Developing a diagnostic tool and policy instrument for the realization of decent work

Abstract Based on nine of the indicators identified by the ILO's 2008 Tripartite Meeting of Experts on the Measurement of Decent Work, the authors develop a questionnaire, supplemented by in‐depth interviews, to assess job quality in the security, farming and hospitality industries in South Africa's Gauteng province. Their diagnostic tool differs from the standard ILO index in that it focuses on individual workers at industry level rather than conditions at country level. This approach, the authors argue, can be used to monitor progress towards decent work while enabling key actors at industry level to develop evidence‐led strategies to overcome decent work deficits.