The environmental, digital and demographic transitions are undoubtedly going to reshape
economies and labour markets around the world in the decades to come. But the outcomes of
this process – whether it helps or hinders social development and social justice – are not given.
To manage the changes, we must reinvigorate our global and institutional commitment to
social justice to mitigate any potential harm and help ensure the fairest distribution of both benefits
and costs. In a context of distrust in institutions and a fraying social contract, this becomes
even more difficult.
The ILO was the first international institution premised upon the recognition of
social rights.
Its Constitution recognizes that failure of nations “to adopt humane conditions of labour is
an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own
countries” and thus sets out certain “methods and principles for regulating labour conditions
which all industrial communities should endeavour to apply, so far as their special circumstances
will permit." On this foundation, the ILO was able to develop tools to advance decent work, setting the stage
for the international labour standards the ILO has since developed with its tripartite constituents.
Since the creation of the ILO, social justice has become a shared value. And in the approximately
80 years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
and the ILO Declaration of Philadelphia (1944), and certainly in the 30 years since the first World
Summit for Social Development, the world has seen some significant advances. A randomly
chosen person today will likely live a longer, healthier, wealthier and more productive life than a
counterpart 100 or even 30 years ago. Yet, stark inequality persists, with major deficits of social
justice within and among nations.
In 2005, Nelson Mandela called on us all to do more: “as long as poverty, injustice and gross
inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” In 2023, ILO Director-General
Gilbert F. Houngbo laid out his commitment to advancing social justice in his first report to
the International Labour Conference (ILO 2023b). Central to these efforts were
four pillars
that provide the foundation for
social justice:
fundamental human rights and capabilities; equal access to opportunities; fair distribution; and fair transitions.
From the
point of view of the
world of work, they include the
fundamental principles and rights at work,
which are enabling rights and include the
freedom of association and the effective recognition
of the
right to collective bargaining; the elimination of forced or compulsory labour; the abolition of child labour; the elimination of discrimination at work; and a safe and healthy working
environment. However, fundamental human rights and capabilities also include fundamental
freedoms of speech and thought, and all rights
require the rule of law to ensure that they are
not just words on paper. We will describe and
analyses key indicators of social justice under
the human rights and capabilities pillar, with a
particular focus on those issues within the ILO’s
mandate.
Equal access to opportunities means removing barriers to participation in education, training
and the world of work, so that everyone has the possibility of earning a decent living through
productive and freely chosen work. Chapter 2 examines the barriers to opportunities for
employment and self-employment and the conditions that enable these barriers to be overcome
– such as education and training, the fair sharing of unpaid care work, employment policies as
well as policies for entrepreneurship.
Fair distribution is premised upon strong institutions that guide the distribution of the fruits of
progress among us. The focus of Chapter 3 is on “fairness in distributional outcomes including
a just share of the benefits of economic growth, with attention to the most disadvantaged or
vulnerable in society” (ILO 2023b, para. 11).
Fair transitions require us to apply, adapt and amplify the institutions that have helped improve
the world of work. This amplification requires the partnership of other international institutions,
nations and civil society to work on these challenges to the global commons that include – but
go beyond – the world of work. We will not meaningfully address the transitions we face if we
remain siloed and separate.
The report identifies progress, deficits and the policies that have made a difference, particularly
over the last 30 years since the first World Summit for Social Development held in 1995 and in
advance of the 2025 summit. The evidence shows that the ILO’s standards and commitments, in
partnership with the multilateral system, have made a measurable impact in moving the world
towards social justice. They also remain crucial in guaranteeing that the societal transitions faced
by humanity – environmental, digital and demographic – can be faced in a just and fair manner.
The analysis of societal transitions and how institutions from the world of work can be applied,
adapted and amplified to deal with them is the subject of Chapter 4.
In order to move forward where we are stalled, protect what we have achieved, and make further
progress, we need renewed political commitments from the multilateral system and Member
States. The upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development provides the opportunity
to strengthen that commitment in the drive towards social justice.
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