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.
Day 1
- Keynote 1 | Rob van Tulder: Setting the Stage for the SDG Agenda
- Keynote 2 | Martin Kahanec: From Numbers to Dignity - Empowering Global Communities Through Living Wages
- Paper Presentation 1 | Living Wages
- Special Session 1 - Methodologies for Living Wage Calculation
- Ines Meyer and Imaan Mohamed: From Paper to Implementation Through a Human Dignity Approach: The Case of the Living Wage South Africa Network
- Ashim Roy: Towards Regional but Differentiated Living Wage Beyond Borders: The Asia Floor Wage Alliance's Methodology for Garment Workers
- Martin Guzi, Martin Kahanec, Nii Ashia Amanquarnor and Nina Holičková: Measuring Living Wages Globally: Decent Living, Minimum Wages, Material Deprivation.
- Panel Discussion 1: Best practices in Living Wage Implementation
- Moderator: Ranjit Prakash, ILO, India
- Marjolein Scheerders - Global Compensation Specialist, Inter IKEA Group
- Gregor Loetsch – Head Compensation and Benefits, SOS Children’s Villages
- Gayala Srinivasa Rao - Living Wage Expert, IDH India
- Nicole Whittingslow - Sustainability Consultant, Peterson Projects and Solutions
- Panel Discussion 2: Smart reporting on the "S" in ESG regulations
- Moderator: Tripti Naswa
- Paulien Osse, WageIndicator Foundation
- Paula Letorey - PWC, UK
- Marjolein Scheerders (Inter IKEA Group)
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
- Master Class: Walking the Talk -What Role for the SDGs?
- Rob van Tulder - Professor Emeritus, Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management
- Special Session 2: What's the Latest in the Global Gig Economy?
- Valeria Tonella - Gig Researcher, WageIndicator Foundation
- Srishti Das - Gig Researcher, WageIndicator Foundation
- Ananya Prabhughate - Gig Researcher, WageIndicator Foundation
- Special Session 3: Gig and Platform Economy: Emerging Perspectives for Future of Decent Work
- Uma Rani - Senior Economist, International Labour Organisation
- Aditi Surie- Senior Consultant, Indian Institute of Human Settlements
- Ravikiran Naik- Faculty, FLAME University
- Keynote Address 3: The Gig Economy and SDG 8
- Uma Rani – Senior Economist, International Labour Organisation
- Special Session 4 | Aditi Surie: Platform Work, Urban Economies, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Senior Consultant, Indian Institute for Human Settlements
- Keynote Address 4 | Ernesto Noronha: The Experience of Indian Gig Workers: Interface with Precariousness
- Faculty, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
- Paper Presentation 2: Gig and Platform Work
- Nandini Kumari- PhD. Student, Jawaharlal Nehru University: Gig Economy and Decent Work: Exploring Quality of Work Among Online Food Delivery Workers in Delhi
- Manasi Gore and Meenal Annachhatre - Assistant Professors, Pune University: Gig Economy Challenges Through the Lens of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Martijn Arets - Global Gig Economy Expert, WageIndicator Foundation: A Research Agenda for Data Portability in the Gig Economy
- Rogerio Marques Benedito Junior - Researcher, WageIndicator Foundation: Decent Work and the Gig Economy in Mozambique: Understanding Digital and Platform Work Dynamics
- Rupa Korde and Nakshatra Pradhan - Assistant Professor FLAME University and Student, M. S. University of Baroda - Working Conditions and Wages of Gig Workers - A Comparitive Study of Five Countries
- Paper Presentation 3: Decent Work
- Geethika Jammula - Undergraduate Student, FLAME University: The Paradox of Empowerment: Unveiling the Impact of National Education Policies on Achieving Sustainable and Decent Work for Women in India
- Aman Gupta - Assistant Professor, National University of Juridical Sciences and Vaishnavi Ganesh - Specialist Disability Inclusion, V-Shesh: Equal Opportunity Policies in the Formal Sector: Assessing Awareness, Participation and Satisfaction among Employees with Disabilities
- P Ravi Kiran & Rajesh Kumar Shastri -Research Scholar and Associate Professor, Motila Nehru National Institute of Technology and Akriti Chaubey - Assistant Professor, Symbiosis University: The Role of Traditional Practices in Shaping Decent Work: An Ethnographic Study of the Chenchu Tribe
- Paper Presentation 4: IT and The Future of Work
- Samrat Bagchi- Ph.D Student, Indian Institute of Management, Indore: Role of Digital Business Ecosystems in Addressing Sustainable Development Goals
