The ILO Decent Work Agenda was initiated by Juan Somavia, who took over as ILO Director General in 1999. In a relatively short period of time, the concept has led to an international consensus that productive employment and decent work are key elements to achieving poverty reduction. In the final outcome statement of the UN World Summit in September 2005, 150 global leaders agreed to place full and productive employment and decent work as a central objective of relevant national and international policies.  

To encourage nations to live up to this joint statement, five organisations; Solidar, ITUC, ETUC, Social Alert International and the Global Progressive Forum, launched the Decent Work, Decent Life campaign at the World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 and has since then worked in an alliance to make access to Decent Work Decent Life possible for all people of the world. 

For more information about the background of the campaign and the main aims, please see the General campaign leaflet.