Conference / Meeting

The call for papers to participate in "The added value of SDG for labour rights protection"

International Conference
29 June 2023
30 June 2023
Start time 
2:00 pm
Palazzo di Giurisprudenza - Via Rosmini 27, Trento
Room 6
Target audience: 
Everyone
Attendance: 
Free
Contact person: 
prof.ssa Elena Sychenko

Call for Papers

Important dates for the selection process:

  • Abstract Submission Deadline: 25.05.2023 h.12.00
  • Notification of Acceptance: 30.05.2023

Please, submit your proposal (100-150 words) to the Organizing Committee following this link

Contact person: Elena Sychenko - Elena.sychenko [at] unibo.it

Information for the Audience 

People interested in attending the event can access freely (no registration required).

Introduction

The achievement of decent work is a part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8. This international commitment is upheld by the states and by big business. The majority of ESG (Economic, Social Governance) or RBC (Responsible Business Conduct) or CSR (Corporate social responsibility) instruments 1 have strong links with the SDGs. National initiatives putting forward the protection of labour rights in developing countries also refer to SDG2 and perceive social clauses in trade agreements and in the General system of preferences (GSP) as a way to achieve sustainability.

The conference will seek the contributions from scholars, practitioners and NGOs about the contributions of different SDG initiatives to labour rights protection and, in particular, to the achievement of SDG targets 8.5.- 8.8.( full and productive employment and decent work, equal pay for work of equal value, reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments).

Our keynote speakers

• prof. Adoracion Guaman, University of Valencia, Spain - The critical assessment of the EU Directive proposal on due diligence

• prof. Attila Kun, Head of the Department of Labour Law and Social Security at the Károli Gáspár University, Hungary - The role of OECD NCPs in protecting labour rights

Programme

The conference will be held on 29 June 2023 (h.14.00-18.00) and on 30 June 2023 (h.9.00-13.30) and will comprise three panels based on the three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the topics to be discussed include the following:

Protect

  • The value of international trade agreements for achieving SDG 8 Public procurement and labour rights protection
  • Evaluating the impact of GSP schemes on the protection of labour rights in developing countries

Respect

  • Financial instruments to ensure labour rights protection (public instrument as, e.g. EU “Next generation EU, or social requirements of private banks)
  • The problem of greenwashing
  • Scandals as a push for labour rights protection in MNCs
  • Trying to build a system in the chaos of reporting standards: mission impossible
  • Are the ESG rankings the evidence of respect to labour rights?
  • Certification and labour rights protection

Remedy

  • Extraterritorial protection of labour rights in the courts of developed countries
  • Alternative grievance mechanism: Public (OECD NCP, World bank) and private (e.g. Fair trade, Fair Wear)
  • The role of NGOs in remedying the violations of labour rights

Organizational Committee

Riccardo Salomone, Professor, University of Trento
Attila Kun, Professor, Károli Gáspár University
Vania Brino, Professor, Ca' Foscari University
Chiara Cristofolini, Researcher, University of Trento
Elena Sychenko, Adjunct Professor, University of Bologna and Visiting Professor, University of Trento