Shaping the future of work: Decent work in the platform economy

Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, friends, new and old, it's a great pleasure to welcome you all to the ILO office for the United Nations. And the expectation is that we're going to share our reflections. We're going to have an interactive conversation on shaping the future of work. within the context of the landmark International Labour Standard. Groundbreaking are some of the words that have been used to describe the new instrument, that's Convention 193 on decent work in the platform economy. On behalf of the International Labour Organization, I'd like to thank all our partners for bringing us together. for this very crucial conversation. I start with the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Decent Work, Belgium and Morocco, and I'll come back to them. And also the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, and of course, our sister agency, UNESCO. We're particularly pleased that we're having this conversation in the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. I'd like to particularly recognize and thank His Excellency, Her Excellency, Ms. Natalia Efremova, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria. as well as His Excellency, Mr. Clarence Corner, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour of the Government of Saint Martin. Before turning to our distinguished guests and panelists for their remarks, can you see them seated? I'm going to introduce them shortly. I'd like to put a few reflections to help shape or frame our conversation. The emphasis being short. Because we're going to be very brutally strict with time management. First, while we focus on the platform economy, the discussion is really about a much broader transition and transformation in the world of work. Artificial intelligence, digitalization, and other emerging technologies are rapidly changing how work is created, how work is organized, but also how work is governed. And the question is, how are policies and institutions keeping pace with this rapid change? So that's the first. Second, Technological change brings significant opportunities for innovation. We see that, we know that. For productivity, but also for employment. But the objective must not only be more jobs, but decent and productive jobs, with attention to skills, social and labour protection, and the opportunities available to young people who are entering Believable markets. But. This comes. At a very important moment. About this time last year, we were preparing for the second world summit for social. And in November, the Doha Political Declaration was adopted unanimously. And in reaffirm the central importance of decent work. for sustainable development. Building on that momentum, governments, employers, workers, worked together. And in June 2026, during the International Labour Conference, we adopted Convention 193 concerning decent work and the platform economy. This is the first instrument specifically addressing work in the platform economy. But beyond that, friends, colleagues, this is the first convention to address digitalization's impact on the world of work. All these developments give us a strong basis for considering how technological change can be shaped in ways that support decent work, but also support sustainable enterprises while contributing to the kind of inclusive and sustainable growth that we desire within the auspices of the SDGs. So with this, our discussion, and it's a promise, not a threat, will help to advance significantly how we move the needle on this issue. So I'll start by inviting, with great pleasure, Ms. Laura Rissinen, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland. Finland has been a key partner to deliver our report. Madam Secretary, you have the floor.

Thank you, and thank you, first of all, for inviting us, and it's such.

Joy to be here, because I think that, of course, the future of work is something that we all should be thinking about every day - in order to make sure that we have a prosperous future at all. Finland welcomes the adoption of the new ILO Convention on Decent Work. The convention represents a historic achievement - and establishes the first global labour standards - specifically addressing work performed. through digital platforms. We see that the Convention provides a comprehensive framework for ensuring that decent work in the platform economy, while recognizing the diversity of national labor market systems and platform business models. We see that the scope is broad, covering both workers and employment relationship and self-employed persons performing platform work, thereby reflecting the realities of today's labour markets. We have to be realistic in how the labour markets are working these days. Finland is currently preparing a new Platform Work Act to implement the EU Platform Work Directive, and we have just joined the ILO Equal Pay International Coalition, EPIC, So we are trying to set the standards for us as well. We see that platform work has become an established part of modern labour markets and illustrates how digitalisation is reshaping the way work is organised. Our objective is to ensure that fundamental labour rights continue to apply regardless of whether work is performed in a factory, in an office or through a digital platform. At the same time, we see the challenges related to platform work as part of a broader transformation of working life. Increasingly, work is carried out outside the traditional employment relationships, including through self-employment and other flexible forms of work. And while these developments can create new opportunities and greater flexibility for both workers and businesses, they can also raise important questions regarding social protection, workers' rights and fair working conditions. It's something that I myself struggle with every day when thinking of, for instance, services I'm using. Looking ahead, Finland believes that one of the key policy challenges will be finding effective ways to combine flexible labour markets with strong social rights. The future of work should provide room for innovation and diverse forms of work while ensuring that all workers enjoy adequate protection and access to decent working conditions. So I think the most important challenges in platform work is ensuring the correct employment status of workers. Finland also strongly believes that social dialogue one of the most effective ways to manage transitions in working life. And that's what we are known for, I think, the social dialogue in the Finnish labor market is strong. And we believe that employers, workers, and governments all have valuable perspectives, and lasting solutions are only built through dialogue and cooperations. So to end, I say that we should not ask whether labour rights apply in the platform economy. We should ask how we should ensure that labour rights remain effective.

