This will begin on October 2, 2000. Being open to anyone with access to electronic mail means that participants are not required to be at their computer terminal at specific points of time, but can contribute, when they are free, over a five week period. Rather, the aim of the forum will be to clarify the dimensions of the debate, the state of knowledge of the key issues, the main areas of disagreement, and the areas of greatest need for further analysis. To these ends, the overall background to the changing 'productivity scene' and a first statement of the possible main discussion areas are given below.
Decent work means productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
It means productive work in which rights are respected, which generates an adequate income, in a safe and healthy working environment, with adequate social protection and above all, where human dignity is respected and preserved. New conceptions of what productivity is, how it is improved and how its improvement is managed are necessitated by an associated set of developments including the changing nature of production and its organization, the changing nature of markets, enhanced social expectations on businesses and the changing notions of customer values. These all require new productivity paradigms and approaches, reflecting the importance of human resources as the key to productivity and competitiveness. This brings with it new concerns about what productivity is and how it can and should be improved. In this respect, the importance of social dialogue and social contract for sustained productivity improvement needs to be increasingly recognized.