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The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals
The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals is an essential reference for understanding the role of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its promotion of fair conditions, rights at work and employment opportunities for all.
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Critical Acclaim
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The Elgar Companion to Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals is an essential reference for understanding the role of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its promotion of fair conditions, rights at work and employment opportunities for all.
Bringing together contributions from over 60 leading labour scholars, this Companion critically investigates the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and how it links to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Chapters look ahead to the future of labour trends and address a range of perspectives, including viewpoints from political science, economics, sociology and law. A comprehensive analysis of the decent work deficit is provided, along with an examination of the global labour market. Ultimately, the Companion discusses pressing issues such as ecological crises and the growing effect of the gig economy and automation on the changing nature of work, addressing the gap between aspirations and the reality of the global labour market.
This prescient Companion is vital for students and scholars of labour studies, economics, international relations and law. Offering an important overview of the history of the Decent Work Agenda, it is also beneficial to practitioners and policy advocates.
Bringing together contributions from over 60 leading labour scholars, this Companion critically investigates the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and how it links to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Chapters look ahead to the future of labour trends and address a range of perspectives, including viewpoints from political science, economics, sociology and law. A comprehensive analysis of the decent work deficit is provided, along with an examination of the global labour market. Ultimately, the Companion discusses pressing issues such as ecological crises and the growing effect of the gig economy and automation on the changing nature of work, addressing the gap between aspirations and the reality of the global labour market.
This prescient Companion is vital for students and scholars of labour studies, economics, international relations and law. Offering an important overview of the history of the Decent Work Agenda, it is also beneficial to practitioners and policy advocates.
Critical Acclaim
‘The Decent Work Agenda, proposed by the ILO in 1999 and formally adopted in 2008, comprises four pillars: employment creation, social protection, rights at work and social dialogue. In 2015 these were incorporated in the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet work has become more and more precarious and exploitative. This book critically assesses the ILO''s strategic response to globalisation, addressing the setbacks and criticisms surrounding the decent work agenda. It captures the complexity of this agenda, evaluating different criticisms and providing a platform for further scrutiny. As a comprehensive guide, this Companion cuts across disciplines, including labour studies, political economy, political science, sociology and social policy. It serves as an important resource for academics, students and policy practitioners navigating the multifaceted landscape of labour, making it an essential contribution to the debates on sustainable development.’
– Richard Hyman, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
‘The Decent Work Agenda may be utopian but in taking it seriously this compendium of working conditions from all over the world demonstrates just how ever more deeply entrenched is indecent work and how the only way forward lies in the collaborative might of labor.’
– Michael Burawoy, The University of California, Berkeley, US
‘Christoph Scherrer, Madelaine Moore and Marcel van der Linden have compiled a deep, global, and critical look at the ILO’s concept of “decent work” that will be a major resource for academics, policymakers, and trade union activists alike. Some 50 essays examine the limits of ILO enforcement and multiple barriers to “decent work” across the globe, including free trade, climate change, and corporate aggression, but also the means to achieve it “from below” through the rights to organize, bargain, and strike.’
– Kim Moody, University of Westminster, UK
‘The mid-term review of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is sobering. Most of the goals that the United Nations has set itself for 2030 can probably no longer be achieved. Core goals such as combating climate change, eradicating poverty and hunger and reducing social inequalities have even been set back in many regions of the world. It is therefore all the more important that a scientifically grounded handbook addresses the close connection between decent work and the SDGs. The editors have succeeded in producing a great, multifaceted volume that opens up a view of the major challenges facing the world of work in the 21st century.’
– Klaus Dörre, University of Jena, Germany
– Richard Hyman, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
‘The Decent Work Agenda may be utopian but in taking it seriously this compendium of working conditions from all over the world demonstrates just how ever more deeply entrenched is indecent work and how the only way forward lies in the collaborative might of labor.’
– Michael Burawoy, The University of California, Berkeley, US
‘Christoph Scherrer, Madelaine Moore and Marcel van der Linden have compiled a deep, global, and critical look at the ILO’s concept of “decent work” that will be a major resource for academics, policymakers, and trade union activists alike. Some 50 essays examine the limits of ILO enforcement and multiple barriers to “decent work” across the globe, including free trade, climate change, and corporate aggression, but also the means to achieve it “from below” through the rights to organize, bargain, and strike.’
– Kim Moody, University of Westminster, UK
‘The mid-term review of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is sobering. Most of the goals that the United Nations has set itself for 2030 can probably no longer be achieved. Core goals such as combating climate change, eradicating poverty and hunger and reducing social inequalities have even been set back in many regions of the world. It is therefore all the more important that a scientifically grounded handbook addresses the close connection between decent work and the SDGs. The editors have succeeded in producing a great, multifaceted volume that opens up a view of the major challenges facing the world of work in the 21st century.’
– Klaus Dörre, University of Jena, Germany
