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Context:

• Union Minister For Labour & Employment Shri Bhupender Yadav participated in High Level Panel discussion in Geneva , organized by ILO under the World of Work summit on the sidelines of ILC meeting.
• The theme of the discussion was “Tackling multiple global crises: promoting human-centered recovery and resilience”.

More on the news:

• The discussion mainly focussed on multiple challenges that the world of work is facing such as worsening inequalities, demographic realities, unequal technological progress, informality, climate change and what action should be taken by the countries and the international communities to tackle these challenges so as to achieve the goal of human-centred, resilient and sustainable recovery.
• The Minister spoke at length about the measures India has taken to tackle informality and for providing social security to the informal sector workers. He mentioned about e-shram portal for registering the informal workers and the establishment of social security fund for financing their social security.
• He also talked about future of work, digital transformation, gig and platform workers and measures taken in the code for the protection of their rights and their welfare. He emphasised on need for planned migration and mobility of the workers which has become an imperative owing to changes in the demography across the world. He also talked about global skill mapping for facilitating mobility of the skilled workforce across the world.
• Government’s action in building a resilient society and bringing about inclusive and sustainable development was also emphasised.

About ILO:

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards.
• Founded in 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN. 
• The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• With its focus on international development, it is a member of the United Nations Development Group, a coalition of UN organization aimed at helping meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Within the UN system the organization has a unique tripartite structure: all standards, policies, and programmes require discussion and approval from the representatives of governments, employers, and workers.

About the conference:

• The member States of the ILO meet at the International Labour Conference, held every year in Geneva, Switzerland, in the month of June
• .Each member State is represented by a delegation consisting of two government delegates, an employer delegate, a worker delegate, and their respective advisers.
• Every delegate has the same rights, and all can express themselves freely and vote as they wish. So it happens that worker and employer delegates sometimes vote against their government's representatives or against each other.
• The Conference, which is often called an international parliament of labour, has several main tasks.

1. First, there is the crafting and adoption of international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations. Conventions are international treaties that, once adopted by the Conference, are open to ratification by member States. Ratification creates a legal obligation to apply the provisions of the Convention in question. Recommendations, on the other hand, are intended to guide national action, but are not open to ratification, and are not legally binding.
2. The Conference also supervises the application of Conventions and Recommendations at the national level. It examines the reports which the governments of all member States are required to submit, detailing their compliance with obligations arising out of ratified Conventions, and their law and practice in respect of Conventions and Recommendations (ratified or not) on which reports have been requested by the Governing Body of the ILO.
3. Since the adoption of the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), another important function of the Conference is to examine the Global Report prepared by the Office under the follow-up procedure required by the Declaration. Over a four-year cycle, the Conference examines in turn Global Reports covering the four fundamental rights, namely: (a) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; (b) the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; (c) the effective abolition of child labour; and (d) the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
4. The Conference is also a forum where social and labour questions of importance to the entire world are discussed freely - sometimes passionately. Delegates explore the course of social progress in the world, but the central theme is the report presented each year by the ILO's Director-General. In recent years, these reports have addressed: Social insurance and social protection (1993), Defending values, promoting change: Social justice in a global economy (1994), Promoting employment (1995), The ILO, standard setting and globalization (1997), Decent Work (1999), Reducing the decent work deficit: A global challenge (2001) and A fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all (2004).
5. The Conference also passes resolutions that provide guidelines for the ILO's general policy and future activities.
6. Every two years the Conference adopts the ILO's biennial work programme and budget, which is financed by member States.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1833045

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