International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Summary

The author summarizes findings of case studies from Argentina, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Kenya on the contribution of social dialogue to formalizing the informal economy and meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She discusses how social dialogue serves as a mechanism for implementing the 2030 Agenda and provides recommendations for improving social dialogue to better contribute to formalizing the informal sector.

The author offers a brief explanation of social dialogue before discussing the scale of the informal sector in the global economy. She then highlights the challenges that informal workers face, demonstrating the need for formalization and explaining why social dialogue is essential to the formalization process. Citing examples from around the world, the author also demonstrates how social dialogue can facilitate progress on social protections, inclusion, and more.

The author highlights the continued challenges to formalization, including lack of commitment to social dialogue by various actors, insufficient time and resources, and lack of coordination between dialogue processes. She concludes with recommendations to address these challenges and strengthen social dialogue outcomes.

Summary

In this report, the authors explain how just transitions can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change. They argue that social dialogue is an essential element of just transitions, as it can facilitate planning processes based on genuine partnership. Drawing on case studies from around the world, the authors highlight just transition processes forged through social dialogue at the national and corporate levels.

The authors examine the role of multinational companies in a just transition, describing the dilution of regulatory power and social and labor rights tied to the rise of large multinational companies. In this context, they explain the importance of social dialogue to protect workers’ interests across supply chains. They highlight various examples of social dialogue within energy and textile companies, including through Global Framework Agreements, and advocate for coordination among trade unions to promote supranational mechanisms for social dialogue. They highlight the need for trade unions to strengthen their capacity on climate-change issues and to integrate an environmental dimension into their strategies to engage in just transitions effectively.

The authors conclude with wide-ranging recommendations for the successful implementation of just transitions. These recommendations are directed at a variety of actors in this space, including donor governments engaged in development.