ILO Director-General Supports Decent Work Agenda at G7

During a ministerial meeting convened in France, Gilbert Houngbo, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), expressed strong support for a decent work agenda. The meeting included G7 labor ministers and focused on promoting quality jobs and advancing decent work standards in a rapidly changing global economy.

Houngbo warned of profound shifts in the labor market driven by technological innovation and economic uncertainty, stressing the importance of policy responses that prioritize fair and inclusive economic transformation alongside social justice. He welcomed the G7's endorsement of a new initiative aimed at strengthening the decent work framework, which includes adopting a standard-based toolkit to identify and mitigate risks of forced labor.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to enhance cooperation in areas such as skill development and artificial intelligence, ensuring that the benefits of technological advancements are broadly shared across the labor market.