24 June 2019
The 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia opened with these strong words: labour is not a commodity. It also established a series of primary objectives for the International Labour Organization – created 25 years earlier in 1919 – such as that of ensuring social justice. The 108th Session of the International Labour Conference, which came to a close on 21 June and marked the centenary of the ILO, intended to produce a declaration setting out the ILO’s roadmap for its second century of existence. The conference...
21 June 2019
During the 108th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) marking the centenary of the United Nations body promoting social justice (1919-2019), the ILO adopts a new Convention and Recommendation (provisory mentions here) to end violence and harassment in the world of work. The Convention would oblige the ratifying States to equip themselves with the appropriate judicial means to prohibit and sanction violence and harassment at work. In particular they must ask employers adopt, after consultation with...
10 June 2019
The International Labour Conference (ILC), which takes place every June in Geneva, sets out the main International Labour Organization guidelines and adopts international standards. The conference kicking off today, on 10 June, and coming to a close on 22 June is a special one, as it will celebrate the centenary of the United Nations body promoting social justice. Speaking to Planet Labor, Guy Ryder, the ILO’s director general, outlines the primary issues to be addressed at the conference, which is set to...
10 June 2019
The labour and employment ministers from the world’s seven leading powers met at the G7 Social, held in Paris on 7 June under the French presidency. The ministers agreed on a ‘Social Communiqué’, which underlines the need to respond to citizens’ aspirations to reduce social inequality. To achive this goal, the statement points to fostering social protection, including for platform workers, preparing individuals for the digital transformation, as well as reducing the level of inequality between men and...
22 January 2019
The ILO is launching its centenary year with the launch of a report (here) produced by a group of independent experts that should lead it to a rethink of its role in light of the ever-faster pace of work transformations. The report is not just a theoretical summary account of the world of work, it is a penetrating document that seeks to prioritize actions and calls on the ILO to examine its own role as well as inviting national governments to adopt national strategies on the future of work. The report delivers ten...
18 September 2018
Robots within the world of work will most certainly destroy 75 million jobs by 2022. However the robot revolution will also create 133 million new jobs. Thus one of the conclusions from the Swiss based World Economic Forum foundation report entitled The Future Of Jobs.
13 September 2018
The International Labour Office (the permanent secretariat of the International Labour Organization) has prepared the texts for both a draft convention and a draft recommendation on ending violence and harassment in the world of work based on the initial discussion that was held in may 2018 during the International Labour Conference (c.f. article No. 10718). The Convention would oblige the ratifying States to equip themselves with the appropriate judicial means to prohibit and sanction violence and harassment at...
24 July 2018
Ostensibly there was plenty to be pleased about. Employment rates are looking bright and higher than prior to the crisis (61.7% at the end of 2017 vs. 60.8% a decade earlier). Furthermore, unemployment rates among the 35 OECD countries are close to, or lower than levels in 2008, and the downtrend is expected to continue with estimates of 5.3% for 2018 and 5.1% for the end of 2019. Improvements are especially noted in the most disadvantaged categories, namely, youths, immigrants, mothers of young children, and...
11 June 2018
After two weeks of negotiations, which took place between 28 May and 8 June in Geneva, state representatives, employers and trade unions decided to continue discussions with a view to adopting a convention and a recommendation on the issue of harassment and violence in the workplace at the next International Labour Conference, in June next year.
21 May 2018
On 18 May, the ILO launched their flagship World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) report focused on “Greening with Jobs”. The report finds that 24 million new jobs will be created globally by 2030 if the right policies to promote a greener economy are put in place. Despite the loss of 6 million jobs in some sectors, the net increase of approximately 18 million jobs across the...
