ILO centenary initiatives

In 2019, the International Labour Organization – the oldest UN specialized agency – celebrates its 100th anniversary. In the run-up to the anniversary, seven Centenary Initiatives are being implemented – part of a package of activities aimed at equipping the Organization to take up successfully the challenges of its social justice mandate in the future.

The world of work has the capacity to consign poverty to history, to provide decent work and living standards universally, and to extend protection from the risks of working life to all. That potential is yet to be realized. The problems of unemployment, underemployment, inequality and injustice are becoming more, not less, acute.

There are calls for fairer globalization, for balanced and sustainable development and for economic growth that drives social progress. Action in the world of work is crucial to these objectives. At the same time, the world of work itself is rapidly evolving.

The ILO is equipping itself to understand and respond to the changes in the world of work and to give leadership in the global challenge of ensuring Decent Work for all women and men.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder marks the start of the ILO’s second century of service to the world of work by recalling its first 100 years and pointing to the challenges that face us all in shaping the future of work we want.

Original source: ILO
Published on 31 December 2018