9th Regulating for Decent Work Conference: Strengthening Labour Institutions and Worker Voice to Deliver Decent Employment

The global labour market is facing a period of unprecedented transformation that is driven by technological innovation, environmental shifts, and demographic changes. While we celebrate the potential of technological advancements to boost productivity and connect workers across borders, these changes also raise profound challenges to achieving decent work for all. As automation transforms industries, climate change disrupts livelihoods, and the demographics of populations shift, questions around equitable access to employment opportunities, adequate compensation, and worker representation becomes increasingly urgent. 

The changing nature of work demands a rethinking of labour market institutions and regulations. Traditional models, often designed for a different era, are struggling to keep pace with the rapid rise of digital platforms, globalized supply chains, and the increasing vulnerability of workers to climate change and political instability. There is a crucial need for building, revitalizing, and adapting labour market institutions to address the complexities of the contemporary world of work. How can we ensure that these institutions provide effective protection for all workers, including those in the informal sector and self-employment, and address the growing need for skill development and lifelong learning? How can social protection systems be strengthened to provide adequate protection to workers in all types of employment, and the population at large?

Despite a growing call for more effective policies that can deliver “decent employment now,” policies based on standard growth and development models have not responded adequately, particularly in the context of recent global crises. The lack of robust worker representation and the failure of existing structures to effectively translate aspirations for decent work into reality add to these complexities. As we grapple with the impact of technological disruption, climate change, and demographic shifts, the need for innovative approaches to build equitable and inclusive labour markets has never been greater. While challenges abound, the evolving world of work also presents immense opportunities to harness new technologies, rethink work-life balance, rebalance the unequal global economic order, and reimagine the relationship between workers, governments, and businesses. 

The 9th RDW conference in 2025 aims to explore these multifaceted issues and propose innovative solutions, engaging with critical themes like the pursuit of "decent employment now," the strengthening of worker agency, and the development of robust labour institutions. While we strive for more and better employment in a rapidly evolving global economy, we must simultaneously grapple with fundamental questions of fairness, equity, and inclusivity.

The CIRHR is among the organizing partners of the conference, including:

University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Labour Studies / Hugo Sinzheimer Instituut voor Arbeidsrecht en Sociaal recht (AIAS-HSI)
University of Melbourne’s Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law (CELRL)
Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CISLS)
University of Durham’s Decent Work Regulation Project 
Cornell University’s ILR School
University of Duisburg-Essen’s Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation (IAQ)
Brasilia’s Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
Korea Labor Institute (KLI)
University of Witwatersrand’s Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS)
University of Manchester’s Work and Equalities Institute (WEI)