Social Justice and the World of Work: Possible Global Futures
Brian Langille, Professor of Law, University of Toronto and Anne Trebilcock, associated with the Institute for Labour Law, University of Göttingen and former ILO Legal Adviser introduce their new volume, “Social Justice and the World of Work: Possible Global Futures”, and our up-coming event, “Social Justice and the Future of the ILO”.
Climate change, AI, the pandemic, shifting geopolitical sands, persistent inequalities, changing demographic trends, overt questioning of the value of law and international law – all are shaking the world of work. These and other trends place increased strain on our received notions about globalization and existing policy choices.
In search of new thinking, we decided to co-edit a book of essays that is now being launched: Social Justice and the World of Work: Possible Global Futures (Hart/Bloomsbury, 2023). This volume brings together 31 pithy essays on social justice goals and the challenges we face, as well as the means we have – or should have – to come to grips with them. The chapters take fresh looks at ideas of social justice, critical connections with other fields, and the role of institutions – from the International Labour Organization to regional bodies and public and private actors.
We had an ulterior motive for the book: honouring the work of a man whose advice has critically influenced the trajectory of the ILO over several decades: Francis Maupain. As Legal Adviser and then Special Adviser to several Directors-General, he was the legal architect of the ILO 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the 2008 Social Justice Declaration for a Fair Globalization, and two amendments to the ILO Constitution aimed at modernizing how the institution operates. In addition, he has been an influential writer and mentor to many. But this is not a traditional “Festschrift;” indeed, some of the newer voices in the volume have never met Maupain. This was a deliberate choice aimed at stimulating the sort of real debate on which Maupain thrives.
On 13 July 2023, the TASC Platform will bring these two motivations together. We will at once celebrate the launch of the book and hear Maupain’s own insights on “Social Justice and the Future of the ILO.” We look forward to a lively discussion in this hybrid event, which will offer English-French interpretation.
We’re honoured that Swiss Ambassador Valérie Berset Bircher and the TASC Platform’s Kitrhona Cerri will lead us off for Maupain’s keynote speech. An introduction will draw on the book’s preface and the chapter by Jordi Augustí-Panareda (ILO Ethics Officer) on Maupain’s values-based perspective. Among the commentators on the keynote speech will be three other contributors to the volume: Steve Charnovitz of George Washington University, on reforming the World Trade Organization to better promote social justice; Laurence Boisson de Chazournes of the University of Geneva/College de France, on encounters between international environmental law and social justice; and Isabelle Daugareilh of the University of Bordeaux, on the future of health and safety at work as a new fundamental principle and right at work. Brent Wilton, former Chair of the International Organization of Employers will join from New Zealand, and Luc Cortebeeck of the Belgian Trade Union Confederation and former ILO Governing Body chair will provide a trade union perspective. There may even be a surprise guest. Following discussion, Langille will do a wrap-up.
This event can give only a taste of what the book covers. A few more chapters will be highlighted at other upcoming events. Brian will be presenting the book at the Young Scholars’ Section of the International Society of Labour Law and Social Security Law symposium at the University of Venice on 30 May, on the invitation of Adalberto Perulli, who wrote the insightful chapter on “social justice and the reform of capitalism.” Commentators include chapter authors Julia López and Tonia Novitz. Then a month later it is on to the Labour Law Research Network conference in Warsaw, where, along with Daugareilh’s essay, these chapters will be the focus: the choices judges make in transnational labour litigation (by Judy Fudge and Guy Mundlak); trade unions as disseminators of transnational norms in addressing artificial intelligence (by López and Eusebi Colàs-Neila); and taking the ILO constitutional phrase “a just share of the fruits of progress” seriously (by Keith Ewing and Lord Hendy KC).
The ILO’s 8th Regulating for Decent Work Conference (10-12 July in Geneva) will feature a book panel, with presentations of the Fudge/Mundlak essay, along with the chapters on public procurement in global supply chains (by Olga Martin-Ortega and Martina Trusgnach) and the ILO’s own introspection for a system-wide vision (by Tomi Kohiyama and Thomas Lieby).
There is much more to the book. For instance, Alain Supiot sets out a masterful argument for a socially just “mondialisation” instead of globalization, Adelle Blackett takes an illuminating historical dive into exclusions in international labour law, and Liam McHugh-Russell calls for rethinking labour commodification. Chapters by Virginia Mantouvalou and Alan Hyde critique existing migration regimes and propose new approaches. Several authors grapple with the potential role of various institutions and mechanisms, from labour clauses in African investment dispute regimes (by Moise Mbengue) to the labour jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (by Franz Ebert) and new uses of arbitration in transnational labour cases (by Katerina Yiannibas). Some authors take a rather critical view of the ILO (Desirée LeClercq, Supriya Routh). The gender dimension is of course part of the package, with an overview of ways to address persistent gender gaps (by Shauna Olney) and a thoughtful look at working time regulation to promote gender equality (by Kirsten Scheiwe).
Yet we do not claim the book to be exhaustive. Nor did we aim at a consensus. Rather, we sought real engagement with vital issues from a wide variety of viewpoints and from both our most senior and younger thinkers.
The book will, we hope, stimulate critical debate about the future of work and how to address its diverse contexts globally. We look forward to hearing what Francis Maupain and colleagues will say on the 13th of July, and are grateful to the TASC Platform, the Graduate Institute and the Swiss Government for making this possible.
“Social Justice and the Future of the ILO” will take place on 13 July 2023 from 10:00 - 13:00 CET at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Find out more and REGISTER HERE to join us.