Thank you so very much. And for that last sentence, we should not ask if, but how. We promote labour rights with the economy. Thank you so very much. And I'm secretary for those very, very useful insights. It's now my pleasure to invite Mr. Mac. Ben I got it I've been practicing I'm Deputy Director for UN strategy and coherence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium but he's sitting here in his capacity as the co-chair of the group of friends of decent work who have done an amazing job in putting decent work at the front and center of the conversations on sustainable development so the.

Thank you, Madam Moderator. Ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, it's a pleasure to welcome you to this discussion on decent work in the platform economy, organized by the International Labour Organization in collaboration with the delegation of the European Union to the UN and UNESCO. I have the honour, as you already mentioned, to speak today on behalf of the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Decent Work, Belgium and Morocco. Our Group of Friends is committed to keeping decent work high on the international agenda, contributing to a multilateral discussion on how we can ensure that transformation in the world of work contributes to inclusive and sustainable development. The rapid expansion of digital labor platforms is transforming the organization of work and creating new opportunities for employment, income generation, entrepreneurship, and access to markets. At the same time, it raises important questions concerning access to new technologies in developing countries, digital device working conditions, employment relationships, social protection, occupational safety and health, equality and non-discrimination and collective representation. The real thing that's technological innovation and decent work are not competing objectives. As the organization of work evolves, workers should not be left behind or excluded from fundamental rights, adequate social protection and fair working conditions. In this context, We welcome the adoption of the ILO Convention concerning decent work in the platform economy 2026, number 193, as an important milestone. It demonstrates the continued relevance of multilateral social dialogue and international labour standards in responding to newer realities in the world of work. We call for continued action to translate this progress into practice, including by First of all, promoting the application of the principles and objectives in the ILO Convention No. 193. Second, extending adequate social protection and fundamental rights to workers in the platform economy. Third, strengthening social dialogue. And fourth, ensuring digitalization remains human-centred, transparent and respectful of rights. We're acknowledging the increasing cross-border nature of platform work, We also encourage continued international cooperation and the exchange of experience and practices, including via North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation. As co-chairs of the Group of Francophone and Morocco, we affirm our commitment to keeping decent work and SDG 8 at the heart of the discussion on the future of work and to working collectively towards a digital transformation that is inclusive, rights-based and leaves no one behind. Technology should serve people, not the other way around. As we shape the future of work, we must ensure it will be digital and innovative, but also human-centred, inclusive and resilient. Thank you.

Thank you so very much. Co-chair of the Group of Friends of Decent Work, Technological Advancement and Decent Work, are not competing objectives. They work and should work hand in hand. Technology should serve people, not the other way around. We heard, and we heard very clearly. Thank you so very much. So it's now my pleasure and honor to invite our distinguished speaker and co-sponsor of this event, Ms. Heather Sampson. was the deputy head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations. Thank you for the great collaboration over the years, and thank you for collaborating with us on this particular event. You have the floor, Madam Ambassador.

