Kiri

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PLACING DECENT WORK AT THE HEART OF THE

NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT:

“TOWARDS A GLOBAL CHARTER OF LABOUR RIGHTS”

In March 1995, the World Summit for Social Development, held in

Copenhagen, focused the attention of the international community on the nature

and roots of social trends and problems. At the Summit, the Member States

approved the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action for Social

Development. Commitment 3 of the Copenhagen Declaration refers to the goal

of full employment, with full respect for workers’ rights and with the participation

of employers, workers and their respective organizations, and specifically

mentions the goal of safeguarding the “basic rights” of workers. These “basic

rights” were linked to the fundamental Conventions of the International Labour

Organization (ILO), which at that time referred to the prohibition of forced labour

and child labour, to freedom of association, the right to form and join trade

unions, the right to collective bargaining, and the principle of non-discrimination.

Since that time, the world of work has undergone a process of radical

transformation, with profound changes set within a framework of persistent

inequalities, which impact on the nature and future of work and on the standing

and dignity of workers. Labour standards are being tested by the impacts of the

pandemic, geopolitical challenges, the climate emergency and the digital

transformation, and they require continual updating if they are to sustain decent

work. Other factors that must be taken into account include gender equality,

sustainability, the adaptation of job markets to combat climate change, the

employment status of digital platform workers, and the proper management of

new technologies in the sphere of labour relations.

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The speed with which the aforementioned aspects are impacting on the

world of work demands a rapid response from states so as not to further delay

the achievement of decent work for all and so as to ensure their capacity to

serve the principles of social justice when addressing the imminent transitions.

As recognized in previous resolutions relating to the implementation of the

outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development, including Resolution

78/174 adopted on 19 December 2023, more than 25 years after the World

Summit for Social Development was held, progress is slow and unequal and

continues to be hindered by significant gaps. Despite the efforts made by the

fundamental institutions of the world of work, such as the ILO, legislative

procedures at international level continue to lag very far behind the changes

and emerging challenges mentioned above. Thus, while recognizing the

importance of the resolution amending the ILO Declaration on Fundamental

Principles and Rights at Work (2022), we continue to be concerned by the lack

of legislative response at the state and global levels to the threats and

challenges listed.

The Second World Summit for Social Development, to be held in 2025,

will seek to address persisting gaps, recommit to the Copenhagen Declaration

and Programme of Action for Social Development and their implementation, and

give momentum to the execution of the 2030 Agenda.

The aim of this Summit is to draft a new Social Contract, whose pillars,

without question, must include decent work, full and productive employment,

social dialogue, respect for international standards, social protection, and social

justice. These pillars must develop and update the outdated concept of “basic

rights” set forth in the Copenhagen Declaration to represent what the

international community today understands as essential rights for all workers in

all countries of the world.

To this end, we propose that the objectives of the Summit include the

adoption of a “Global Charter of Labour Rights”, which must combine

established basic standards with innovations in the protection of workers’ rights

and take into account the challenges stemming from the ecological and digital

transitions.

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The Global Charter of Labour Rights will be built upon the four pillars of

decent work, updating and expanding them in order to respond to the current

challenges of the world of work, as a commitment of the international community

to ensuring a future of work based on dignity, self-actualization, inclusiveness,

stability, full, productive and freely chosen employment, and an equitable

distribution of the profits thereof among all people, in all labour contexts,

irrespective of country or sector.

To this end, the signatory states undertake to:

1. Guarantee the right to equal opportunities and to non-discrimination

on the grounds of gender or any other grounds of discrimination at work;1

safeguard the right to care; ensure maternity and paternity rights at work;

establish sufficient measures to ensure life-work balance; adopt

sufficient standards to effectively combat violence and harassment at

work; and design policies that contribute to the economic empowerment

of women in a changing world of work.

2. Ensure working hours that allow for work-life balance, that are shared

equitably and are aligned with social, community and environmental

needs.

3. Guarantee fair pay that is commensurate with the value of the work

performed, precluding discriminatory pay differences and ensuring a

living wage that honours human dignity.

4. Respect freedom of association and the right to strike; the right of

trade unions to participate in company management and governance;

the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association at the

workplace and outside it; and the right to information, consultation and

participation, through trade unions.

1 Convention No. 111 of the ILO refers specifically to discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion,

national extraction or social origin. Other ILO instruments include additional grounds: HIV/AIDS, age, disability, family responsibilities, sexual orientation and trade union membership or activities.

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5. Ensure the existence of permanent institutions for democratic

participation in the sphere of labour relations through collective

bargaining and social dialogue; and promote transnational and

international collective agreements, paying particular attention to global

framework agreements.

6. Guarantee effective standards for the eradication of child labour and

forced labour, paying particular attention to labour situations at the

bottom end of transnational companies’ global value chains.

7. Safeguard the right of all workers, regardless of sector and type of

company, to stable employment and to clear, predictable, transparent

and dignified working conditions. Adopt labour regulations which

prioritize the establishment of permanent contracts and implement

efficient measures to boost the transfer from informal to formal

employment.

8. Support a fair digital transition for workers to ensure that the use of

artificial intelligence and algorithms by companies respects labour rights,

personal data and privacy. Guarantee labour protection in the digital

platform sector. Strengthen the role of trade unions and collective

bargaining, especially with regard to rights to information and to

consultation, in processes of technological change.

9. Ensure a green transition which fully respects labour rights. Boost

employment in sustainable occupations and in those aimed at combating

climate change; promote green collective bargaining as well as

protection and adaptation measures in the workplace to address adverse

climate conditions.

10. Guarantee the right to health and safety at work and develop efficient

management policies and systems which take into account the new risks

at the workplace, especially biological and chemical risks. Establish

regulations committed to the goal of zero deaths, and to preventing work-

related injuries and illnesses, especially those linked to mental health.

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Pay particular attention to night work and shift work carried out by young

people.

11. Safeguard the right to professional training, the development of work

skills and lifelong learning, with a focus on young people in order to

promote stable, quality youth employment. Ensure retraining policies

aimed at guaranteeing dignified and productive employment in the latter

stages of people’s working lives.

12. Promote access to efficient employment services and adopt policies

to support employment actively through personalized assistance,

especially for the most vulnerable people and groups, so that they may

re-join the workforce and transition professionally.

13. Establish sufficient minimum welfare systems and protection levels,

which respond to gender issues and are sensitive to diversity, and

increase their cover progressively to all persons throughout their lives,

including persons working in the informal economy.

14. Guarantee the labour and social security rights of migrants, regardless

of their migration status.

15. Support an efficient and adequate Workplace Inspection body and

maintain employment tribunals with the necessary structure and funding

to enable efficient legal protection in an apposite timeframe and a

suitable administrative sanction system.

16. Ensure companies are held liable for violations of human rights or

environmental damage committed throughout their global value chain,

establishing at least clear and sufficient company due diligence

measures for human rights and sustainability.

17. Promote measures to boost the circular and solidarity economy, and

to protect the self-employed.