#International Labour Conference

[socialjusticeday]

Closing of the 112th International Labour Conference.

- General Discussion Committee on Decent Work and the Care Economy 

- Committee on the Application of Standards

- Closing ceremony

– Approval of the report of the Committee on the Application of Standards – Closing ceremony

Watch the Closing of the 112th International Labour Conference!

[worldchildlabourday]

112th International Labour Conference.

The International Labour Organization will hold its 112th annual International Labour Conference in Geneva from 3–14 June 2024. Worker, employer and government delegates from the ILO's 187 Member States will tackle a wide range of issues, including: a standard-setting discussion on protection against biological hazards, a recurrent discussion on the strategic objective of fundamental principles and rights at work and a general discussion on decent work and the care economy. The Conference will also elect members of the Governing Body for the 2024-27 term of office

[indigenouspeopleday]

Advocating for the Visibility and Rights of Mobile Indigenous Peoples: The Dana+20 Manifesto (UNPFII Side Event).

This side event aims to amplify the voices of Mobile Indigenous Peoples and review the challenges faced by Mobile Indigenous Peoples to achieve rights, recognition and self-determination.

The side event will serve to disseminate the Dana+20 Manifesto of Mobile Peoples (2022) and will offer an opportunity to support the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples in his preparation for a thematic report on the situation of Mobile Indigenous Peoples to be submitted to the UN General Assembly in October 2024. This is a critical time to focus on the situation of Mobile Peoples, especially women and youth within these groups, and find avenues that affirm their rights and self-determination. The event will identify initiatives to recognize and respect the rights of Mobile Peoples including existing UN mechanisms, ILO instruments and their gaps.

Related Sites and Documents

Watch the Advocating for the Visibility and Rights of Mobile Indigenous Peoples: The Dana+20 Manifesto (UNPFII Side Event)!

[msmeday]

Focus on the impact of MSMEs on economic growth and social justice.

This event brings together global experts to explore "Human-Centered Impact: Advancing the UN SDGs through MSMEs". This hybrid event will discuss the global impact of MSMEs for economic growth and social justice, with a special focus on entrepreneurs, young workers and women in business.

Watch Human-Centered Impact: Advancing the UN SDGs through Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)!

[coopsday]

47th Regular Meeting of the United Nations Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy.

Led by the Co-Chairs of the UNTFSSE, Simel Esim from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Chantal Line Carpentier from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the virtual gathering brought together representatives from Members (UN Entities and the OECD) and Observer organizations to share international and regional updates to spur further collaboration on the SSE.

The call began with a welcome to the representatives of new Members, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) as an Observer.

Heidi Christ, lead of Made51 at UNHCR, expressed recommitment towards the task force, noting that, “Livelihoods for refugees is of primary concern to UNHCR, especially as the the refugee crisis deepens and longer-term solutions are needed. We are looking at the solidarity economy as way to offer solutions to refugees in a more protective environment”.

Leida Rijnhout, Chief Executive, WFTO, was appreciative of the positive response received from Members and Observers regarding their joining the task force. She highlighted the link between the SSE and the Fair Trade movement, sharing that “At the WFTO, we certify enterprises based on the fair trade principles. We are also a movement of entrepreneurial activists that promote people and planet over profit.”

Following introductions and general updates, the Co-Chairs presented the new UNTFSSE Action Plan, which details priorities and responsibilities for advancing the SSE agenda and implementing the UNGA Resolution A/RES/77/281. This plan, designed to foster policy coherence, drive capacity building, improve statistics, and increase access to finance, underscores the task force's strategic approach to mobilizing collective expertise and resources.

Further discussions focused on institutionalizing UNTFSSE governance through a newly drafted Terms of Reference and preparation of the Secretary General’s report for the UNGA 79th session. The Secretariat is currently collecting inputs from UN Entities, Member States, and Financial Institutions.

Technical Working Groups are currently being established on SSE Statistics and Financing. These groups will be composed of technical experts who will establish work plans and present updates to the task force at regular meetings. Highlights of recent and upcoming initiatives were shared by task force Members and Observers, including:

ILO’s Regional Conference on the Social and Solidarity Economy for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia on May 14-15, 2024.

OECD’s Global Action on Mapping of Social Economy Ecosystems.

UNRISD’s four podcast episodes, interviewing authors from the SSE Encyclopedia.

Social Economy Europe’s EU Large Scale partnership for Skills of SE and Proximity Ecosystem.

DIESIS event on the Social Economy in the Western Balkans under the MESMER+ project.

CIRIEC Call for papers for a Special Issue of APCE on “Gender approaches of Social Economy and State-Owned Enterprises”.

