Brian Langille and/or Anne Trebilcock: What we can learn from the newly published volume, Social Justice and the World of Work: Possible Global Futures (Hart, 2023).
The introductory speaker(s) will trace origins of the book and an overview of its content and the process involved: the inspiration (the oeuvre of Francis Maupain, former ILO Legal Adviser and Advisor to several Director-Generals), the embryonic stages, conceptualizing and organizing the (broad) topic, getting authors on board, articulating the book proposal, managing changes – all with a view to locating the volume in the context of a rapidly changing international circumstances and crises.
This overview sets the stage for the broader framework into which the selected speakers fit when presenting their chapters. This panel can provide only a taste of the book, which includes a preface explaining the dedication to Francis Maupain, an introduction, and 31 chapters by 37 authors.
Part I of the book, on goals and challenges, starts by clarifying the idea of social justice in work, and explores a few critical dimensions of its global future. Part II focuses on international institutions and the future of global labour justice. Sections are devoted to the ILO, the WTO and the trade and labour nexus, along with selected other means involving public and private actors. The volume rounds off with a closer look at labour law itself, and the future of social justice.
The authors showcased as presenters at RDW8 address challenges from the national to the multilateral levels, including proposed solutions. They are:
Buying beyond our borders: Public procurement and labour rights in global supply chains, by Olga Martin-Ortega and Martina Trusgnach, both of the University of Greenwich, UK;
Peeling the onion: On choices judges make, by Guy Mundlak of Tel Aviv University, Israel (TBC; also on behalf of co-author, Judy Fudge, McMaster University, Canada); and
The resilience of multilateralism: An ILO introspection for a system-wide vision
Tomi Kohiyama, ILO Deputy Legal Adviser, and Thomas Lieby, ILO Legal Officer, both Switzerland),
followed by the discussant, Gabrielle Marceau of the WTO/University of Geneva.
The session will permit dialogue on the bigger picture issues into which any discussion of regulating decent work inevitably confronts.
