The International Labour Organization (ILO) – A critical examination of the past 100 years, and imagination for the next

A panel featuring Professors Leah Vosko, Obiora Okafor, and Canadian Labour Congress representative Marie Clarke Walker; moderated by Professor Kelly Pike.
The year 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO encourages cooperation between governments (of 187 member states), employers, and workers to promote “social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights.” Established in the wake of the “Great War” (WWI), the founding mission of the ILO was based on the premise that “social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.” However, this goal has been far from realized in the last century. In this panel discussion, each participant will address the following guiding questions:
What is living and what is dead in the ILO, 100 years on?
What lessons can be learned from the past to address the pressing social, economic and labour justice issues of today and the future?
This event is part of the Global Labour Speaker Series organized by the Global Labour Research Centre at York University and is co-sponsored by the School of Social Work, Faculty of Education, Department of Equity Studies, Department of Anthropology, Department of Sociology, Department of Geography, Social and Political Thought Program, Department of Philosophy, Department of History, Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law program, Department of Politics, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Department of Social Science, School of Human Resource Management.