Participation of the CIO group at the International Labour Conference (13 June 2018, Geneva)

Participation of the CIO group to the International Labour Conference (13 June 2018, Geneva)

More than 5,000 accredited delegates from 187 ILO member States attended the 107th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), which sets the broad policies of the International Labour Organization and meets once a year in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s Conference was held from 28 May to 8 June 2018.

The Catholic Inspired Organizations group (CIO) has attended the ILC for several years now and more than 18 delegates of our network coming from four continents and nine different countries participated in this important meeting. The CIO brought to the Conference the wide perspective and testimonies from the people at the international level.

This Conference has proven to be an important meeting point for the group year after year. The group participation at the ILC demonstrates a sense of collaboration and a continuous commitment at the global level to the Sustainable Development Goals, the ILO Centenary and the Future of Work Initiative.

On the agenda of the ILC, the CIO group was particularly involved in the following discussion topics: Effective ILO development cooperation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals; Violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work; and on the strategic objective of social dialogue and tripartism, under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008.

For this years’ Conference the CIO decided to truly take advantage of the gathering by developing a common strategy for the promotion of decent work for all. Therefore, for the first time in its history, the group formulated a joint statement in the context of the Committee on “Violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work.” The statement presented by Idy Balberan from ICYCW, contained an overall view of the reality regarding this topic, along with a brief explanation of our common project “The future of work, Labour after Laudato Sì” and clear recommendations to voice what we strive for. The CIO group and other non-governmental organizations demonstrated a commitment to the topic through a human-centered approach.

The CIO group also had the opportunity to host a meeting with Msgr. Ivan Jurkovič, Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the UN. This fruitful meeting was beneficial for both sides, the CIO group were encouraged by their role as Catholic leaders in international institutions and the Nuncio was able to learn about the CIO capacity to contribute to the international debate from a grassroots perspective.

Furthermore, all the CIO involved in the global project “The future of work, Labour after Laudato Si” took advantage of being in Geneva to arrange strategic meetings aimed at sharing the initiatives that fall under the umbrella of the project. Examples of these include the upcoming capacity building sessions to be held in Bandung, Indonesia and in Venice, Italy and also the work carried out by the research tracks. This session marked the CIO group evaluation of the main outcomes and overall development of this project.

Moreover, for the last eight years, the organizations have seized the ILC as an opportunity to collaborate with the International Catholic Centre of Geneva (CCIG) through the organization of a side event focused on deepening the valuable and ongoing discussions that arise from this international meeting. The side event focused on the following theme: “Rethinking Social Dialogue in times of Globalization and informalization”. With the presence of keynote speakers from the ILO and partner organizations, this event sought to raise awareness about opportunities and challenges associated with social dialogue. It highlighted the potential and limits of social dialogue in our societies, and facilitated a creative discussion on the different positions and approaches to reinforce social dialogue within and beyond the ILO, at the national and local levels.

Another significant element of the CIO participation is that three of the organizations – ICMC, JOCI and Kolping International – presented individual statements at the plenary session in response to the Director General’s report. These statements addressed relevant issues and recommendations for the ILC composed of personal testimonies that illustrated the detrimental impact of lack of decent work on vulnerable populations, as well as examples of constructive action undertaken by these organizations.

Finally, before going back to their countries and field work, the CIO group met for a last meeting to review the achievement of their presence in this year’s ILC. The group took the time to share their views on the direction of their work for next year, which happens to be the ILO Centenary.

The following movements/organizations represented the CIO group:

| Caritas Internationalis

| International Catholic Migration Commission – ICMC

| International Christian Business Executives – UNIAPAC

| International Coordination of Young Christian Workers – ICYCW/CIJOC

| International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth – MIJARC

| International Young Christian Workers – JOCI/YCW

| KOLPING INTERNATIONAL

| PAX ROMANA – ICMICA

| World Movement of Christian Workers – WMCW