112th ILC - Committee on Application of Standards General Report - EU Statement

European Union Statement 

112th International Labour Conference

Committee on Application of Standards General Report 

Geneva, 4 June 2024

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Albania*, Ukraine, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. We would like to welcome and extend our best wishes to the Chair of the Committee, Vice‑Chairs and the Rapporteur.
2. We welcome the discussion at the Committee on the Application of Standards, a crucial pillar of the ILO supervisory system. We strongly believe in the fundamental importance of international labour standards, their ratification, and the effective and authoritative supervision of their implementation.
3. We highly appreciate the analysis and expertise of the Committee of Experts shown in its annual report, which provides a solid basis for the work of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. We value and put our trust in the guidance provided by the Committee of Experts, which helps to implement international labour standards. We recall our strong commitment to the independence, objectivity, and impartiality of the Committee of Experts.
4. We would like to recall the importance of complying with reporting obligations and to do so in due time, as the functioning of the supervisory system is based primarily on the information provided by Governments in their reports, as well as on the observations submitted by social partners. In this regard, we welcome the ongoing efforts to modernise and streamline the reporting system in order to ease the reporting burden on Governments.
5. We appreciated the information session the Committee of Experts held for a second time with Governments and look forward to a new meeting in 2024.
6. We share the concern of the Committee of Experts that multiple and interlocking crises, coupled with austerity measures, lead to increasing inequalities and are having an adverse impact on the application of international labour standards, leading to a stagnation or even a regression in progress. We emphasize that in times of crisis, international labour standards acquire their full significance by providing guidance on a way forward.
7. We are regrettably in a situation where we are off track to reach the Sustainable Development Goal No. 8, on decent work and economic growth, with the social and environmental dimensions lagging behind the economic dimension. However, in the upcoming year there are historical opportunities to set the right momentum and reverse these trends. The European Union and its Member States are currently providing input to the New York-based negotiations of the Pact for the Future. An ideal outcome of the Summit of the Future is a Pact which fosters social inclusion and social justice, social dialogue on advancing universal social protection, decent jobs and green and digital skills. Moreover, we see the upcoming World Social Summit as an important opportunity for the world to rebuild the social contract through a comprehensive approach based on human rights, social cohesion, solidarity and decent work. As recalled by the Committee of Experts, a new social contract, drawing upon the common values expressed in international labour standards, is more necessary today than ever.
8. Furthermore, the EU and its Member States have consistently and strongly supported DG Houngbo’s flagship initiative to establish the Global Coalition for Social Justice and its ambition to advance social justice and decent work for all. One of its priorities is “realizing labour rights as human rights”, which is fully in line with the objectives of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy. To date, 12 EU Member States have joined the Coalition as partners along with the European Commission on behalf of the European Union.
9. Last year and this year mark the 75^th anniversary of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, respectively. We recall the central and enabling rights’ nature of these instruments and welcome the ILO’s integrated strategy for the promotion and implementation of the right to collective bargaining adopted at the Governing Body in autumn 2023.
10. We are pleased that the Committee of Experts continues to deepen its cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies, most recently through a thematic exchange on the fundamental right of freedom of association. This collaboration is crucial to enhance the effective fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights. We encourage further such exchanges as they provide scope for mutual inspiration, cooperation and synergies, while respecting the autonomous mandates of all bodies.
11. Let us share some latest legislative and policy advances through which we aim to contribute to further advance decent work. We work towards the ratification by all European Union Member States of two new fundamental ILO conventions on a safe and healthy working environment. We also aim to ensure that labour standards, as well as access to adequate social protection, are guaranteed for all workers, including those engaged in non-standard and new forms of work. We are therefore pleased to have reached a historical agreement on a new Platform Work Directive.  This directive aims to ensure decent work for people on digital labour platforms. We look forward to the standard-setting discussion on this topic at the ILC in 2025.
12. We are committed to supporting partner countries through technical assistance projects to enhance the effective application of labour standards, with an emphasis on fundamental ILO Conventions. The ILO is our privileged implementing partner in these efforts. We promote decent work through the EU’s bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements and unilateral preferential trade schemes. Recent legislative advances in this area show further increase of our focus on decent work in supply chains via a soon-to-be-adopted Forced Labour Regulation and a Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive.
13. Let us conclude by reiterating our full support to the well-functioning and authoritative supervisory system of the ILO, which is built on tripartism and social dialogue. This unique and robust system provides a valuable example of a multilateral rules-based order.
14. We are looking forward to a constructive engagement with tripartite constituents during the debate in this Committee.

Thank you, Chair.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process