The ILO, social partners and the G20: New prospects for social dialogue at the global level?

Abstract

Since 2011, new fora have emerged such as the Labour 20 (L20) and the Business 20 (B20) which claim to represent social partners at the G20 level. This article shows that these new fora actually derive from three older institutions: the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) which aim at reaffirming their role in the framing of contemporary global social policies as well as reactivating a century-old tradition of social dialogue at the global level. Challenging conventional wisdom on the unity of business interests, the article also insists upon the competition between the IOE, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Davos Forum to represent the voice of Business at the G20. The article ends with an assessment of the representative and democratic character of the G20, B20 and L20 meetings in comparison to the existing structures of social dialogue such as the ILO.