The World of Work Summit is a two-day high-level forum which will be convened during the International Labour Conference on the 14 and 15 June at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Its aim is to provide a platform for global voices to address the need for increased, coordinated and coherent action in support of social justice, and will build the momentum towards the forming of a Global Coalition for Social Justice.

This timely initiative is in line with the United Nations Secretary-General’s call for a new social contract and the upcoming World Social Summit in 2025. The Global Coalition for Social Justice represents an international effort to advance social justice by promoting decent work and would deepen and strengthen the international community’s engagement to advance social justice. It will also promote the implementation of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will seek to promote, guide and amplify action in areas where greater solidarity, coherence and coordination is needed.

Social Justice – at the heart of ILO action

When the ILO was established in 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War, it was a time of political, social and economic turmoil in the world. Against that backdrop, the organization was founded on the conviction that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice.

That means fair and equal treatment for everyone, including equal access to opportunities, equal rights and the equal sharing of the benefits of growth. In the world of work, it means decent jobs, fair wages, labor rights, social dialogue, equality and social protection for all.

We continue to live in a geopolitically unstable world, made worse by the impact of COVID-19, natural disasters and a cost-of-living crisis that is pushing more and more people into poverty. Combined, these factors have sent social progress backwards.

Despite efforts to address these challenges, trends in inequality persist, with the richest 10% of the global population accounting for 52% of global income, while the poorest 50% have less than 7%. More than 200 million workers are in absolute poverty, and two billion workers are in the informal economy, lacking rights at work, representation, and access to social protection. Women and young people are faring worse than men and adults, with twice as many economically inactive women as men and a gender pay gap that continues to be one of the main forms of wage inequality.

Given the importance of labor income in the rise or fall of inequality in many countries, the world of work is a critical entry point to start moving the social justice needle. For the ILO, this means prioritizing social justice and decent work as the driving forces for a human-centered recovery, as well as promoting increased investment in social policies and institutions.

However, discussion and action to achieve social justice go beyond the ILO itself. As called for by the United Nations Secretary-General in Our Common Agenda, the international community urgently needs to support national responses to the many global challenges. Joint actions with a range of organizations and stakeholders are vital because social justice cuts across all sectors: health, education, food, water, housing, investments and trade, for example. It needs policy coherence at national, regional and global levels from a range of stakeholders, working together towards a common goal.

Uniting global voices for social justice: The World of Work Summit – Social Justice for All

The two-day ‘World of Work Summit: Social Justice for All’ aims to:

• Raise awareness and plea for social justice to be prioritized in global, regional, and national agendas, as a rally point to put the social dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals back on track;

• Promote and call for increased, coordinated and coherent action for the advancement of social justice, through the forging of the Global Coalition for Social Justice;

• Feed the global debate by voicing priorities and commitments to do more to advance social justice for all.

The Summit will feature addresses by Heads of State and Government, employer and worker organization representatives, as well as panel discussions, including with high-level representatives of the UN agencies and other international organizations. The Summit will be an essential contribution to the shaping of the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

The aspirations for social justice that led to the establishment of the ILO are just as important today: if we want to achieve shared prosperity, inclusive growth and universal and lasting peace, we first have to achieve social justice.

For this to become a reality, we need renewed commitments from all parties. The ‘World of Work Summit: Social Justice for All’, it is hoped, will provide the impetus, and the Global Coalition for Social Justice the framework to achieve this goal, together.