The nature of work is undergoing a rapid transformation around the world. The result is that, in many sectors and groups of the world's population, workers' rights are regressing rather than advancing.
In the Global North, wages and working conditions won through decades of struggle are now threatened by technological platforms, reactionary policies, and coercive management that have created a new crisis of precariousness on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the Global South, workers face practices that violate labour and human rights, whether in the fields, factories, mines, or the informal economy. They are exposed to hazardous conditions and condemned to cycles of poverty and crises resulting from the climate emergency.
These situations call for a coordinated and robust response that safeguards the rights of working people globally and enables a better future of work.
The Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy organizes the ‘International Labour Congress’ on November 13th and 14th in Madrid. Around 400 high-level guests from governments, universities, international organizations, trade unions, civil society, lawyers and experts worldwide will attend.
This pioneering initiative aims to move towards a global movement of international labour allies to facilitate the exchange of perspectives on the situation of working people, both in the Global North and the Global South, in the face of the world of work challenges in the 21st century.
WHERE AND WHEN
The high-level event "International Labour Congress: towards a Labour International" will take place at the Hotel Meliá Castilla in Madrid on November 13-14, 2024.
PROGRAMME
The event will take place on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th November 2024, in a participatory plenary that will address relevant issues to defend the rights of working people, around four discussion themes:
To download the specific concept notes for each session, please click on the name of each session in the above paragraph.
The event will begin with opening remarks by prominent international personalities and the Second Vice-President of the Spanish Government.
Each thematic session will be moderated by an expert, and speakers will include senior representatives of European countries and international organisations, as well as parliamentarians, lawyers, and trade union representatives from different countries and sectors, among others.
The high-level event also allows the in-person participation of the general public, subject to online registration, which will be activated close to the event. This registration will be limited for reasons of room capacity.
Registration will be effective after receiving an e-mail from the organisers confirming the registration. In any case, the organisation reserves the right to issue physical accreditations for the public based on security criteria.
The event will include streaming. Please see the Press section for more details and to access the broadcast.
Media accreditation for the event can be obtained by completing the electronic registration form below. For all other media enquiries, please contact the Communication Office of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy at gprensa@mites.gob.es
