Global employment: Two reports in search of the problem

Chronologically, the first was by the United Nations in its series on the ‘World’s Social Situation’. Although not mentioned, I must begin by acknowledging that I drafted the report, which was revised by the UN DESA Secretariat, with significant cuts and insertion of ILO statistics, on which I was not invited to comment. The Report’s origins lay in a desire to consider trends in patterns of work and policies for improving work around the world. After it was written, two chapters were removed, one dealing with innovative approaches to social protection, the other with corporate labour practices, and the title was radically changed, along with the underlying message.