12th Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy - Elective 1: Promoting fundamental principles and rights at work in the SSE

The electives of the SSE Academy were designed for practitioners from around the world to share and discuss practices, ideas and models for SSE action in specific fields. The first elective 1 took place on 16, 17 and 18 November 2021. It focused on the promotion of fundamental principles and rights at work in the Social and Solidarity Economy. It was available for participants in English, French and Spanish.

News | 29 November 2021
The elective’s content was coordinated and prepared by Ms. Andrea Davila (ILO) and Valentina Verze (ILO) and facilitated by Mr. Carlos Lesdema (ITCILO).

The elective started with an overview of the four Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) and the accompanying conventions: 1) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; 2) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; 3) the abolition of child labour; and 4) the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

The resource people presented how the application of FPRW is relevant to SSE units at two different levels: 1) their obligation to comply with FPRW in their capacity as employers; and 2) their role in promoting and advancing FPRW among their members, users and communities. Finally, the elective provided information and tools to support SSE units in advancing FPRW in their own operations. Several practical examples and experiences from different countries were also shared and discussed.

During the first day, Ms Lisa Wong (ILO) provided an overview on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) and Ms. Andrea Davila (ILO) reflected on the role of SSE units in complying with and promoting FPRW.

The presentation by Ms. Wong is available here: eng - fr - es.
The presentation by Ms. Davila is available here: eng - fr - es.

The second day started with a presentation by Ms. Marjaana Saarikoski from the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), on the ICA approach in promoting FPRW and the work of the ICETT Working Group on Human Rights in Supply Chains. The second speaker, Ms. Melissa Márquez Zapata from the Cooperativa de Coficultores de Salgar (Colombia), presented a practical example of an SSE unit working on addressing child labour. Finally, Ms. Aicha Belassir, a representative of the Federación de Asociaciones Empresariales de Empresas de Inserción (Spain), presented a practical example of SSE unit working on non-discrimination.

The presentation by Ms. Saarikoski is available here: eng - fr - es.
The presentation by Ms. Márquez Zapata is available here: eng - fr - es.
The presentation by Ms. Belassir is available here: eng - fr - es.

During the final day, Mr. Norberto Cafasso, Union Secretary of the Unión Obrera Ladrillera de la República Argentina (UOLRA), presented a practical example of a trade union working with SSE units to reach informal workers. Another trade union representative, Mr. Jean Reneè Bilongo from FLAI CGIL (Italy), shed light on the work of CGIL fighting forced labour and “caporalato” in different parts of Italy, through the “Dignità in campo” project. Caporalato is a form of recruitment of agricultural workers for daily labour through intermediaries on behalf of the business, charging fees, paying below minimum wages. The last speaker of the session, Mr. Cheikh Diop, a member of a social cooperative Social Barikamà (Italy), presented the story and the activity of his cooperative in organizing workers to overcome the forced labour practices, and providing them with employment and income-generation opportunities.

The presentation by Mr. Cafasso is available here: eng - fr - es.

The elective benefited from the active participation of participants in group work and in Q&A sessions.

For more information on the 12th edition of the SSE Academy, click here.