- Saily Pradip Talodhkar-Assistant Professor, JSPM's Jayawant Institute of Management Studies: A Comparative Analysis of Competency Requirements in the IT and Manufacturing sectors
- Panel Discussion 3: Coming to Terms with the Gig Economy’s Transformation of Work (Part of a live-streamed seminar on the global gig economy)
- Varsha Bansal - Independent Journalist on Technology, AI and Humans
- Aditi Surie - Senior Consultant, Indian Institute for Human Settlements
- Ernesto Noronha - Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
- Panel Discussion 4: Policies For a Robust Gig Economy (Part of a live-streamed seminar on the global gig economy)
- Apoorv Kulkarni - Head of Research, OMI Foundation
- Bhavya Sharma - Director, Corporate Communications and ESG, Urban Company
- Albert Cañigueral - Independent Gig Researcher
- Launch Event 2: Launch of WageIndicator Living Tariff Tool – India
- Nadia Pralitasari - Labour Law and Gig Economy Expert, WageIndicator Foundation / Gajimu Indonesia
- Shailja Tripathi - Manager and Researcher, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Day 3
- Special Session 5 | Deepika Rao: Enabling Decent Work in the Garment Sector
- Executive Director, Cividep
- Special Session 6 | Albert Cañigueral: Al and the Future of Work
- Independent Gig Economy Expert
- Panel Discussion 5: Wage Setting and Governments
- Douglas Opio - Executive Director, Federation of Uganda Employers
- Ranjit Prakash - Ranjit Prakash - National Coordinator, Setting Adequate Wages Programme
- Biju Varkkey - Professor, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
- Keynote 5 | Biju Varkkey: Designing Decent Work Aligned HR systems: Case of Gold Jewellery Manufacturing
- Special Session 7: The evolution of Labour Laws and Minimum Wages
- Iftikhar Ahmad - Founder, Centre for Labour Research and Global Labour Law Specialist and team lead, WageIndicator Foundation: The Evolving Landscape of Labour Rights
- Kea Tijdens, Iftikhar Ahmad, Nii Ashia Amanquarnor - Researchers, WageIndicator Foundation: Rationales of Minimum Wage Setting and Understanding the Variety in Minimum Wage Rates in 189 Countries, 2014-2023
- Launch Event 3: Launch of the Living Wage Gap Check
- Douglas Opio - Executive Director, Federation of Uganda Employers
- Wietze Helmantel - Cooperative partner at Python United and Turftorr, lead Tools & IT, WageIndicator Foundation
- Paper Presentation 5: CSR in India
- Divyanshi Nagda- Undergraduate Student, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University: Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Analysing its Impact on Welfare Factors and Environment Disclosure
- Arunima Haldar - Professor, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) and Milind Kamat - Assitant Professor, SPJIMR: Power of Words: Linguistic Framework for CSR Communication
- Ananthakrishnan Rajamani & Chandra Mohan Thakur - Students, and Prof. Swapnil Garg - Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Indore: Mandatory CSR (mCSR): Evidence from India's Eight-Year Journey
- Varun Miglani - Assistant Professor, Symbiosis University: Improved Agriculture and High-Value Farming through Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case of CybageAsha in Pune
- Special Session 8: Worker Representation, Living Wages, and the SDG Agenda
- Nadia Pralitasari and Muhammad Fakhri - Labour Expert and Researcher, Gajimu Indonesia: Worker Voices for Collective Bargaining: Unlocking the Potential of the 'WorkersPriorityPolls'
- Maarten van Klaveren and Fiona Dragstra Researcher and General Director, WageIndicator Foundation: Living Wages, SDG's, and ILO's Decent Work Agenda
- Gashaw Tesfa Alemu, Eyoel Mekonnen, Andina Ramadhani - Project Officers, WageIndicator Foundation: How data-driven social dialogue strengthens factory-level unions in Indonesia and Ethiopia
- Daniela Ceccon and Gabriele Medas - Director Data and Manager CBA Database, WageIndicator Foundation: How Do Collective Agreements Reflect the SDG Agenda
- Keynote 6 | Pradip Swarnakar: Future of Jobs and Just Transition
- Panel Discussion 6: Regulation, Collective Bargaining and a Just Transition for Labour
- Dela Feby - Project Lead and Labour Law Expert, Gajimu Indonesia /WageIndicator Foundation
- Deepika Rao - Executive Director, Cividep
- Wiranta Ginting - International Coordinator, Asia Floor Wage Alliance
- Closing Address & Prize Distribution
- Santosh Kudtarkar - Dean, Faculty of Liberal Education, FLAME University
- Fiona Dragstra - General Director, WageIndicator Foundation
- Rupa Korde - Faculty, FLAME University