9th Regulating for Decent Work Conference

Geneva

Contributive Justice: Why decent work matters and why it is under threat

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Special session: Normative frameworks for social justice

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Switzerland

This talk will address the concerns of the Left Behind: the many communities around the world, where decent work is threatened by the combined impact of globalisation and technological advancements.&nbsp;Decent work transcends mere income, it fosters self-respect that comes from performing a meaningful, skill-based employment that contributes to the community. Creating such employment opportunities within an economy is a practical and achievable form of social justice – what Michael Sandel terms Contributive Justice. It also revitalizes and rejuvenates economies harmed by the myth that globalisation leads to universal prosperity.&nbsp;However, not all employment creation efforts are successful. Nostalgic policies attempting to revive obsolete jobs are unlikely to be sustainable, particularly in developing countries.&nbsp;Instead, proactive public policies should focus on training and equipping workforces with skills that are relevant for 21st&nbsp;Century that builds on their distinctive strengths and harness technology for societal benefits.&nbsp;In those societies currently gridlocked by polarised politics, progress requires a package of policies that resonate across the ideological spectrum. While maintaining core principles of a market economy such as competition, we can learn from recent successes in societies that offer more equitable forms of economic democracy which avoid ‘hierarchies of humiliation’ and unsatisfying work.

ILO Headquarters

Held under the auspices of the <a href="https://social-justice-coalition.ilo.org/">Global Coalition for Social Justice</a>, this high-level session will explore how normative frameworks—anchored in international labour standards and rights-based economic policies—can drive inclusive and equitable development. It will highlight two of the Coalition’s flagship interventions: the Centre of Excellence on Inequalities, which addresses structural drivers of exclusion and unequal access to rights, and the Human Rights Economy, which promotes dignity, equity, and sustainability through transformative economic approaches.Bringing together senior UN officials, ILO leadership, and leading academic experts, the session will examine how normative frameworks can function as levers for economic and social transformation, and the conditions under which they generate fairer labour market outcomes. The format will include two thematic rounds of moderated discussion and an open dialogue with participants.

This plenary session of the Regulating for Decent Work Conference explores how labour regulation can be made more impactful and inclusive, reaching those it too often leaves behind. We are delighted to welcome three leading voices in the field: Professor Guy Davidov, Professor Kamala Sankaran (member of the ILO Committee of Experts), and Professor Adelle Blackett (Senior Advisor to the ILO Director-General), who will serve as discussant. Professor Davidov will examine how new technologies are reshaping the reach and effectiveness of labour protections—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Professor Sankaran will draw attention to the many workers still excluded from the scope of labour law, whether by legal design or lack of enforcement.Can AI improve the enforcement of labour laws? - Guy DavidovEmployers around the world increasingly rely on algorithmic management, including by incorporating artificial intelligence capabilities. The risks to privacy, equality, and workers’ bargaining power are already well-documented. Additional risks associated with AI more generally make its regulation apparent and urgent. Notwithstanding these dangers, these new technological advancements can also be used for the benefit of workers, if adopted by the state as part of efforts to improve the enforcement of labour laws. Prof. Davidov will discuss three different ways in which this can be done. First, the use of AI by enforcement agencies; second, using AI as part of court-based online dispute resolution; and third, relying on AI to determine the default state of the law, shifting the burden to the employer to contest it. He will also briefly consider the risks associated with any reliance on AI, including by the state, and what can be done to minimize them in the current context.Regulating for Decent Work: How do we protect and sustain livelihoods? - Kamala SankaranMany workers today are not in ‘jobs’ or in employment relationships. Instead, they are owner-operators of own-account enterprises or small and marginal farmers lacking the capacity to scale up, or are (unpaid) family contributing workers, or are trafficked and are engaged in forced labour. Does labour law have the capacity to regulate such forms of work? Could contributing family members be treated as workers? Should small and marginal farmers be treated as employers or workers? How can the law provide for equitable access to land, urban spaces, natural resources, the market and credit, critical for sustaining such forms of employment and livelihood? Prof. Sankaran argues that labour regulation could draw upon other normative frameworks as well as ILO’s international labour standards that address matters of development, migration, transitions, labour rights and social protection, to work towards&nbsp; regulatory frameworks for decent work and livelihoods that are more inclusive and socially just.

Access to protection and legal rights

This closing plenary will critically examine the shortcomings of current macroeconomic models in addressing today’s fundamental challenges and explore alternative, human-centered approaches to growth and development.&nbsp;It calls for a paradigm shift away from GDP-focused frameworks towards models that prioritize sustainability and equity. Bringing together leading thinkers, this plenary will interrogate the principles underpinning global macroeconomic policy and chart pathways toward a more just and resilient future.

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