Japan-Backed ILO Projects Help 23,000 Workers Gain Rights and Fight Child Labour

PRS Phase 2 concentrated on domestic work, construction and sanitation across India, Nepal and Pakistan, supporting workers and enterprises in moving from the informal to the formal economy.

More than 23,000 informal workers in India, Nepal and Pakistan have gained better access to formal employment, social protection and representation through an International Labour Organization initiative supported by Japan, with a companion project strengthening efforts to prevent child labour in India and Nepal. The results brought governments, employers, workers and community partners together in New Delhi on 14 September 2026 to review how stronger policies and practical support can improve the lives of people facing insecure work, exclusion and limited protection.

The closing workshop marked the completion of the Promoting Rights and Social Inclusion through Organization and Formalization project's second phase, known as PRS Phase 2, and the Policies, Partnerships, Learning & Local Empowerment project, or PPLL. Funded by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, both initiatives connected the ILO with governments, employers' and workers' organisations and development partners to turn fundamental rights at work into stronger protections. Their shared experience highlighted the connections between child labour, informal employment, gender inequality and the pressures facing vulnerable families.

Protecting Children in Mining and Manufacturing Communities

The PPLL project focused on preventing and eliminating child labour in supply chains where children and families face particular vulnerabilities, covering India's mica and natural stone sectors and Nepal's carpet and brick industries. Its work combined policy and enforcement improvements with research, coordination and community action, recognising that protecting children requires institutions and local communities to respond together. In Nepal, the project supported legislative reform, the adoption of a hazardous work list for children and the inclusion of a child labour module in the Labour Force Survey, strengthening the framework for identifying and addressing the problem.

Nepal's work also strengthened Child Labour Free Zone approaches and the development of referral mechanisms connected to the child protection system, helping link local responses with wider protection services. In India, the project improved coordination and enforcement in mining communities, supported access to social protection and advanced a state action plan on child labour in Jharkhand. Communities in Rajasthan's sandstone sector received support to identify child labour and address its underlying causes, placing local knowledge and participation at the centre of prevention efforts.

Better Protections for Workers in Informal Jobs

PRS Phase 2 concentrated on domestic work, construction and sanitation across India, Nepal and Pakistan, supporting workers and enterprises in moving from the informal to the formal economy. The project contributed to the adoption and implementation of 13 policy and legislative measures, including wage reforms for domestic and sanitation workers in Bihar, India, and domestic workers in Punjab, Pakistan. Sectoral policies in Nepal's waste management industry promoted formal, decent, safe and inclusive workplaces, connecting changes in policy with the conditions workers experience on the job.

Across the three countries, 23,208 informal workers gained improved access to formal employment and social protection, together with greater voice and representation. These outcomes reflect a broader understanding of formalisation that includes workers' ability to participate in decisions affecting their livelihoods and secure recognition of their rights. The closing discussions examined the projects' contributions to gender equality, placing the experiences of women and other vulnerable workers within the wider effort to make employment more inclusive.

Partnerships Must Carry Progress Beyond the Projects

More than 60 people attended the closing event, including Japanese parliamentarians, central and state government officials, employers' and workers' representatives, community partners, workers and children. Oktavianto Pasaribu, Deputy Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India, credited collaboration across government and social partners as a major factor in the results, stressing that informality, inequality, child labour and social exclusion are deeply connected. He called for the knowledge and partnerships developed through the projects to translate into sustained action, with success judged by improvements in people's lives. The experience will inform continued work through the established ILO-Japan partnership supporting decent work across Asia and the Pacific.