Thank you. Thank you, dear colleague. Thank you, dear Cynthia and other co-panelists. It's an honor to be here, and I have to apologize that I have to leave after my intervention because I have another speaking engagement, but it's such an important event to be with. Allow me to elaborate a little bit, and I hope everybody in the room can hear me, on the European Union's efforts in this regard. The European Union is very committed to working with global partners to promote decent work conditions in platform work worldwide. And we've just heard also from two of our member states on how they work on these topics. And together with the ILO, indeed, the EU partners to promote decent work in this platform economy. As this economy continues to evolve, it's essential to ensure that these jobs are held to the same decent work standards as other forms of employment. Within the European Union, there is the so-called Platform Work Directive, which deals with this fast-growing part of our economy, and its aim is to improve working conditions and data protection in platform work and support the opportunities, innovation and flexibility that this platform economy offers. A little bit of background on this directive. This directive entered into force on the 1st of December 2024, and EU member states have two years to transpose this directive into their national laws. The directive aims to facilitate the determination of the employment status of persons performing platform work by requiring member states to establish in their own national legislation a rebuttable legal presumption of an employment relationship. This will, of course, help platform workers to access the full set of labor and social rights that they are entitled to, including minimum wage where it exists, collective bargaining, working time, health protection, paid leave, and improved access to protection against work accidents, but also unemployment, sickness benefits, and old age pensions. The directive also provides more transparency, fairness and accountability with regards to algorithmic management used by digital labour platforms, by helping people doing platform work to better understand how tasks are allocated and how prices are set, and to enable them to contest decisions that affect working conditions if they need to do so. Persons performing platform work are also covered under other horizontal legislation, both at the EU level but also in national legislation of the member states. On the ILO Convention 193, as outlined in the most recent EU-ILO high-level meeting, AI governance in the work must be, of course, human-centred and support also the preservation and creation of decent jobs. So we welcome the adoption of the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention in June 2026, which is the first international labour standard dedicated to this platform economy. And the EU and its member states approached these negotiations with the aim to create an instrument that protects digital platform workers, promotes decent work worldwide, and is also widely credible. So we're very pleased to see that the convention was finally adopted in June with all 27 EU member states also voting in favour of its adoption. And we do hope that this convention, of course, will set an effective minimum standard globally for how each ILO member promote decent work in this platform economy. Convention 193 is a vital step in promoting decent work in the international economy for millions of workers worldwide, and providing, of course, that multilateralism delivers and confirming, proving, sorry, proving that multilateralism, which is under threat, that in this case delivers and confirms also the ILO's central role in promoting decent work and social justice. We know that the Convention The adoption is not enough, and then now it's about implementation. Social dialogue, it was mentioned before, will be very important in managing a fair manner and AI-driven changes in the workplace. Investment in skills, reskilling and lifelong learning will also be crucial to help workers adapt to technological change and ensuring that AI contributes to inclusive growth. And finally, quality jobs are the backbone of the new social model. And later this year, the European Commission will put forward a quality jobs to strengthen and protect job quality across the EU to address the use of evolving technologies and practice. And it will also, this new act will look into how algorithms are used to manage the workforce for example, to organize work shifts or evaluate performance. And our approach is in line with what we preach, the principles of human-centric and trustworthy AI, which, of course, we as EU seek to promote. Humans and not algorithms should stay in control of decisions that affect their work and their lives.

Thank you. So much, Madam Ambassador. There's quite a lot that runs through all the statements, but I want to pick two. Multilateralism works. Multilateralism, anchored on social dialogue, works and delivers, even on very sensitive new frontier areas. C193 confirms that. And also the importance of social dialogue that runs through the importance of social dialogue, bringing to the table not just the governments, but also the employers and the workers to come together and agree on how to shape important decisions. Can you join me again in giving the three speakers a So we still have one minute. Can I ask that we stand up and we have a group photograph? I mean, like we have a photograph. So let me take a quick photograph. Have we done the program? Okay. Thank you. So, in the right, the panel to come. Well, so let me invite Dr. Linda Raman. From Albania. She also is the second lady of Albania, the virtual prime minister. I never heard that. I'm just waiting. I just made that up. For the first time in my career, I've suddenly got it. Madam President of the International Organization of Employers, Madam Jacqueline Mugo, the Deputy President of the International Trade Union Confederation, Ms. Kathy Feingold, Ms. Sukti Desh Gupta, the Director of the ILO. Employment and. Implement skills and enterprise development department. And. Madam Lily. But I'm Lily.

Yeah.

