Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all

Decent Work and Economic Growth


Goal 8 is about promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.

Multiple crises are placing the global economy under serious threat. Global real GDP per capita growth is forecast to slow down in 2023 and with ever increasing challenging economic conditions, more workers are turning to informal employment.

Globally, labour productivity has increased and the unemployment rate has decreased. However, more progress is needed to increase employment opportunities, especially for young people, reduce informal employment and labour market inequality (particularly in terms of the gender pay gap), promote safe and secure working environments, and improve access to financial services to ensure sustained and inclusive economic growth.

The global unemployment rate declined significantly in 2022, falling to 5.4 per cent from a peak of 6.6 per cent in 2020 as economies began recovering from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rate was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 5.5 per cent in 2019.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

Convention Concerning Seafarers' National Identity Documents

1958 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Seafarers' Pensions

1946 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Seafarers' Welfare at Sea and in Port

1987 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Seamen's Articles of Agreement

1926 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Sickness Insurance for Agricultural Workers

1927 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Sickness Insurance for Seamen

1936 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Sickness Insurance for Workers in Industry and Commerce and Domestic Servants

1927 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Social Policy in Non-metropolitan Territories

1947 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Social Security for Seafarers, 1946

1946 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Social Security for Seafarers, 1987

1987 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Statistics of Wages and Hours of Work in the Principal Mining and Manufacturing Industries, Including Building and Construction, and in Agriculture

1938 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning Student Employees

1950 T g

Convention Concerning Termination of Employment at the Initiative of the Employer

1982 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour

1957 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Abolition of Penal Sanctions for Breaches of Contract of Employment by Indigenous Workers

1955 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Age for Admission of Children to Employment in Agriculture

1921 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Age for Admission of Children to Non-industrial Employment, 1932

1932 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Age for Admission of Children to Non-industrial Employment, 1937

1937 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organize and to Bargain Collectively

1949 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Application of the Weekly Rest in Industrial Undertakings

1921 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Certification of Able Seamen

1946 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Certification of Ships' Cooks

1946 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Compulsory Medical Examination of Children and Young Persons Employed at Sea

1921 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Creation of Minimum Wage-fixing Machinery

1928 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Employment of Women before and After Childbirth

1919 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Employment of Women on Underground Work in Mines of all Kinds

1935 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Establishment of an International System for the Maintenance of Rights in Social Security

1982 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Guarding of Machinery

1963 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Inspection of Seafarers' Working and Living Conditions

1996 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Liability of the Shipowner in Case of Sickness, Injury or Death of Seamen

1936 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Marking of the Weight on Heavy Packages Transported by Vessels

1929 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Maximum Length of Contracts of Employment of Indigenous Workers

1947 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Maximum Permissible Weight to be Carried by One Worker

1967 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Medical Examination of Fishermen

1959 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Medical Examination of Seafarers

1946 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment as Fishermen

1959 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment Underground in Mines

1965 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Minimum Requirement of Professional Capacity for Masters and Officers on Board Merchant Ships

1936 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Industry, 1919

1919 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Industry, 1948

1948 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Organization of the Employment Service

1948 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Partial Revision of the Conventions Adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation

1961 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Prevention of Occupational Accidents to Seafarers

1970 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour

1999 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Promotion of Collective Bargaining

1981 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Protection Against Accidents of Workers Employed in Loading or Unloading Ships, 1929

1929 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and other Tribal and Semi-tribal Populations in Independent Countries

1957 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Protection of Wages

1949 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Protection of Workers Against Ionising Radiations

1960 Geneva Switzerland T g

Convention Concerning the Protection of Workers Against Occupational Hazards in the Working Environment Due to Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration

1977 Geneva Switzerland T g

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