Global experts to convene at the ILO for the “Regulating for Decent Work Conference 2025”

GENEVA (ILO News) — The International Labour Organization (ILO) will open the Regulating for Decent Work (RDW) Conference 2025 on 2 July, bringing together leading researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and constituents to examine how labour institutions and worker voice can help advance decent employment for all.

Held from 2 to 4 July 2025 at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, this year’s edition of the RDW Conference is organized under the theme: “Strengthening labour institutions and worker voice to deliver decent employment.” The conference is co-hosted by the ILO Research Department in collaboration with a wide network of academic and institutional partners, underscoring its role as a truly global platform for knowledge exchange on labour regulation and social justice.

Now in its ninth edition, RDW 2025 will feature over 250 presentations across more than 80 sessions, reflecting the scale and diversity of the event. It will convene a global community of labour scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, representing perspectives from across regions and disciplines. The programme includes high-level plenary sessions, parallel research panels, special sessions, and side events designed to translate cutting-edge research into meaningful policy dialogue.

ILO Deputy Director-General Celeste Drake will welcome participants at the opening plenary. The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Sir Paul Collier. The conference will also feature two plenary sessions on “Access to Protection and Legal Rights” with a focus on how we can achieve real world results, a special session on “Normative Frameworks for Social Justice” exploring the role of international labour standards and multilateral cooperation and a closing plenary session on “Rethinking our economic model for Decent Work and Human Development”.

Over three days, the RDW Conference will include plenary sessions, parallel research panels, special high-level events, and the presentation of the RDW Best Paper Prize.

The conference is organized around four main thematic tracks. The first looks at whether traditional growth and development strategies are still capable of delivering decent work in today’s world. The second explores how worker voice and agency are changing in response to fast-moving shifts in the labour market. The third examines how legal, political, and economic institutions are adapting to new challenges in the world of work. The fourth investigates why many labour reforms fail to produce results—and what it takes to make regulation effective in practice.

The RDW Conference continues to serve as a key platform for advancing evidence-based policymaking and fostering dialogue between researchers and the ILO’s tripartite constituents.

The Regulating for Decent Work (RDW) Conference is the ILO’s largest academic conference for sharing research and fostering dialogue on labour market regulation, institutions, and social justice. Held every two years at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, it brings together leading scholars, policymakers, and social partners from around the world to explore how to advance decent work through evidence-based policy and inclusive dialogue.