EUCLID’s Women in Social Enterprise initiative.

Ms. Esim proposed to hold an online event to mark the occasion of the first year anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” on April 18, 2024. She suggested this would be an occasion to highlight progress that has been made in the one year since the adoption of the resolution at the international and regional levels. Her proposal was well received by Members and Observers of the Task Force. It was agreed that the webinar would take place on April 18, 2024 from 1:30 – 2:45 pm CEST with presentations followed by a brief discussion. The ILO offered to make simultaneous translation available for the event in English, French and Spanish. The UNTFSSE Members and observers agreed to share the announcement and the Zoom link for the event widely.

Led by the Co-Chairs of the UNTFSSE, Simel Esim from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Chantal Line Carpentier from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the virtual gathering brought together representatives from Members (UN Entities and the OECD) and Observer organizations to share international and regional updates to spur further collaboration on the SSE.

The call began with a welcome to the representatives of new Members, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) as an Observer.

Heidi Christ, lead of Made51 at UNHCR, expressed recommitment towards the task force, noting that, “Livelihoods for refugees is of primary concern to UNHCR, especially as the the refugee crisis deepens and longer-term solutions are needed. We are looking at the solidarity economy as way to offer solutions to refugees in a more protective environment”.

Leida Rijnhout, Chief Executive, WFTO, was appreciative of the positive response received from Members and Observers regarding their joining the task force. She highlighted the link between the SSE and the Fair Trade movement, sharing that “At the WFTO, we certify enterprises based on the fair trade principles. We are also a movement of entrepreneurial activists that promote people and planet over profit.”

Following introductions and general updates, the Co-Chairs presented the new UNTFSSE Action Plan, which details priorities and responsibilities for advancing the SSE agenda and implementing the UNGA Resolution A/RES/77/281. This plan, designed to foster policy coherence, drive capacity building, improve statistics, and increase access to finance, underscores the task force's strategic approach to mobilizing collective expertise and resources.

Further discussions focused on institutionalizing UNTFSSE governance through a newly drafted Terms of Reference and preparation of the Secretary General’s report for the UNGA 79th session. The Secretariat is currently collecting inputs from UN Entities, Member States, and Financial Institutions.

Technical Working Groups are currently being established on SSE Statistics and Financing. These groups will be composed of technical experts who will establish work plans and present updates to the task force at regular meetings. Highlights of recent and upcoming initiatives were shared by task force Members and Observers, including:

ILO’s Regional Conference on the Social and Solidarity Economy for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia on May 14-15, 2024.

OECD’s Global Action on Mapping of Social Economy Ecosystems.

UNRISD’s four podcast episodes, interviewing authors from the SSE Encyclopedia.

Social Economy Europe’s EU Large Scale partnership for Skills of SE and Proximity Ecosystem.

DIESIS event on the Social Economy in the Western Balkans under the MESMER+ project.

CIRIEC Call for papers for a Special Issue of APCE on “Gender approaches of Social Economy and State-Owned Enterprises”.

EUCLID’s Women in Social Enterprise initiative.

Ms. Esim proposed to hold an online event to mark the occasion of the first year anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development” on April 18, 2024. She suggested this would be an occasion to highlight progress that has been made in the one year since the adoption of the resolution at the international and regional levels. Her proposal was well received by Members and Observers of the Task Force. It was agreed that the webinar would take place on April 18, 2024 from 1:30 – 2:45 pm CEST with presentations followed by a brief discussion. The ILO offered to make simultaneous translation available for the event in English, French and Spanish. The UNTFSSE Members and observers agreed to share the announcement and the Zoom link for the event widely.

[safeday]

The constitutional principle of the protection of workers’ safety and health.

The fundamental conventions on occupational safety and health - ILO: An overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187)

[todayontumblr]

Monday May 1.

May Day.

Today is a day that requires little introduction. It is #may day, otherwise known as #international workers day or Labour Day. Celebrated every year on May 1, or the first Monday of May, it marks a day of celebration and solidarity between laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement. It is a national public holiday in many countries across the world and has a fascinating, inspiring history. The Marxist International Socialist Congress met in Paris in 1889, where they established the Second International as a successor to the International Workingmen's Association. It was here they established a resolution for a "great international demonstration" to support demands for an eight-hour working day from the working classes. Today's date, May 1, was selected by the American Federation of Labor to mark a general strike in the United States. This strike began on this date in 1886, and subsequently became an annual event. In 1904, the Sixth Conference of the Second International called for "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace". But it is not just consigned to history, by any means, because #may day continues to this day.

