The Workers Behind Service Provision

💬 Interpretation : English - French - Spanish - Turkish

Within the framework of the collaboration between UCLG and Public Services International (PSI), a structured social dialogue has been initiated to strengthen the recognition of local and regional government (LRG) workers as essential actors in delivering public services that save lives, enable people to live in dignity, and support gender-transformative and care-centered societies. LRG workers operate across a wide range of local public service sectors—including public administration, health and care, emergency services, water and sanitation, education, public transport, waste management, housing, energy, migration reception services, urban planning, public space maintenance, and many others—through both direct employment and diverse forms of contracted or intermediated service provision. This dialogue is grounded in the shared commitment to promoting good governance and decentralization with adequate resources and staffing, ensuring accessible and quality local public services for all, and advancing the values of open government, transparency, accountability and participation. It further seeks to strengthen decent working conditions across LRG workplaces and territories, support the lifelong development of workers’ capacities and skills in line with SDG 8, and reinforce the role of local public services in promoting peace, human rights, local democracy, and social cohesion.

Building on this collaboration, this session connects these priorities to the emerging care agenda and to ongoing research on Economies of Equality and Care and the political priorities consolidated through the Local Social Covenant ahead of the UCLG World Congress in June 2026, positioning the role of public service workers at the center of the transformation of local public service systems.

Speakers:

• Ravi Ranjan, Deputy Director General, All India Institute of Local Self Government

• Daria Cibrario, Senior Policy Officer at Public Services International