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Interactive Conference on
"Organized Labour in the 21st Century"
 Foreword
The Labour and Society Programme of the International Institute of Labour Studies has the pleasure to present a detailed
report of the proceedings of a series of on-line conferences on the theme of "Organized labour in the 21st century". The
conferences took place between September 1999 and May 2000. What follows is a brief account of the background to the
conferences and an outline of the content of the report.
Early in 1998 the International Institute of Labour Studies, in collaboration with the ILO Bureau for Workers Activities
(ACTRAV), launched a programme on "Organized labour in the 21st century". The International Confederation for Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU) has involved itself from the start in the planning and technical aspects of the Conference.
However all international trade union movements were invited to participate. The Conference had the following
objectives: to investigate the challenges facing trade unions; to present an overview of their varying responses; and to
identify the policies and activities which have proved particularly successful in different regions of the world.
In order to implement the programme, the Institute established an electronic network which was designed to link trade
union practitioners with the academic world. The objectives of the network were to: (i) gather information on the
situation and activities of organized labour in the present social and economic context; (ii) exchange information between
unions and the academic community on matters of concern; and (iii) disseminate ongoing research on organized labour.
As a first step in programme implementation, a document entitled "Network on organized labour in the 21st century:
An invitation to participate" was put on the Institute website. The document discussed the main problems facing unions
today under the following headings: (i) changing patterns of employment and union membership; (ii) change in labour-management relations; (iii) public status of trade unions; (iv) challenges in a hostile economic environment; and (v) the
international economy: a threat to national trade unions? It also raised a number of questions about union responses.
Labour specialists and trade union practitioners were invited to comment on the issues raised.
The numerous responses received from members of the network, including more than 60 substantive contributions, have
been summarized and published as a Discussion Paper of the Institute.(Endnote 1) An anthology of selected responses from
network members has also been posted on the Institute website.
A select group of network members who reviewed the working of the programme in December 1998 recommended that
the network should become a fully interactive exercise, making it possible for participants to contribute to the policy
debate and to disseminate their own work. The programme website should complement the "debate forum" and provide
information on matters of concern to labour and trade unions. The Institute responded to the above recommendation by
installing a list-server which functioned as the main platform for organizing on-line conferences of the network.
The interactive conference facility made it possible for the network members to participate in an on-line debate, share
ideas and views on strengthening the role of organized labour, build links and make suggestions for research in relevant
areas. The on-line conference on "Organized labour in the 21st century" was launched in September 1999, and as many as
800 members from different countries signed up for the conference. During the first six months, all discussions were in
English. In March 2000, a second pool of discussants consisting of approximately 80 members was established for
Spanish speakers.
The mode of the on-line conference was that of a moderated discussion held on the Internet. Panels of speakers were
assembled, their contributions presented in an orderly way, and the contributions of the audience distributed to all
participants. The software used for the conference also gave the participants access to the conference archive, where all
contributions were stored in records arranged chronologically.
The conference opened in mid-September 1999 with a keynote address by Mr. Juan Somavía, the Director-General of
the ILO, to which Mr. Bill Jordan, the General Secretary of the ICFTU responded. The topics and themes which came
up for discussion in the conference were based on the keynote statements of Mr. Somavía and Mr. Jordan. The topics
which generated considerable interest and participation in the conference were the following: the importance of
organizational strategies to enable unions to exercise voice and influence policy; the need to take on the challenge of
representing non-traditional constituents and also providing new services to members; the case for broadening the agenda
of unions with greater emphasis on the development of human rights and democratic institutions; and finally the
significance of unions entering into alliances with other interest groups and representative organizations in civil society in
fulfilment of their objectives.
The thematic conferences proved to be a thoroughly rewarding experience; they became venues for fruitful collaboration
between unions, academics and the ILO. The conferences have shown that many in the world of labour wish to
communicate and that they have valuable information and ideas to share with an international audience.
In what follows we present a report of the proceedings of the entire conference. The general report of the conference is
followed by shorter reports on the major themes discussed. An anthology of selected contributions made by various
participants is also included.
Endnote 1:
"Network on organized labour in the 21st century: A progress report", Discussion Paper 101, 1999, Labour and Society Programme, ILO,
Geneva.
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