The Director-General of the ILO, Guy Ryder, has compared the principles behind the new European Pillar of Social Rights to the founding values of the ILO.
Addressing a high-level audience that included the British and Italian Prime Ministers, Mr Ryder said that Europe was traditionally at the forefront of finding “progressive solutions to societal changes and challenges”, and that the Social Pillar is “very much in line with that.”
The event, hosted by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lövfen, was organized to bring key stakeholders together to discuss how to promote fair jobs and growth. Heads-of-state from 25 EU Member States were present, as well as the Presidents of the European Commission and European Parliament. Also attending were major European civil-society actors, as well as representatives from the European social partners.
The Summit ended with a proclamation ceremony, and the Pillar was signed by Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, and Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas on behalf of the Council of the EU.
The Pillar of Social Rights is the culmination of two years of preparation from the moment when President Juncker announced the surprise initiative in his 2015 speech on the State of the European Union. The Pillar aims to instigate an upward socio-economic convergence between EU Member States. The ILO contributed to the discussion, including through its publication on Building a European pillar for social convergence.
Mr Ryder was invited to speak at one of three parallel seminars, which focused on fair employment and working conditions. During his intervention he reminded European leaders of the risks of the growing presence of non-standard forms of work, with some people “becoming trapped in conditions of permanent insecurity”.
He praised the ambition and values of the Pillar, which he said “resonate” with the ILO. This includes the conviction that “prosperity must be shared, that human and labour rights underpin human dignity, and that social dialogue is an indispensable ingredient for social justice and fairness at work.”
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