Around the world, in economies at all stages of development, profound changes in the nature of work are underway.
The unemployment rate in the European Union was 9.5 percent or 4.8 million people as of February this year, and in the US the present unemployment rate is 4.5 percent or nearly 1.5 million people... … Especially young people asking where will the jobs of tomorrow come from and what will they look like?
On April 6 and 7 the International Labor Organization , ILO, organized this landmark event in Geneva, entitled: “ The Global Dialogue: The Future of Work.” More than 700 participants attended and thousands joined and participated via the internet and social media.
Since 1919 the ILO, with 187 member states, is the UN's Agency for the World of Work.with a strong call on the global community to make social dialogue between governments and the social partners a key instrument for building a world of work that leaves no one behind.
Rising widespread anxiety about whether the future will produce greater polarization within and between countries brings urgency to this task.
Numerous and diverse drivers account for these: demographic shifts, climate change, technological innovation, shifting contours of poverty and prosperity, growing inequality, economic stagnation and the changing character of production and employment. The transformations we witness now challenge us to imagine the future of work over the long term in order to steer this evolution in the direction of social justice.
Decent work is Goal 8 of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals.
More than 167 countries have taken part in ILO initiatives so far, with 107 of them participating in national and regional dialogues that have been or are being held all around the world. Their conclusions will help inform a High Level Global Commission on the Future of Work, to be established by the ILO later this year. The report of the Commission will feed into discussions on a Centenary Declaration at the 2019 International Labour Conference.
Interviews and Statements in our report:
Guy Ryder, Director General, International Labour Organization
Mthunzi Mdwaba,President & CEO of TZoro IBC, Johannesburg Area, South Africa
H.E. Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN Geneva
Pope Francis, during meeting with workers in Cagliari, 2013
Clémentine Moyart, Policy Officer European Youth Forum
Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics, Co-Director of the Labour and Worklife Program, Harvard University
Tatiana Olegovna Razumova, Chair of Labour Economics, Moscow State Lomonosov University
© 2017 by Pax Press Agency – All Rights Reserved - Our reports broadcasts via EWTN 'Vaticano" weekly.
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