneurship with ‘Green Your Business’ as one of our key tools,” Mugalla concluded.