‘Labour is not a commodity’: A gentle reminder

IF 1.5 Q2 POLITICAL SCIENCE

Global Social Policy Pub Date : 2022-05-19 DOI:10.1177/14680181221094934

Fabiola Mieres, C. Kuptsch

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In 2021, amid the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization (ILO) held its 109th International Labour Conference (ILC) in a virtual mode and experimented a new form of multilateralism using virtual technologies and adaptation across multiple time zones which required new forms of solidarity among nations. Despite the challenges, the ILC adopted a series of resolutions and conclusions on important issues pertaining to the world of work such as social security, inequalities, skills and lifelong learning; and a call to action to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.1 All these resolutions are inclusive of migrant workers and some of their particularities. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic took place in an already testing and fragile global scenario with high environmental risks due to climate change, technological transformations, and demographic shifts. In addition, mounting popular unrest became more acute in light of the existing inequalities that were amplified with the pandemic. Taking this complex setting into account, this piece reflects on the notion that ‘labour is not a commodity’ as a key founding concept enshrined in the ILO’s Philadelphia Declaration of 1944. Rethinking and bringing back this notion is important for it represents a means to materialize a ‘human-centred approach’ to the world of work and beyond, strengthening the global governance of labour while providing hope to restore a fragile world order. A ‘human-centred approach’ is the centre-piece of the ILO’s Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (ILO, 2019) wherein the ILO reimagines itself to better deal with current challenges. This contribution will consider ILO’s relevance in the face of technological, socioeconomic and climatic alteration. It will look at transformative events in the form of ‘global crisis situations’ and reflect on the embeddedness of ILO policy in general trends of thinking on ‘the economic’ and ‘the social’ before focusing on aspects of the Philadelphia Declaration that can inspire a ‘post recovery world’.

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“劳动不是商品”:一个温和的提醒

2021年，在2019冠状病毒病大流行的第二年，国际劳工组织(劳工组织)以虚拟方式举行了第109届国际劳工大会，并利用虚拟技术和跨时区适应试验了一种新的多边主义形式，这需要各国之间新的团结形式。尽管面临种种挑战，劳工委员会还是就社会保障、不平等、技能和终身学习等与劳动世界有关的重要问题通过了一系列决议和结论;呼吁采取行动应对2019冠状病毒病危机所有这些决议都包括移徙工人及其一些特殊性。2019冠状病毒病大流行的爆发是在一个已经受到考验和脆弱的全球形势下发生的，由于气候变化、技术变革和人口变化，环境风险很高。此外，由于现有的不平等现象随着大流行病而加剧，日益加剧的民众骚乱变得更加尖锐。考虑到这一复杂的背景，这篇文章反映了“劳动不是商品”这一概念，这是国际劳工组织1944年《费城宣言》中体现的一个关键的创始概念。重新思考和恢复这一概念是很重要的，因为它代表了一种手段，使“以人为本的方法”在工作世界和其他领域实现，加强全球劳动治理，同时为恢复脆弱的世界秩序提供希望。“以人为本”是国际劳工组织《未来工作百年宣言》(国际劳工组织，2019年)的核心内容，国际劳工组织在宣言中重新构想自己，以更好地应对当前的挑战。这份报告将考虑劳工组织在技术、社会经济和气候变化方面的相关性。它将以“全球危机形势”的形式审视变革事件，并反思国际劳工组织的政策在“经济”和“社会”思维的总体趋势中的嵌入性，然后关注《费城宣言》可以激励“后复苏世界”的各个方面。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Global Social Policy POLITICAL SCIENCE-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

6.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： Global Social Policy is a fully peer-reviewed journal that advances the understanding of the impact of globalisation processes upon social policy and social development on the one hand, and the impact of social policy upon globalisation processes on the other hand. The journal analyses the contributions of a range of national and international actors, both governmental and non-governmental, to global social policy and social development discourse and practice. Global Social Policy publishes scholarly policy-oriented articles and reports that focus on aspects of social policy and social and human development as broadly defined in the context of globalisation be it in contemporary or historical contexts.