The 2023 World of Work Summit was held this week in Geneva as part of the 111th annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Seventeen heads of state and Prime Ministers participated in the summit, as did the Director-General of the ILO and senior representatives from the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations, including workers’ and employers’ organizations. The summit, which was held under the title "Social Justice for All," was intended to forge a global coalition for social justice, in accordance with an initiative launched by the ILO this March.
Throughout the two-day summit, discussions were held on strategies to increase and more precisely focus cooperative efforts to promote social justice. Representatives of the participating nations shared their visions and priorities for social justice and described the actions they have taken or have committed to taking to promote social justice.
Four panel discussions were held during the summit focusing on how to expand social justice. The ILO expects that the discussions held at the summit will promote further conversations on key strategies for achieving more widespread social justice in other multilateral forums, such as the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the G20 and summits of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
In his opening remarks at the summit, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said, "We are meeting here today in order to respond to a critical call for social justice. And a call to reiterate the right of every individual to be able to pursue his or her material and spiritual development in freedom, in dignity, in economic security and with equality of opportunity. This call is particularly important for young people. Young people constitute a very varied body of people. Very often they’ve been born in very strikingly unequal circumstances. That has driven some of them, trapped in informal employment, or unemployed entirely and without social protection, towards the risky attempt to migrate to another country. And when that doesn’t happen, many of them end up trapped in child labor."
Houngbo described the complicated and difficult reality that young people face today in which they must grapple with both the immediate challenges of survival and the longer-term challenges of environmental protection. "These young people have been born in an era of new technology, in a completely open and globalized world, of which we need to use the opportunities while managing the risks and leaving nobody behind."
Houngbo further emphasized the importance of social justice in creating a cohesive, productive and peaceful society and economy. "[Social justice] is the sine qua non for rebuilding trust and confidence in our institutions and for proving that multilateralism can be effective, that it can meet the expectations of all our peoples. As Director-General of the ILO, it is an honor for me to be given in trust the legacy of an organization which, since 1919, has acknowledged formally, in its constitution from which I quote now, that 'universal and lasting peace can only be founded on social justice.'
"Greater social justice is the driving force that can steer us toward a more equitable and sustainable future. As such, it must become our guiding principle for both policies and action. In pursuing this cause, we must not underestimate the importance of a revitalized multilateralism, which is essential if we are to effectively tackle the interconnected crises of our times."
Houngbo called for a renewal of trust in the leadership and direction of the UN. "If we are to create a renewed social contract, it will need to be driven by solidarity. It will need to be driven by fairness. And above all, it will need to be driven by social justice. The global coalition will support these goals by ensuring policy coherence for a greater impact of our actions."
50 Million in Modern Slavery, 160 Million in Child Labor
At the summit, Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (IUTC), described the state of labor throughout the world and the challenges facing workers today. According to Triangle, "the state of social justice in the world, as described by the ILO Director-General’s report, should shame us all. The top one percent has taken 38% of all wealth accumulated since the 90s, whereas the bottom 50% has gained only two percent, and 685 million people live in extreme poverty. Over 50 million workers are in modern slavery, and at least 160 million children remain in child labor, with numbers going up again after decades of decline. Every year three million workers die, and hundreds of millions are injured or made ill because of work. More than 60% are working in the informal economy, without any labor protection, and four billion are excluded from social protection."
Triangle called on participants in the summit to take meaningful joint action to build a new social contract based on social justice through dialogue and commitment on behalf of all stakeholders.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the summit, saying: "Work is central to our economies and our lives, but, as you have highlighted so effectively, the world of work is changing at warp speed. Societies and economies are still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poverty, hunger and inequality are rising and the Sustainable Development Goals are on life support. The climate crisis, conflict and humanitarian emergencies are uprooting and disrupting the education and working lives of hundreds of millions of people. Divisions are widening, hatred and discrimination are rampant, women’s rights are under attack, and people are losing trust in the institutions that represent them.
"The fourth industrial revolution is unfolding against this chaotic backdrop. We cannot predict its results, but we already know the outlines of the seismic shift that is underway. Greater automation, the digital transition, a shift towards renewables, sustainable production and the need for quality education, reskilling and retraining.
"Jobs will be lost in some areas and created in others, but they will require different sets of skills. We must prepare now to avoid even greater divisions, injustice and mistrust. The ILO has been at the forefront of laying out a roadmap to navigate the transitions to a sustainable and just future of work. The foundation of that road must be social justice. I see the global coalition for social justice as a crucial force to help advance the Sustainable Development Goals and meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
"This effort is about rebuilding the social contract with people-centered policies, grounded and guided by social justice. The social contract must have women and young people at the center and encompass equal opportunities for all, access to essential services, lifelong education and training, decent jobs and social protection."
Guterres also discussed the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection, a platform promoted by the UN to coordinate global financing for hundreds of millions of new jobs and to extend social protection to the four billion people who are without coverage.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Sam Edelman.
