ILO Governing Body, 349^th session

30 October – 9 November 2023

Matters arising out of the work of the 111th Session (2023) of the International Labour Conference -

Follow-up to the resolution concerning the second recurrent discussion on labour protection

GB.349/INS/3/2

EU statement

Chair,

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

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

1. We thank the Office for the document on follow-up actions to the resolution concerning the second recurrent discussion on labour protection.
2. We welcome the resolution and related conclusions adopted last June at the 111st International Labour Conference, which contain a framework for action in the field of labour protection which, together with social security, is one of the two complementary dimensions of the strategic objective of social protection.
3. The Conference, by adopting the resolution, reaffirmed the role of the International Labour Organization in the multilateral system and in the context of working towards the achievement of SDGs 5, 8 and 10, as well as the interdependence between labour protection and the other strategic objectives of the Decent Work Agenda.
4. We welcome the draft plan of action 2023-2029 on labour protection proposed by the Office, which will give concrete effect to the conclusions adopted by the Conference.
5. The plan of action reflects the complexity of the evolving global labour market, recently affected by transformative changes, such as digitalisation, demographic and green transitions and geopolitical tensions, the impact of economic and financial crises affecting the cost of living and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as climate change.
6. We support the five components of the plan of action and the integrated approach to labour protection, which takes into account various aspects such as wages, working time, occupational safety and health (OSH), social dialogue, maternity protection, employment protection and includes a focus on informality and promoting transitions from insecure to secure work, workers engaged in platform work, telework, and temporary work. Regarding telework, it may be useful to note that EU cross-industry social partners are currently working on the review and update of the 2002 Framework Agreement on telework, outlined in their current Work Programme.
7. We endorse the ILO's commitment to tackling informality, a significant obstacle to achieving inclusive, adequate, and effective protection for all workers.
8. The EU has taken action to achieve inclusive, adequate and effective labour protection. Specifically, through legislation on working time, pregnant workers and parental leave as well as, most recently, Directive 2023/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms. On the matter of ensuring protection for platform workers, the EU co-legislators are currently negotiating the Commission proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions in platform work.
9. The EU is strongly committed to the preservation of mental health, in connection with adequate protection of workers. On this issue, the last EPSCO adopted ambitious Council Conclusions on mental health and precarious work.
10. We appreciate the ILO's recognition of the importance of addressing the issues of gender equality, youth and women employment, labour migration and intersecting discrimination. It is crucial to ensure that labour protection measures are responsive to the diverse needs of people in vulnerable situations.
11. The EU and its Member States are committed to ensure adequate minimum wages. Recently, the Directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union and the Council Recommendation of 30 January 2023 on an adequate minimum income for active inclusion 2023/C 41/01 have been adopted.
12. We are committed to working further in this area with all constituents.

Thank you, Chair.

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