ILO Governing Body, 356th session - EU Statement - Agenda of the International Labour Conference

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ILO Governing Body, 356th session - EU Statement - Agenda of the International Labour Conference

27.03.2026 Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in Geneva

European Union

Statement

ILO Governing Body, 356^th session

23 March - 2 April 2026

________

Agenda of the International Labour Conference

GB.356/INS/2/1

________

Geneva, 27 March 2026

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ILO Governing Body, 356^th session

23 March - 2 April 2026

Agenda of the International Labour Conference

GB.356/INS/2/1

EU Statement

Thank you, Chair.

I am speaking on behalf of the EU and its Member States

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

The European Union (EU) and its Member States welcome the opportunity to contribute to the strategic planning of the International Labour Conference agenda for the coming years. We reaffirm our commitment to the ILO's mandate and its pivotal role in advancing decent work and social justice, based on tripartite social dialogue among all the Constituents.

We strongly supports the ILO's strategic and coherent approach to setting the ILC agenda. We emphasize the importance of ensuring adequate preparation time, flexibility, and tripartite engagement in the decision-making process.

We reaffirm our support for the Standard Review Mechanism's mandate and the pivotal role it plays in ensuring that the ILO has a clear, robust and up to date body of standards.

A safe and healthy working environment is one of the fundamental principles and rights at work. Therefore, the EU and its Member States continue to support a normative discussion on ergonomics and manual handling as recommended by the Tripartite Group of the SRM. We are in favour of including this discussion on the agenda of the 2029 and 2030 Conferences.

We continue to be open to the possibility of scheduling a standard setting discussion on decent work in global supply chains in the future.

Regarding the revision of instruments on machinery protection, we echo the majority view expressed in previous Governing Body sessions. We would support a single discussion, preceded by a tripartite technical meeting, to the extent that this option is compatible with ongoing reforms.

The EU and its Member States support in principle a discussion at the ILC on the effects of demographic change on the labour market, including intergenerational solidarity, age group disaggregated employment effects, and decent work for older workers. We recognize the growing relevance of this issue, particularly considering aging populations and evolving labour market dynamics. We also support the idea that the issues of 'protection of workers personal data' in the digital age' and 'protection of whistleblowers in the public sector' should be subject to further examination.

The EU and its Member States remain committed to constructive engagement in the ILO's normative and policy processes. We emphasize the need for a balanced, flexible, and inclusive approach to agenda-setting, ensuring that all discussions are well-prepared, evidence-based, and aligned with the ILO's strategic priorities, importantly also in the context of the ongoing ILO reform.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with all constituents to ensure the ILC continues to operate effectively and efficiently as the principal deliberative forum to advance the goals of decent work and social justice globally.

Thank you Chair.

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