About the Event
The ILO's Regulating for Decent Work Conference 2025 will take place from July 2 to 4 in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together an international, interdisciplinary network of researchers and institutions to explore the role of labour laws in promoting decent work.
The RDW project challenges prevailing arguments against labour regulation and seeks to develop more effective legal and policy approaches to improve working conditions globally. Co-organized by the ILO and leading academic institutions from around the world, the initiative spans fields such as economics, law, sociology, and development studies, and aims to assess how well-designed labour regulations and enforcement mechanisms can contribute to social and economic progress.
Learn more about it here and view the full agenda here.
WageIndicator Sessions at RDW 2025
Session 1: Does the Night Shift Still Pay? The Labor Market Outcomes of Collective Bargaining on (Premium) Pay for Working Time
This session explores how collective bargaining over both standard and non-standard working hours impacts wage adequacy and labor market equity. While pay negotiations are widely studied, working time provisions—such as premium pay for inconvenient hours—are often overlooked despite their importance to income, especially for low-wage workers. Using data from over 3,100 global collective agreements, papers examine disparities between negotiated provisions and real labor market outcomes. Topics include working time reductions, premium pay, and compliance in sectors like the Indonesian garment industry. The session highlights how working hours shape wage adequacy and emphasizes the need to consider time alongside pay to effectively tackle in-work poverty and promote decent work.
This session is also an experts meeting for the BARTIME Project.
Date and Time: 2nd July, 11:30 AM - 1 PM
Chair: Janna Besamusca
Discussants: Lonnie Golden and Ernest Tinghum
Paper presentations:
- Developments in the Bargaining Agenda on Pay for Standard and Inconvenient Working Hours | Presentation by Janna Besamusca
- How Many Hours for a Living Wage? An Analysis of Gaps in Standard Work Week Length According to Laws, Collective Agreements and Practice | Presentation by Kea Tijdens and Ifitkhar Ahmad
- Do Collectively Bargained Pay Premiums for Non-standard Hours Raise Workers’ Wages in Practice | Presentation by Ferran Ellas Moreno
- Bargaining on Overtime to Address Wage Theft in Indonesia | Presentation by Dela Feby and Nadia Pralitasari
Session 2: Establishing fair compensation: Living Wages, dignity, and decent work in a transforming global economy.
As employment recovery post-COVID remains uneven, the concept of a ‘living wage’ has re-emerged as a vital tool for ensuring decent work. This session explores how living wages—wages sufficient for a decent standard of living—can improve well-being, reduce poverty, and support economic stability. Despite growing interest, gaps remain in defining, measuring, and implementing living wages globally and locally. Five papers cover diverse approaches, from harmonized global estimates to culturally grounded research in South Africa, Suriname, Türkiye, and among gig workers. The session aims to advance understanding of living wages as both a theoretical concept and practical policy tool.
Date and Time: 3 July, 11 AM - 12:30 PM
Chair: Paulien Osse
Discussant: Damian Grimshaw
Paper presenatations
- Global Benchmarks for Decent Living: Measuring and Validating the Living Wage Against Minimum Wage and Other Adequacy Standards | by , , ,
- Calculating Living Wage Levels via Quality of Life Indicators | by Ines Meyer,
WageIndicator Paper Presentations at RDW 2025
Session: Transitions to Sustainable Digital Futures: Worker Voices (2 July, 11:30 AM - 1 PM)
- Paper presentation - Green Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs): A Cross-Continental Analysis by Rupa Korde and Tara Awasthi
Session: Labour Law Reforms and Social Cohesion: Protecting Workers in Times of Austerity (2 July, 2:30 PM - 4 PM)
- Paper presentation - Labour Rights Index: Regulatory Frameworks and their Coherence with International Labour Standards by Iftikhar Ahmad and Fiona Dragstra
Session: Special Session on Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals (3 July, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM)
- Paper presentation - Declining Wage Shares, Wealth Inequality and ‘Living Wages’ by Fiona Dragstra and Maarten van Klaveren