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Global Commission on the Future of Work

ILO Global Commission wraps up final meeting ahead of landmark report

Commissioners finalize details of their independent report on the future of work, to be published in January 2019 - the start of the ILO’s Centenary.

Press release | 22 November 2018
GENEVA (ILO News) – The ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work has ended its fourth and final meeting, preparing its landmark report that will be published in January next year.

The report will outline the steps needed to achieve a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all, against the background of rapid transformational change in the world of work.

It will include a number of concrete proposals for a new, inclusive approach to economic growth and development that will aim to shift priorities in global and national economic policy-making.

Led by its co-chairs, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, the independent commission agreed on the need for urgency in tackling the key issues and challenges that have been identified during its 15-month examination of the future of work.

These issues include youth employment, skills mismatch, income inequality, informality, the rural economy, the digital divide and gender equality.

Discussions also focused on sustainable employment, lifelong learning, social protection, technology and the institutions of work, including the role of social dialogue.

Among the recommendations in the report will be an outline of the critical role of the ILO in shaping the future of work, as the organization moves into its second century. The report will be launched at ILO headquarters in Geneva on 22nd January, 2019, marking the official start of the ILO’s Centenary year.

Its publication will be the culmination of a process that began in 2015 with the Director-General’s report on the Future of Work Centenary Initiative to the International Labour Conference, followed by a series of national dialogues in ILO member States.

Tripartite discussions on the Global Commission’s report – involving governments, employers and workers – will take place at national and regional level in the months following its publication. The report will then be submitted to the Centenary International Labour Conference in June 2019.