Changing Patterns in the World of Work: International Labour Conference 95th Session 2006

As we all know, work is central to our lives: it gives us a sense of purpose and identity as well as providing an income to meet our material needs. Work is one of the main ways we relate to others. It is both an individual responsibility and a social activity, frequently involving collaboration in a team. It can be a source of dignity and fulfilments. Bur it can also be a source of exploitation and frustration. For families and communities, the availability of decent work is a foundation for stability and social advancement.The world of work is enormously diverse. But one of the unifying elements of the experience of women and men from all over the world is the simple reality of working for a living. One of the first pieces of information we are interested in when we meet a stranger is "what do you do?" It provides a shared point of reference around which we get to know each other.This Report aims to help us all put our own experiences and knowledge about work in the global perspective of today. It describes a time of opportunity and uncertainty in which some of the barriers that have prevented women and men from fully realizing their capabilities are coming down, but in which good jobs that provide the foundation of security to build better lives are increasingly difficult to find. There is a growing feeling that the dignity of work has been devalued; that it is seen by prevailing economic thinking as simply a factor of production - a commodity - forgetting the individual, family, community and national significance of human work. And people are reacting in conversations at home, in the secrecy of the voting booth and, when necessary, by forcefully voicing their complaints on the streets. The absence of work, the quality of work, voice at work, continued gender discrimination and unacceptably high youth unemployment are all at the heart of politics today. Those in public and private authority with the power to change things are increasingly criticized for not delivering the right solutions.