International Labour Organization (ILO)

 

 

 

 

The International Labour Organization is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the first and oldest specialized agencies of the UN. As the only tripartite U.N. agency, the ILO brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all.

 

Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) at the ILO

The ILO has a long-standing history of working in the area of the Social and Solidarity Economy, dating back to the establishment of the Cooperatives Unit (COOP) in 1920, just one year after the ILO’s founding. Article 12 of the ILO Constitution stipulates that the ILO “may make suitable arrangements for [..] consultation as it may think desirable with recognized non-governmental international organizations, including international organizations of employers, workers, agriculturists and cooperators.” And in as early as 1919, formal relations were established between the ILO and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008) recognizes a strong social economy as critical to sustainable economic development and employment opportunities. The ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (2019) acknowledges the role of the SSE in generating decent work, productive employment and improved living standards for all. The ILO’s global call to action for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient (2021) recognizes the role of the SSE for a broad-based, job-rich recovery with decent work opportunities for all.

Three international labour standards make direct reference to the SSE. The Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193), emphasizes that a balanced society necessitates the existence of strong public and private sectors, as well as strong cooperative, mutual and other social and non-governmental sectors. The Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), acknowledges cooperatives and SSE units as a means to facilitate the transition to the formal economy, while recognizing that they may operate in the informal economy. The Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), recognizes the role of cooperatives and other social economy initiatives in enabling recovery and building resilience.

In June 2022, the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted the Resolution and conclusions concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy, affirming the SSE’s continued relevance to decent work and sustainable development. In follow up, the ILO developed a seven year, office-wide, strategy and action plan (SAP) on decent work and the social and solidarity economy endorsed by the 346th session of the ILO Governing Body in November 2022. The strategy and action plan are structured around three objectives:

  • The first objective on improved understanding of realities and needs related to decent work and the SSE focuses on three output areas of research, statistics and knowledge management.
  • The second objective on increased capacity to promote decent work and the SSE has three outputs at the societal, organizational and individual levels.
  • The third objective on enhanced coherence on decent work and the SSE includes three outputs on policy, programmatic and budgetary coherence.

The ILO has spearheaded the promotion of the SSE within the United Nations (UN) system. In 1971, the ILO co-founded the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), a multi-stakeholder partnership of UN agencies and cooperative organizations that support the promotion and development of activities on cooperatives. And in 2013, it co-founded the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on SSE (UNTFSSE), where it currently holds the Vice Chair and Secretariat. The ILO has worked with UNTFSSE partners since its founding in 2013, culminating in the recently adopted United Nations General Assembly resolution, “Promoting the Social and Solidarity Economy for Sustainable Development.”  The UNGA resolution expands the scope of the ILC resolution by not only referring to it but also including the tripartite definition of the SSE. Moreover, it underlines social dialogue, social justice, labour rights and fundamental principles and rights at work which are at the core of ILO’s mandate.

 

Key ILO resources for capacity building and training of cooperatives and other SSE enterprises are available here.

 

Recent publications and technical outputs (ranging from 2019-2022) include:

  • “Follow-up to the resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy”, 2022. Available in English, Arabic, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Russian.
  • “Social and solidarity economy: Social innovation catalyst in Africa?”, 2022. Available in English and French.
  • “Summary of proceedings of the General Discussion Committee: Decent work and the social and solidarity economy”, 2022. Available in English, Spanish, French, and Turkish.
  • “Cooperatives and the World of Work No. 16 – Legal Compendium on the Social and Solidarity Economy”, 2022. Available in English, French, and Spanish.
  • “Cooperatives and the World of Work No. 15 – Partnerships between trade unions and the social and solidarity economy to support informal economy workers”, 2022. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
  • “Social Protection & Cooperatives Spotlight – Mobilizing social and solidarity economy units towards universal social protection”, 2022. Available in English, Spanish, and French.
  • “South Africa’s social and solidarity economy: Alignment of the policy with national, regional and international frameworks”, 2022. Available in English.
  • “South Africa’s social and solidarity economy: An evaluation of the policy development process”, 2022. Available in English.
  • “South Africa’s social and solidarity economy: A study of its characteristics and conditions”, 2022. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia Towards an Enabling Policy Environment”, 2022. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Setting the scene”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia Spotlight on Republic of Korea”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Spotlight on Philippines”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Spotlight on China”, 2021. Available in English.
  • Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Spotlight on Malaysia”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Spotlight on Japan”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Financial mechanisms for innovative social and solidarity economy ecosystems: The case of the Republic of Korea”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Financial mechanisms for innovative social and solidarity economy ecosystems: The case of Quebec”, 2021. Available in English.
  • Financial mechanisms for innovative social and solidarity economy ecosystems: The case of Morocco” 2021. Available in English.
  • “Financial Mechanisms for Innovative Social and Solidarity Economy Ecosystems: The case of Italy”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Financial mechanisms for innovative social and solidarity economy ecosystems: The case of Ecuador”, 2021. Available in English.
  • “Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy as vehicles to decent work in the culture and creative sector”, 2021. Available in English, Spanish, and French.
  • “Platform labour in search of value: A study of workers’ organizing practices and business models in the digital economy – Executive Summary”, 2021. Available in English and French.
  • “Mapping the Social and Solidarity Economy Landscape in Asia – Spotlight on Indonesia”, 2021. Available in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
  • “Mapping responses by cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations to forced displacement”, 2020. Available in English and Arabic (العربية).
  • “Public Policies for the Social and Solidarity Economy and their role in the Future of Work: The case of Tunisia”, 2020. Available in English and French.
  • “The contribution of SSE and social finance to the future of work”, 2020. Available in English and French.
  • “Financial Mechanisms for Innovative Social and Solidarity Economy Ecosystems – Executive Summary”, 2019. Available in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.
  • “Financial Mechanisms for Innovative Social and Solidarity Economy Ecosystems – Full Report”, 2019. Available in English.
  • “Cooperatives and Social Solidarity Economy – Responses to key issues in the report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work” 2019. Available in English, Spanishand French.
  • “Cooperatives and the World of Work No.12: Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations” 2019. Available in English.
  • “Cooperatives and the World of Work No.11: Towards a better understanding of the role of cooperatives in the ready-made garment supply chain” 2019. Available in English, Spanish, and French.

 

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