Global Workers' Academy on Advocating Policy Coherence to Reduce Inequalities, Discrimination, and Create Decent Jobs

Addressing economic disparities and decent work deficits in a globalised world is vital for social justice and sustainable development. The digital academy, "Promoting Policy Coherence to Reduce Inequalities and Create Decent Jobs," was designed to support trade union initiatives to align national policies with international labour standards and human rights to reduce inequalities and ensure decent work. This capacity development course aimed to empower unions to advocate for equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, support the progressive achievement of the SDGs and promote global access to decent work in line with ILO's pursuit of social justice. OBJECTIVES The four-week, 40 learning hour-online course aimed to: 1. Enhance trade unions' capabilities in addressing emerging challenges related to discrimination, equality, inclusion, and associated decent work issues while promoting workplace and industrial policies focusing on non-discrimination, equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion. 2. Empower trade unions to advocate for non-discrimination, equality, and equity in internal policies, collective bargaining at sector or enterprise levels, and mainstream diversity concerns like gender, age, and disability inclusion. 3. Develop strategies and actions for trade unions to foster fairness in workplaces and employment relations and, accelerating progress towards achieving a fair world of work. Additionally, it facilitated knowledge sharing among trade unions, showcasing successful initiatives and best practices in promoting workplace policy coherence and decent work. CONTENT The course covered four thematic learning areas with a strong emphasis on the contemporary and relevant experiences of the participants. Module 1: Realities and Challenges - Drivers of discrimination, inequalities and exclusions in the world of work. It explored discrimination-related terms, assessing their impact on decent work, unions, and the future of work with new ILO frameworks. Module 2: ILO Normative framework on ending discrimination, inequality, inequities, and promoting inclusion in the world of work. It covered ILS in shaping policies to combat discrimination, promote workplace equality, and align with various global frameworks for practical implementation. Module 3. Trade union policy initiatives and responses: Lessons and insights. It facilitated sharing successful union policy campaigns for ending discrimination, promoting equality, equity, and disability inclusion, and fostering inclusive, diverse workplaces with replicable strategies. Module 4: Concluding Module – Trade Union Strategies and Developing a Trade Union Action Plan. Module 4 built on Module 3 with national-level inclusive strategies (Part A) and focused on applying learning through individual or collaborative action plans promoting equality, equity, and workplace fairness (Part B). The course was delivered via the eCampus platform for materials, communication, eLearning modules, tutor-based learning, thematic experts’ inputs, research, peer exchanges, and multimedia content.