GENEVA (ILO News) - The future of work, employment and social protection in the global economy will be the focus of a high-level international conference of international experts organized jointly by the French Ministry of Employment and Solidarity and the International Institute for Labour Studies of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Annecy, France, 18-19 January, at the Hôtel Impérial.
The meeting will be addressed by keynote speakers, Ms. Elisabeth Guigou, Ministre de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité , France, and Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO and provide a forum of debate and discussion involving some 60 international experts from academia, trade union and employers' organizations, companies and governments.
The discussions will seek to identify changes that have been taking place in work, employment and social protection over the past quarter century, and forecast future trends in these areas. These conclusions will provide a basis for proposals aimed at ensuring the integration of social and economic concerns in policy makers' considerations as they attempt to meet the challenges of globalization and technological change.
The meeting will be opened on Thursday, 18 January 2001, at 9:30 a.m. by Ms. Guigou and be followed by a presentation of the Conference by the organizing committee, France-ILO. The morning opening session (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.) and the presentation of the synthesis of the four panels on Friday, 19 January at 11:00 a.m., followed by the closing session with Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO , are open to the public and the media.
The Conference takes place on the eve of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While there is no direct connection between the two events, the ILO hopes the conclusions of this conference will help stimulate discussion in Davos on how to address the social aspects of the economic transformation facing industrial countries today.
"Twenty-five years of economic, social and technological change have made it necessary to re-examine the terms of the debate on work, employment and the social protection systems in industrialized countries," organizers said. "The speed of change, especially in the service sector in general and in particular within the New Economy, is such that the threat of becoming an outsider is rather pervasive, and the delivery of solutions to the problems of employment, income and social security becomes vital for the survival of governments."
While globalization and technological change seem to be irreversible, institutions and policies can be altered in order to promote economic prosperity, flexibility and security in economic adjustments and a degree of equality which ensures social cohesion.
The analysis will take into account all aspects of work: not only social protection and income security, but also the quality of participation in the labour market and inclusion in society. This is what the ILO means by the term "decent work", which seeks to encompass the various dimensions of work - its quality, the rights pertaining to it, protection, representation and economic security.
The Conference will not only permit an exchange between different European views but also compare the European debate with US and Japanese experiences. The conference is the first of a series of meetings that are planned on these themes.
Att.: conference programme
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