A Fresh Take on the Future: Looking through the lens of social justice
This high-level panel discussion aligned with the ILO’s emphasis on social justice at the forefront of their engagement efforts, and its power to shift how we think about and shape the future of work. The effort to bring a fresh take on the future of work through the lens of social justice is a testimony to the way equity as a fundamental component is disrupting unidimensional forms of work today.
To discuss the broader notions of social justice at work and its evolution, the moderator, TASC Platform Co-Chair, Cédric Dupont, was joined by Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute, Richard Samans, Director of Research at the ILO and Valérie Berset Bircher, Head of International Labour Affairs at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
The panel explored four key areas through which the future of work can be envisioned through a lens of social justice: the definitions and monitoring strategies for social justice, the global coalitions and the levels of participation and engagement from different stakeholders, the multidimensional nature of work in a fluid system and finally the evolving labor market.
The session started with a brief introduction of what social justice means to the panelists with the ILO’s International Labor Conference forming the backdrop for this. The panel agreed that while there is not a clear cut definition, a multidimensional approach to social justice is the way to go. It is impossible to consider the future of work without thinking about the future of our home i.e.. the planet. Thus we cannot think about the future in a unidimensional way and should instead picture it in a systematic way. Several interlinked issues including destruction of biodiversity, inequalities, future pandemics, nuclear and cyber wars and impacts on democracy are reasons to ensure a systemic approach to the future of work. These issues overlap and interplay and are ‘truly global’ and all have an ‘existential’ impact in times of uncertainty.
The audience was reminded of the ILO’s 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia, which affirmed that:
Labour is not a commodity.
Inequality anywhere is a danger to prosperity everywhere.
All human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity;
Achieving a world in which these conditions are possible is the primary responsibility of ILO actions. Today we have to reconstruct how to move past simple rhetoric of social justice. Defining social justice and what pursuing this means in terms of state/organization mandateis a matter of urgency in order to create more effective policy and allow monitoring of progress.
The discussion then moved to how social partners participate and react. Within the tripartite structure, it was argued and agreed that governments do not impact the position of the social organization based internally. However there needs to be a strengthening of the governance and democratization of ILO, promoting standards and it’s contribution to employment. A key component of this remains, social dialogue, i.e.. allowing workers to present pressing issues such as the concept of social cohesion and sustainability. It was argued that sustainability should include environmental (including climate change, biodiversity) and social and sustainability is not ‘just’ net zero. Sustainability cannot just be about net zero, The social justice element has to be understood.
Thus moving on to the solutions - the role of global coalition and multilateral support becomes important to look at. For instance, many think about the ILO as primarily interested in labor rights. However in 2023, for instance there was a new occupational safety and health which has implications in corporation/national policy stemming from universal social protection, security and protection systems. This is part of the mandate. This being said, the ILO too needs more mainstreaming by corporations and states. The coalition answers how to enlist greater political interest in social justice policies i.e. upskilling and just transitions. Multilaterally, International banks too have a role to play in capacity building. The discussions were robust with solutions and measurement systems being discussed given that monitoring is not consistent across the board. Subsequently, the inclusion of the informal sector then becomes the next step to ensure standard frameworks are best applied. There seemed to be consensus on one central theme - cooperation is crucial to find win-win solutions while ensuring accountability and what it means to be socially just.