‘Labour is not a commodity’: A gentle reminder

In 2021, amid the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization (ILO) held its 109th International Labour Conference (ILC) in a virtual mode and experimented a new form of multilateralism using virtual technologies and adaptation across multiple time zones which required new forms of solidarity among nations. Despite the challenges, the ILC adopted a series of resolutions and conclusions on important issues pertaining to the world of work such as social security, inequalities, skills and lifelong learning; and a call to action to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.1 All these resolutions are inclusive of migrant workers and some of their particularities. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic took place in an already testing and fragile global scenario with high environmental risks due to climate change, technological transformations, and demographic shifts. In addition, mounting popular unrest became more acute in light of the existing inequalities that were amplified with the pandemic. Taking this complex setting into account, this piece reflects on the notion that ‘labour is not a commodity’ as a key founding concept enshrined in the ILO’s Philadelphia Declaration of 1944. Rethinking and bringing back this notion is important for it represents a means to materialize a ‘human-centred approach’ to the world of work and beyond, strengthening the global governance of labour while providing hope to restore a fragile world order. A ‘human-centred approach’ is the centre-piece of the ILO’s Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (ILO, 2019) wherein the ILO reimagines itself to better deal with current challenges. This contribution will consider ILO’s relevance in the face of technological, socioeconomic and climatic alteration. It will look at transformative events in the form of ‘global crisis situations’ and reflect on the embeddedness of ILO policy in general trends of thinking on ‘the economic’ and ‘the social’ before focusing on aspects of the Philadelphia Declaration that can inspire a ‘post recovery world’.