January 2022

1. Brown Bag Lunch

   Scoping Study: International Investment Agreements

   The aim of the report is to gain a better initial understanding of the references to labour in investment agreements. The main purpose is to scope investment agreements on references for keywords that can be related to labour protection since they might have an impact on the application of investment agreements and potentially address concerns with regard to freezing or lowering labour protection. In this report, the focus is on keywords that can be linked to labour protection, but which as such do not yet constitute a labour provision as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO). These keywords can be considered as proxies to gain insight into the importance of labour concerns in investment agreements. The search of keywords is executed on two datasources from UNCTAD. One which contains all negotiated investment agreements and one which contains so-called Model Bilateral Investment Agreements.

2. Webinar

   Labour market transitions: Findings and research directions from a novel dataset

   In this virtual event, authors of the ILO brief that introduces this occupational mobility network will discuss their collaboration, methods used, initial findings, and future research directions that may be pursued in 2022 and beyond.

December 2021

1. Event

   Gendered effects of trade liberalization on labour market outcomes in Malawi

November 2021

1. Webinar

   Exploring Decent Work in the Pharmaceutical Industry

   Job creation in the production of medical cannabis in Lesotho and Zimbabwe

October 2021

1. Virtual Symposium

   Advisory Committee on Integrating Trade and Decent Work

   The Advisory Committee on Integrating Trade and Decent Work is an integral part of the ILO research programme on Integrating Trade and Decent Work (INTEGRATE). The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to (i) provide technical advice and feedback on analytical frameworks and key findings of the research; (ii) participate in meetings and workshops, and (iii) engage in dialogue in national tripartite seminars to advance knowledge and promote diffusion of the findings.

2. Event

   Implementing the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169: Towards an inclusive, sustainable and just future

   Over thirty years have passed since the adoption of Convention No. 169. There have been some positive outcomes of indigenous and tribal peoples in many countries, ranging from their increased visibility in policy discussions, improved statistical data collection on their situation, to a decline in poverty rates. However, such progress has been limited in several countries, with indigenous and tribal peoples facing continued invisibility. The report being discussed at this Research Seminar takes up the ambitious task of peeling away the layers of this invisibility, particularly in terms of data, and statistics, by presenting the social and economic situation of indigenous women and men by looking at key aspects such as population, employment and poverty. It also showcases the important strides made in public policies, particularly with regard to institutions, consultation and participation. Furthermore, it highlights the critical role of the Convention as a framework for social justice, peace, participatory democracy, and inclusive and sustainable development for all – which is necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and undertake meaningful climate action.

3. Virtual Symposium

   Integrating Trade and Decent Work: Assessing impact of trade on labour markets

   The Virtual Symposium on “Integrating Trade and Decent Work: Assessing impact of trade on labour markets” is jointly organized by the ILO Research Department and the European Commission. The event will present the key outputs of the “Trade, enterprises and labour markets: diagnostic and firm level assessment” (ASSESS) project, followed by an interactive roundtable discussion on trade and labour market challenges, with the participation of government representatives and social partners. The target audience includes technical experts, policymakers, ILO tripartite constituents and international organizations.

4. ILO Research Department Training

   Ethiopia national training on evidence-based policy making

   It is widely recognized that evidence (data, research, best practices) is essential for decision and policy making. In practice, the use of evidence in the policy-making touching the world of work is still at its early stages and unevenly practiced. As a result, policies are not as effective as they could or should be in responding to employment and labour market challenges facing the world of work. There is so much information available and yet they are not used appropriately for effective policy making. This training intends to build capacities and skills of the users of research and data and especially the policy-makers, while providing them with the necessary instruments and tools to find, evaluate, and understand the relevant evidence for policy making in their work and influence policies based on evidence in return. The training is part of the broader capacity-building initiative of the ILO in strengthening capacities at various levels such as individual, organizational and societal and includes one-year follow-up activities to ensure learning transfer. This training is targeted to policy makers and policy influencers representing the trade unions and workers, employers representatives as well as government officials from various ministries.

July 2021

1. ILO Research Department Webinar

   Using vacancy data to study skills dynamics

   Knowing what skills are required by employers when recruiting new workers is an important basis for the work of all labour market actors. This seminar, will present the project “Machbarkeitsstudie Kompetenz-Kompass”, which has developed a methodology to identify recent hard and soft skill requirements in job ads published on the “BA-Jobbörse” employment website provided by the Federal Employment Agency (Germany).

2. Virtual Workshop

   Effects of Trade on the Labour Market: A Firm-level Perspective

   The virtual workshop will present key findings of the ILO project on “Trade, enterprises and labour markets: Diagnostic and firm-level assessment” (ASSESS), which is funded by the EC. ASSESS provides tools and techniques at the macro, sectoral and firm level to analyse the impact of trade on labour markets. The workshop will focus on micro-level research that takes into account the characteristics of firms and workers. Researchers from ILSSA will present the preliminary findings of a study on labour market effects of trade in Viet Nam using firm-level data, complemented by interventions from social partners. The ILO Research Department will present key findings and main messages of the project, followed by insights from a firm-level case study in Mexico. The event will be in English and Vietnamese with interpretation.