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Agenda: International Conference on Decent Work and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Era of the SDGs 21 - 23 March, 2024

An international conference jointly hosted by FLAME University and the WageIndicator Foundation

INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, decent work has increasingly been on economic and social agendas, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) explicitly linking it to economic growth in SDG 8. The International Labour Organisation built on this by framing the Decent Work Agenda around the tenets of SDG 8. Governments actively promote this too; the G20 New Delhi Leader’s Declaration in September 2023 committed to the cause of decent work for all workers. 

Though global fora like the UN, the ILO and the G20 may place decent work at the centre of global agendas, the responsibility of implementing decent work across value chains ultimately lies with corporations. This may take the form of paying Living Wages, providing better working conditions, ensuring gender equality or supporting collective bargaining.

The business case for this is increasingly evident. Growing inequality has a demonstrably negative impact on economic growth, while closing the Living Wage gap could boost the global GDP by 5.4%, adding US$4.56 trillion annually, through increased productivity and spending at a cost of just $1.89 trillion. Similarly, the ILO has estimated that poor safety at work costs businesses US$2.8 trillion annually – 4% of global GDP – through lost working time, interruptions in production, treatment of occupational injuries and diseases, rehabilitation, and compensation.

There is no longer a trade-off between an economy that grows and an economy that helps people thrive. So how can we achieve this?

As we stand at the halfway point between 2016 (SDG adoption) and 2030 (SDG implementation targets), it is necessary to assess how corporations can catalyse the achievement of SDG 8, and how these efforts will fit within the larger realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is all the more apt in a country like India, where notions of CSR have hitherto been narrowly restricted to mandatory philanthropic efforts. 

To this end the WageIndicator Foundation and FLAME University are organising a conference that aims to be a unique interface between academia and industry, aiming to advance both discourse and action on corporate responsibility. 

The conference will be held at FLAME University, Pune, India, between 21st to 23rd March, 2024.

For a detailed view of the conference agenda, kindly follow this link.

Conference Agenda

Day 1

Launch report: Working towards paying a living wage - PWC & WageIndicator

  • Launch Event 1: Launch of the Living Wage Monitor
    • Martin Kahanec - Professor, School of Public Policy, Central European University
    • Paula Letorey - Partner Workforce and Employment, PwC UK

Day 2

Day 3

Check Out WageIndicator's Newsletters on Gig Work

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