The centrality of work that is decent

The majority of adults – 2 billion workers – are caught in the so-called informal economy, with the trend towards casualisation of work tendentially increasing this number. Women are particularly affected, both because of the gendered inequitable nature of their employment, and their multiple roles in the care economy, as are other socially marginalised groups.…

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Coming up: ILO conference on regulating for decent work

As mentioned earlier, the ILO conference on regulating for decent work starts on 2 July. See ideas and commentaries.

Why care about care?

As mentioned in an earlier post, the UN and its member countries are preparing a World Summit for Social Development, to take place in November in Doha, 30 years after the original social summit (often referred to as the Copenhagen Summit). The geopolitical situation has deteriorated palpably on all counts since then. But, we also…

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Just out: Global value chains

Global value chains are the missing link in the UN’s fight against povertyhttps://globallabourcolumn.org/

UN Summit for Social Development in Doha

30 years ago, the UN convened a summit for social development, devoted to social justice, decent work, social integration and participation. This November, a – much weakened – UN will convene a review summit in Doha, Qatar, 4-6 November. As Isabel Ortiz, Odile Frank and I argue in our Global Social Justice op-ed, published in…

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Just out: UN Summit for Social Development

A plaidoyer for attention to the UN Summit for Social Development in Doha in November 2025 https://www.ipsnews.net/2025/05/2025-world-social-summit-must-not-missed-opportunity/#google_vignette See ideas and commentaries

Conference Panel on the Challenges of Decent Work and the SDGs

Chair(s): Christoph Scherrer (University of Kassel, Germany)Discussant(s): Nicolas Pons-Vignon (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland) The panel highlights contributions from The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals, edited by Madelaine Moore, Christoph Scherrer and Marcel van der Linden. This reader  critically investigates the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and how it relates to…

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Very soon

Panel on Challenges of Decent Work and the SDGs at the ILO Conference on Regulation for Decent Work on 3 July in Geneva. RDW 2025 See ideas and commentaries.

A summary of the Hans Singer Symposium

The City of Wuppertal, the Johannes Rau Research Community  and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy convened  a symposium on the legacy of Professor Hans Singer (1910-2006) in early May 2025. Wuppertal is an understated locus of ideas, innovation and social reform. In the industrial revolution, it was a centre of weaving and…

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Symposium zur Aktualität des Werks und Wirkens des Entwicklungsökonomen Hans Singer (1910-2006)

Read a summary  under ideas and commentaries. Bilder: © Johannes Rau Forschungsgemeinschaft © JRF e.V.