The ILO and globalization

In the last two decades the world has moved from an international economy, in which national economies interacted in a global market, to a global economy in which many of the relationships and mechanisms are themselves global in nature. The outcomes of this process are both stimulating and worrying. There is now widespread agreement on the principle of open markets and open societies. Globalization is delivering enormous new opportunities. In some parts of the world this has meant spectacular growth in incomes and employment. But there are reasons for concern. It is widely believed that inequality has continued to widen in many countries as well as between countries. Unstable global financial systems generate crises with enormous social costs. More economic activities are becoming informalized and many jobs are becoming more precarious in the search for competitiveness. Perceptions of insecurity are spreading, not only among the poor and unemployed, but also among the middle classes. Above all, the benefits of globalization reach only a fraction of the population. The social legitimacy of the process is in question, and movements opposed to globalization are strengthening.

This does not mean that globalization will stop. On the contrary, it is continuing apace, driven by the market and by technological forces. The rapid expansion of the knowledge economy is creating tremendous new opportunities, and cheap communications reinforce the process. However, it is by no means obvious how long globalization will continue on its present path if the fundamental social issues highlighted by the global UN conferences of the 1990s are not addressed.

Work and employment lie at the heart of these debates. The expanding global economy reaches people by helping enterprises to grow, and providing opportunities for income and employment. But more women and men need to benefit, and more attention needs to be paid to productivity, security and protection. The global economy has to deliver decent work – and that is the ILO’s primary goal today.

Globalization has added a powerful new dimension to the link between development and the four dimensions of decent work – basic labour rights and standards, employment, socio-economic security and social dialogue. Decent work is the first step out of poverty and an important stride towards greater social integration. Decent work contributes to economic as well as to social goals, because work is the most important human means for wealth creation and redistribution.

The achievement of decent work opportunities for all requires an integrated approach to the economic, social and political dimensions of public policy. The reason for this is that the traditional compartmentalized approach, which deals with each of these dimensions separately and ignores the strong interdependencies between them, has proved to be ineffective. This failure has become more pronounced in the current era of globalization.

From the international relations perspective, globalization and its consequences require the construction of an integrated framework for coherent international policies, based on concerted action by the various actors in the international community, while respecting the mandate of each institution. This requires enhanced, continued, targeted and substantive dialogue and partnerships between the increasing number of players on the global scene. The ILO is called upon to play a significant role in the international community. The current concern about the social impact of globalization and the growing awareness of the centrality of workers’ rights, employment, social protection and social dialogue, have put the ILO in a more visible position. The ILO’s normative base, in-depth technical knowledge and tripartite constituency provide it with a unique institutional strength and solid potential for a leading role in, and effective partnership with, the international community. In particular, the ILO is well-placed to ensure that inputs from the business community and trade unions are brought to the attention of the United Nations and other multilateral bodies.

The ILO’s concept of decent work provides the basis for such an integrated approach to policy, covering a large and strategic part of the overall development agenda.