Platform Work and Informality: The Frontlines of Global Labour Governance

When governments, workers and employers’ delegates gather at the UN premises in Geneva for the yearly conference of the tripartite International Labour Organisation, nothing less than international labour rights are at stake. At a time when geopolitical fractures deepen and democratic spaces narrow in many parts of the world, the ILC reaffirmed its critical role as a global forum where economic restructuring, social justice and labour rights intersect and standards for the world of work are set. In the light of the complicated state of international relations, this year’s conference aimed to convey a clear message regardless: there can be no sustainable transformation of work without anchoring it in rights, protections, and tripartite dialogue.

Governing the Platform Economy

At the centre of this year’s agenda was a breakthrough in the regulation of digital platform work. With the ILO initiating negotiations toward an international convention and recommendation, the conference placed a long-overdue spotlight on one of the fastest-growing and most precarious forms of employment in the global economy. Amid calls from workers’ organisations for fair classification, algorithmic transparency, and access to social protection, employers advocated for regulatory “flexibility.” Easily the most contested and long-drawn-out discussion among this year’s committees, the debates resulted in a draft outline of a possible future convention. The process will continue during the subsequent ILC in 2026 to create a standard to ensure fair and safe working conditions for platform workers.

Mitigating biological hazards for workers

No less significant was the adoption of Convention No. 192and Recommendation No. 209on biological hazards, filling a critical gap in occupational safety and health protections - especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time since the ILO declared safe and healthy working conditions a fundamental right (2022), member states committed to enforceable standards that could protect millions from future biological threats at work. The challenge now lies in ratification and implementation—particularly in contexts where labour inspection systems are under-resourced or politically constrained.

Formalising Informal Labour

Another theme that gained momentum was the formalisation of informal work, with a strong emphasis on care and support workers. Recognising these roles as essential - and predominantly female, migrant, and precarious - the ILC urged states to extend legal and social protections to those long excluded from labour rights frameworks and tripartite dialogue. At the basis of the debates were the drivers of informality, such as limited formal job creation, regulatory complexity, gender inequality, lack of social protection, climate change and the exclusion of youth. Fundamental disagreement over the usefulness or danger of viewing temporary/ agency work as a clear path to formalisation prolonged many discussions. The employers’ side emphasised the importance of standardised and dependable legislation for formalising workers. Whereas there was a general concurrence with clear rules, the workers’ side insisted to ensure that whatever measures would be implemented, formalisation would have to lead to real improvements - not just registration or administrative compliance.

Enforcing Labour Standards: Country Cases such as Belarus and Iran before the ILO

The Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) at this year’s ILC once again brought global attention to countries where workers’ rights are under severe threat. The case of Belarus remained a flashpoint. In a dedicated Special Sitting, the CAS denounced the government’s continued repression of independent unions, including arbitrary arrests, long prison terms, and inhumane detention conditions. While the ILO already imposed its most powerful sanction mechanism (under ILO Article 33) on Belarus in 2023, no progress has been made.   
Besides, the Committee’s most discussed conventions were Freedom of Association (Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (Ecuador, El Salvador, Malaysia, Moldova, Nepal), drawing attention to the dire situation of union rights globally. Further, three more debates stood out:

1. Chad on the worst forms of child labour, including child prostitution,
2. Libya on forced labour, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation, allegedly under the complicity of state authorities,
3. Iran on politically motivated discrimination against workers, especially women and religious minorities.

These discussions highlighted grave and persistent rights violations globally and provided insight into the serious labour law violations that the ILO is attempting to address, and thereby urged governments to take swift corrective action.

Further outcomes of ILC 113 were the recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state despite some political resistance. Importantly,  the invocation of Article 33 against Myanmar due to the Myanmar military junta’s violations against ILO conventions, such as Forced Labour and Freedom of Association, puts pressure on companies and governments alike to adjust their policies and activities with regard to this country.

The ILOs role between Crisis and Consensus

In the face of economic insecurity, climate disruption, digital transformation, and authoritarian pushback, the stakes of global labour governance have rarely been higher. ILC 2025 did not resolve these crises, but it reaffirmed the ILO’s central role in confronting them. The debates reflected the tension between the need for transformative change and the constraints of consensus-driven policymaking. Across all discussions, one thing stood out: workers’ voices, particularly those from the Global South, continue to inject urgency, relevance, and grounded experience into the ILO’s work.