Chair,

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

The Candidate Countries Albania*, Moldova, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia* and Ukraine, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. We thank the Office for the follow-up document with a timely proposed strategy on fighting inequalities in the world of work, covering the period 2022-2027.
2. Only one year has passed since the ILC resolution on inequalities in the world of work was adopted. The world has experienced further socio-economic disruptions which continue to influence economies and societies, both at regional and global level. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed certain social protection gaps and has aggravated inequalities. Some regions and socio-economic groups have been affected disproportionally. Additionally, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is exacerbating the situation.
3. The ILO is at the heart of global political advice and support concerning social justice. The EU and its Member States are essential ILO development partners and strongly support the ILO in its efforts and activities to develop a strategy on fighting inequalities in the world of work.
4. We particularly welcome the proposed two-pronged strategy to position the ILO as a key actor in the multilateral system and to help ILO constituents to develop comprehensive and integrated policy frameworks and measures.
5. For the EU and its Member States social cohesion is crucial as part of well-functioning social market economy and has been translated into several policies. The negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis was cushioned to a large extent thanks to automatic stabilisers and the emergency measures adopted both at national and EU level, thereby averting a significant rise in income inequality. Our compass for a strong social Europe is the European Pillar of Social Rights. It sets out 20 principles on equal opportunities, access to the labour market, fair working conditions, social protection and inclusion.
6. We recognize that during the last three decades, globalization helped millions around the world to find their way out of poverty. However, at the same time income inequalities progressed within countries. We agree that shared prosperity should be a top priority and welcome an integrated and comprehensive strategy to optimize the ILO’s work to ensure decent work and the compliance with labour standards in global supply chains. Active and strong social partners are also needed to improve equality and increase resilience.
7. However, we also need to look outside the labour market. Education, access to housing and services, especially healthcare, at all stages of life, fair taxation and social protection are vital drivers for equality, including gender equality. We welcome the Office’s efforts to position the ILO at the core of UN inequality-related initiatives and invite the Office to consider all those inequality drivers in coordination with the multilateral systems. This coordination should be based not only on data and evidence but also on policy regulation and giving orientation through country strategies.
8. The Office presented a comprehensive action plan at the meeting of the Governing Body in March 2022. The newly proposed strategy appears much less concrete and we would be grateful for further clarification, for example on how the supposed five “pilot” countries could be chosen and the strategy’s financial implications in the course of the coming years until 2027 , in particular when it comes to additional funding.
9. We will also be grateful to hear about the results from Office-wide consultations that were announced at the March GB and are interested to hear which priorities, main opportunities and implementation challenges were seen and discussed.
10. As the Office is now at a stage where various activities of different multilateral ambitions are developed, it would be interesting to hear more about the interconnectedness of these activities, namely the Global Accelerator and the Global Social Justice Coalition that aim to fight inequalities worldwide.
11. With these clarifications and received answers from the Office we can support the decision point as drafted in the document.

Thank you, Chair.

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