The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a decent work country programme in
Malawi for the period 2011 -2016. The idea of the decent work policy first came into play at the
87th session of the International Labour Conference during the address of the director general of
the ILO. It has now been accepted globally as an instrument for improving people’s lives. Its
main objective is to improve lives of workers both in their workplaces and homes by creating
and providing jobs of acceptable quality in terms of both respect for workers’ rights and
reasonable earnings. Thus, decent work is work which is productive, guarantees workers’ rights,
generates adequate income and provides adequate social protection. Workers in this instance
have been defined to include both workers in the formal and informal sector.