There are strikes, marches, rallies, and protests across the world today marking May Day. The struggle continues, but today is also the celebration. Wherever you are across the world, and however you're spending International Worker's Day 2023, we wish you love, light, and solidarity in the fight for better. 

[metamatar]

Is that trans politician who wants to demolish mosques contesting the elections bc she thinks Modi isn't fascist enough? I thought Modi was the most fascist

about hemangi sakhi contesting from varanasi from the right of modi. fascists have internal disagreements too, and the sangh is quite frustrated by how the bjp has enriched itself while using the sanghs ground labour to win elections without offering little power in return. she is not the first or the last trans woman in india to run elections from the right. in ram rajya, we brutalise muslims first.

modi is not the most fascist in practice because he is prime minister and does lipservice to the notion of indian democracy and will say things like oppressing muslims is the real secularism bc they've had it to good instead of saying hindu rashtra 4ever. note that this is not because he's actually less fascist, its just a useful electoral tactic.

their are lots of middle class indians who like that thing bc it lets them pretend not to be what they think of as the degenerate khaki shorts fanatical fascism. modi for very long has functioned metonymically as the clean face of the sangh (the butcher of godhra indeed) in that he never outright says shoot those [slur] dead in public and has not been actually convicted of murder. in general the bjp fights does narrative building on several fronts, modi never holds press conferences, while amit shah is known to be his enforcer, local functionaries will do brazen things that the top level will walk back when there's a bit too much outrage (garlanding the rapists of bilkis bano, giving a bjp seat to the guy best known for pulling a gun on protesting muslim women) but not be disciplined etc. it gives every kind of fascist something to love and hate about the bjp.

sometimes people diagnose that the only reason the revolt against trump was so serious in us civil society was because trump embarassed everyone. modi is a far more sophisticated kind of fascist.

[probablyasocialecologist]

The Palestinian people have tried every method to achieve some form of meaningful self-determination. ‘Renounce violence’, they were told. They did, apart from the odd reprisal after an Israeli atrocity. Among Palestinians at home and in the diaspora, there was massive support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions: a peaceful movement par excellence, which began to gain traction worldwide among artists, academics, trade unions and occasionally governments. The US and its NATO family responded by trying to criminalize BDS across Europe and North America – claiming, with the help of Zionist lobby groups, that boycotting Israel was ‘antisemitic’. This has proved largely effective. In Britain, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has banned any mention of ‘Israeli apartheid’ at its upcoming national conference. The Labour left, scared of being expelled, has fallen silent on this issue. A sorry state of affairs. Meanwhile, most of the Arab states have joined Turkey and Egypt in capitulating to Washington. Saudi Arabia is currently in negotiations, mediated by the White House, to officially recognize Israel. The international isolation of the Palestinian people looks set to increase. Peaceful resistance has gone nowhere.   All the while, the IDF has attacked and killed Palestinians at leisure, while successive Israeli governments have worked to sabotage any hope of statehood. Recently, a handful of former IDF generals and Mossad agents have admitted that what is being done in Palestine amounts to ‘war crimes’. But they only plucked up the courage to say this after they’d already retired. While still serving, they fully supported the fascist settlers in the occupied territories, standing by as they burned houses, destroyed olive plantations, poured cement in wells, attacked Palestinians and drove from their homes while chanting ‘Death to the Arabs’. So, too, did Western leaders – who let all this unfold without a murmur. The age of political reason had long departed, as Qabbani would say. Then, one day, the elected leadership in Gaza begins to fight back. They break out of their open-air prison and cross Israel’s southern border, striking at military targets and settler populations. Palestinians are suddenly top of the international headlines. Western journalists are shocked and horrified that they are actually resisting. But why shouldn’t they? They know better than anyone that the far-right government in Israel will retaliate viciously, backed by the US and the mealy-mouthed EU. But even so, they are unwilling to sit by as Netanyahu and the criminals in his cabinet gradually expel or kill most of their people. They know that the fascist elements of the Israeli state would have no compunction about sanctioning the mass murder of Arabs. And they know this must be resisted by any means necessary. Earlier this year, Palestinians watched the demonstrations in Tel Aviv and understood that those marching to ‘defend civil rights’ did not care about the rights of their occupied neighbours. They decided to take matters into their own hands.   Do the Palestinians have a right to resist the non-stop aggression to which they are subjected? Absolutely. There is no moral, political or military equivalence as far as the two sides are concerned. Israel is a nuclear state, armed to the teeth by the US. Its existence is not under threat. It’s the Palestinians, their lands, their lives, that are. Western civilization seems willing to stand by while they are exterminated. They, on the other hand, are rising up against the colonizers.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Nova Scotia is expanding a fast-tracked immigration program to include international students who want to become paramedics and pharmacy technicians, in its latest move to address health worker shortages.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson and Advanced Education Minister Brian Wong announced Friday the government is adding students in those two fields to its "international graduates in demand" stream.

