Following the proposed centenary report of the International Labour Organization (ILO), The ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work 2019, GSEF has issued a position paper to highlight the importance of SSE in the future of work and presented its suggestion of including a strategic direction plan of SSE which should be included in the report.

On June 21st, ILO adopted the “ILO Centenary Declaration of the Future of Work 2019” (the Declaration) during its 108th International Labour Conference in which cooperatives and social and solidarity economy were recognized in the final version of the Declaration. The Declaration identifies the challenges ahead with regard to workers’ rights and proposes corresponding solutions in the coming years.

GSEF welcomes ILO's commitment to promoting the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) and cooperatives in the Declaration. GSEF and its members strongly believe that the social and solidarity economy (SSE) contributes to the creation of an inclusive and equitable economy which serves both people and planet.
We believe that prioritizing the environment and society over the generation of profit creates an economy that truly serves to foster an inclusive and equitable economy.

The final version of the Declaration stated that “the ILO must direct its efforts to supporting the role of the private sector as a principal source of economic growth and job creation by promoting an environment that enables entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprises, in particular micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy, in order to generate decent work, productive employment and improved living standards for all”.