The politics of agenda setting at the global level: key informant interviews regarding the International Labour Organization Decent Work Agenda

Globalization and Health

Donald C Cole²  Joanna E Cohen³  Erica Di Ruggiero¹ 

[1] Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College St., Toronto, Ontario M5T3M7, Canada;Global Health Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College St., Toronto, Ontario M5T3M7, Canada;Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2213 McElderry, 4th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA

关键词: Qualitative research;    International agencies;    Work;    Agenda setting;    Policy;   

Others  :  1177421
DOI  :  10.1186/1744-8603-10-56

 received in 2013-11-20, accepted in 2014-06-05,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Global labour markets continue to undergo significant transformations resulting from socio-political instability combined with rises in structural inequality, employment insecurity, and poor working conditions. Confronted by these challenges, global institutions are providing policy guidance to protect and promote the health and well-being of workers. This article provides an account of how the International Labour Organization’s Decent Work Agenda contributes to the work policy agendas of the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

Methods

This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with representatives from three global institutions – the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization and the World Bank. Of the 25 key informants invited to participate, 16 took part in the study. Analysis for key themes was followed by interpretation using selected agenda setting theories.

Results

Interviews indicated that through the Decent Work Agenda, the International Labour Organization is shaping the global policy narrative about work among UN agencies, and that the pursuit of decent work and the Agenda were perceived as important goals with the potential to promote just policies. The Agenda was closely linked to the World Health Organization’s conception of health as a human right. However, decent work was consistently identified by World Bank informants as ILO terminology in contrast to terms such as job creation and job access. The limited evidence base and its conceptual nature were offered as partial explanations for why the Agenda has yet to fully influence other global institutions. Catalytic events such as the economic crisis were identified as creating the enabling conditions to influence global work policy agendas.

Conclusions

Our evidence aids our understanding of how an issue like decent work enters and stays on the policy agendas of global institutions, using the Decent Work Agenda as an illustrative example. Catalytic events and policy precedents were found to contribute positively to agenda setting. Questions remain, however, across key informants about the robustness of the underlying evidence base for this Agenda and what meaningful impacts have been realized on the ground as a result.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Di Ruggiero et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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