"It fills critical labour needs and provides international students with a streamlined pathway to obtain their permanent residency," Wong said during the news conference at a Halifax pharmacy.

"We want them to stay here after they graduate." [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[socialjusticeday]

112th International Labour Conference of the ILO - Plenary debates – Morning sitting.

- Presentation of second Credentials report - Adoption of two committees outcomes

Presentation of second Credentials report and adoption of two committees outcomes.

Watch the 112th International Labour Conference of the ILO: Plenary debates – Morning sitting.

[worldchildlabourday]

Inclusive Labour Protection for All.

Labour protection is at the core of social justice and decent work. But what does that mean exactly and are labour protection systems fit for purpose in a rapidly changing world of work? To explore this, the ILO World of Work Show will explore the role of labour protection at a time of multiple crises. Join us as well to look back at the first week of the 111th International Labour Conference.

[ayeforscotland]

Any thoughts ahead of the SNP independence conference? imo the more compelling case for independence lately feels like it’s coming more from grassroots stuff than the actual SNP

Yeah, I think there needs to be some form of understanding between grassroots independence supporters and the SNP that they both need to push at the same time. I'd like the movement to start getting a bit more 'philosophical' about independence. What type of country do we want to be? What should be in our written constitution? How do we want to contribute to the international community? I think it would be quite powerful to take a draft constitution to people, grounding and enshrining their rights in Scots Law. We also need to hit back on the current situation in the UK. Food costs, electricity prices, rents and mortgage rates are at an all-time high - people want change. The current *system* isn't working and change to a Labour government won't remedy that. I think we can do a lot of prep work for an eventual Labour government at the next general election, and we'll be able to capitalise on people's disappointment when Labour inevitably fail to deliver.

[whocookedthelastsupper]

Employers did not simply develop the beauty backlash because they wanted office decoration. It evolved out of fear. That fear, from the point of view of the power structure, is firmly grounded. The beauty backlash is indeed absolutely necessary for the power structure's survival.

Women work hard—twice as hard as men.

All over the world, and for longer than records have been kept, that has been true. Historian Rosalind Miles points out that in prehistoric societies, "the labours of early women were exacting, incessant, varied and hard. If a catalogue of primitive labour were made, women would be found doing five things where men did one." In modern tribal societies, she adds, "working unceasingly during the daylight hours, women regularly produce as much as eighty per cent of the tribe's total food intake, on a daily basis... male members were and are doing only one-fifth of the work necessary for the group to survive, while the other four-fifths is carried out entirely by women." In seventeenth-century England the Duchess of Newcastle wrote that women "labour like beasts." Before the Industrial Revolution, "no work was too hard, no labour too strenuous, to exclude them." During nineteenth-century exploitation of the factory system, "women were universally worked harder ... and paid less" than men, "employers everywhere agreeing that women were 'more easily induced to undergo severe bodily fatigue than men.'" Today the "primitive" five to one ratio of women's work to men's has declined to a "civilized" two to one. That ratio is fixed and international. According to the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs: "While women represent 50 percent of the world population, they perform nearly two-thirds of all working hours, receive only one-tenth of the world income and own less than 1 percent of world property." The "Report of the World Conference for the United Nations Decade for Women" agrees: When housework is accounted for, “women around the world end up working twice as many hours as men."

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, by Naomi Wolf

[coochiequeens]

"It is vital that women's voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected." -Steve Barclay. Finally a man I can quote without without an eyeroll emoji

Health secretary plans to bring back 'sex-specific language' to NHS

Steve Barclay wants to push back against what he calls "wokery" in the National Health Service, with a source telling Sky News "ideological dogma" is stopping women from being listened to when it comes to their health.

Tuesday 3 October 2023 12:01, UK

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards in England, under new proposals put forward by the health secretary.

In his conference speech, Steve Barclay announced plans to push back against what he called "wokery" in the NHS, saying it had led to women's rights being increasingly sidelined.

The government will consult on making changes to the NHS constitution, which will also include the right to request same-sex intimate care requests.

The health secretary also confirmed sex-specific language would be used when dealing with women's health.

Speaking to party members in Manchester, Mr Barclay said: "We need a common-sense approach to sex and equality issues in the NHS - that is why today I am announcing proposals for clearer rights for patients.

