The Future and Praxis of Decent Work event ran from 14th – 15th February 2013 at the University of Kassel (Germany) and was hosted and partially sponsored by the International Centre for Development and Decent Work. Funding was also provided by the COST Action IS0902 ‘Systemic Risk and the Financial Crisis’, and the International Political Economy Group (IPEG). The Global Labour University (GLU) acted as cooperating partner institution.
Event http://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtungen/icdd/events/decent-work-conference.html
Programme http://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtungen/fileadmin/datas/einrichtungen/icdd/events/2013/Programme_Future-and-Praxis-of-Decent-Work_Kassel_FINAL.pdf
Critical discussions and presentations revolved around the crisis in decent working conditions in both the global north and global south, with direct reference to the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Agenda (DWA) which was prioritised as a 'strategic international goal promoting a fair globalisation' in 1999. Keynote speaker Dave Spooner highlighted the role of trade unions in the struggle for decent work and challenged unions to think politically in the context of austerity. Peter Waterman delivered his keynote from Lima Peru as a live streamed lecture and encouraged workshop participants to think about whether decent work is a utopian concept and how this can become part of networked discussions. Edward Webster acted as discussant for Waterman’s presentation and posed decent work as a demand rather than an ideal which is particularly relevant with the rise in precarity and unemployment. The event’s title attracted excellent presentations and discussions on both the potential for praxis which was emphasised in the keynote deliveries, as well as urgency for the future of decent and perhaps more importantly, dignified work. Academics and practitioners with involvement in the labour movement came from India, Brazil, South Africa, Portugal, Turkey, and Spain. Over 50 people attended the event despite the snow and the entire event was streamed live on the internet.
|