"And I can today confirm that sex-specific language has now been fully restored to online health advice pages about cervical and ovarian cancer and the menopause.

"It is vital that women's voices are heard in the NHS and the privacy, dignity and safety of all patients are protected."

In April, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the government could ban trans women from entering female-only spaces, and asked parliament's human rights watchdog for its advice to change official wording from just "sex" to "biological sex", which she described as a "technical and contested area of law".

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Barclay also announced an expansion of NHS training and funding of new technology in the health service.

He also confirmed new medical schools in Worcester, Chester and Uxbridge, as well as an increase in the number of places up and down the country for students wanting to train to be doctors.

However, Labour said the three "new" schools announced already exist, and added that restrictions on the number of government-funded places mean they are only training international students.

Mr Barclay's speech comes with the backdrop of ongoing junior doctor and consultant strikes in England.

They are taking joint action, with Christmas Day levels of cover expected until Wednesday.

It follows two days of strike action at the end of September and coincides with Rishi Sunak's first Conservative Party conference as leader and prime minister.

The Conservatives will be hoping to grapple back control of its conference in Manchester, which has been dominated by leaks regarding the northern phase of HS2 - which Sky News understands will be scrapped in the coming days.

While Number 10 says no decisions have been made, it is thought the section of the high-speed rail project between Birmingham and Manchester will now be shelved.

[cathkaesque]

if you could travel back in time, is there a specific time and place you'd want to go? assuming you'd instantly know the local language and not bring back a plague

I have a tonne of thoughts about this actually. I would go back to the 1984 miners strike, armed with all the knowledge and government documents that my bf has uncovered during his research. We both fantasise often about going back in time to fix the mistakes that happened during the 80s, in order to prevent the destruction of the world as ongoing today.

The 1984 miners' strike is one of the fundamental world turning points - it's when the ideas of resources should be used for need, rather than profit, versus the idea that resources exist to make money and should be thrown away if they don't, are explicitly tested and the latter wins out. The working class movement never recovers and the social bases of its existence are destroyed. Capital taken out of national industries is exported abroad, and Britain's economy becomes a consumerist. Fundamentally, it's this approach that has destroyed the world.

The strike was utterly winnable - Thatcher takes on each individual group of combative workers one by one (first inner city riots in 1979-80, then the steel workers in 1980, then rail workers in 1982, the miners in 1984, local government in 1985, print workers in 1986, dock workers in 1989). If all of these groups had taken unified action at once then the government would have folded - they say so themselves in their internal discussions. There were multiple opportunities for joint action - there is an attempted general strike in Wales that fails to get off the ground due to poor coordination.

The other thing as well is how close the Labour Party came to being led by Tony Benn - in the 1981 Deputy Leadership he was basically a handful of votes away from unseating right wing ballsack Dennis Healey (50.4% vs 49.6%). He could have won a leadership challenge against Foot, and definitely could have beaten Kinnock in the 1983 leadership election had his seat not been abolished in the election of that year. A Benn party would have backed the strikes, rather than tried to sabotage them like Kinnock's ilk did.

The other turning point is post strike, the transformation of the National Union of Mineworkers from a workplace union first and foremost to an organisation that represented the whole coalfield community. Women in the pit communities built an alternative welfare system in the form of Women Against Pit Closures, which provided communities with essentials as well as manning picket lines. There was a motion at NUM conference in 1985 to give WAPC branches affiliate membership, but this was defeated largely for entirely misogynistic reasons. If this had succeeded, and the NUM had invested in developing and supporting these branches rather than , they could have retained some of their political organisation post pit closure. Furthermore, this would then have given other community based movements such as the Anti-Poll Tax Leagues a model for something that could exist after the strike.

This transition, from workplace to community union, was achieved in Bolivia which went through a very similar process - the tin miners were the vanguard of the workers' movement there, and had won the nationalisation of their mines, which were all closed when the price of tin dropped in 1984. The miners kept their political traditions alive as they moved into informal work in El Alto and coca growing in Chapare, and were the base of the CSUTCB peasants union, the COR-El Alto informal workers' union, and the FEJUVE community union. These organisations were the political foundation for Evo Morales' transformation of that country. I really do feel strongly that the same could have happened in the UK - they could have provided an anchor to left wing challenges that broke through in the 2000s (Ken Livingstone's mayorship of London, George Galloway's Respect Party) which failed due to the terrible politics of the people that led them.

However, this would require me to have established myself in advance of the strike - so I would probably go back to 1979, or potentially earlier to 1968 to properly embed myself in the culture.