But I'm really great. Who is representing the UNESCO director, who is unavoidably absent. And I give my blessing. I wish I could share with you. It's good. It's been a good job. Yeah, we have an excellent panel in UNESCO, as you know, is one of our partners, a great sister agency, a neighbor and a great collaborator on this issue. So I want you to please join me in welcoming this great panel. Colleagues, we have already heard from the EU, from the European Commission, from the European Parliament, and from the Government of Finland. And of course, with the three issues that I put on the table to frame. Now we're going to have real conversation. We're going to keep it targeted. so that we have the opportunity to hear from them, make it interactive. Is there anybody who agrees with me that we need to have that? Oh, we shouldn't make it interactive. Should we make it interactive? Yes. I feel not, but I don't hear, there's no energy. Should we make it interactive? Now you're talking. So we're going to hear from our panelists. And it's a distinguished panel. I've already given them, they've been given the questions in advance. And just so you know the questions they'll be addressing in their interventions. And there are basically three of them. How can we harness AI and the platform economy for innovation, productivity, and growth while and advance in decent work. So that's the first. The second, what policies, what institutions and what investments are needed to effectively manage this transition in a way that promotes the kind of results that we want. And then third, following the adoption of Convention 193, how can we strengthen international cooperation around decent work? in the digital economy. You have from the speakers, we've got the instruments, now it's implementation. So how do we ensure that we work together, bringing our different strengths to do this? So I'm not going to be asking you separate questions. You have the questions and you're going to have exactly max five minutes to respond, but you'll have the opportunity to come back again based on the inputs that were received from our colleagues who are keen to really make interventions. So I'll start with you. I'm tempted to say second lady. I'll start with you, Dr. Elifoglu-Rama. is a senior researcher in development economics from Abidjan. You have five minutes.

Good morning, everyone. I'm really happy to be part of this discussion and panel. I have for at least 30 years, three decades, working on development and labor market issues. And mentioning that, I have had the opportunity to see how the path of change has been in the labour world over three decades in a country that was coming out of communism just in 90. I want to bring, I would like to bring that there because you know, labour market is a very wide discussion and especially in these times we are living, we are adding components on that. So what I would like to mention is that first, we have experienced two transitions. One transition was that one from the communist country that went completely the labor market bankrupt to another transition that is now that we are going to digitalization, innovation, and AI, which is the upper, let's say, level of the three ones. And I think that one moment that we have to stop in the coming years is how we will manage, because the first transition is not finished. There are so many problems that have been coming from this time, these three decades, that are still there in the labor market. And we have not been able in three decades to cure all the problems that were inherited from the past and all the problems, adjustments that were made, you know, necessary to be made over. So this new agenda is coming at a time that we have still to carry on from the last agenda, and we need to see how this complexity will be taken in the new circumstances. Another dimension is that I think that in the labor market, we are living three times, that in fact are related with three generations. One generation, the generation that is getting out from the labor market, it looks very old with all the characteristics of, you know, at the beginning of transition in our case. Another generation that is dealing with the present, a lot of adaptation, a lot of problems. And now we have a perspective that brings more uncertainty, like AI, for instance, and platform economy, while it brings also a lot of opportunities. So I think that we have to manage the risks and opportunities at a much more complex let's say environment, that links all together the three worlds. The second point that I would like to make is that we have been going from a country with two-digit unemployment rate for so long, for decades, one digit just two, three years ago. It needed a lot of efforts to make this happen under one economy that was finding the development path. Why we are lucky? We are lucky because for years now, since I remember 2002, the World Bank was talking about productivity. So saying that the growth can be sustained only in case productivity will You know, you would focus on productivity. And it was very, very difficult to find the ways how to put productivity in the market, in the economy, while in fact, the tools were not that big. Now, innovation, digitalization, and AI has given us a fantastic tool to increase the productivity in a market, in fact, that was scared of-- scarce of productivity before. So from the studies that I have been doing, especially the last three, four years in different sectors for the labor market, what we see is that in our case, it's not the case of Serbia, for instance, that is in the same region. In our case, the government is faster in adopting platforms compared to the private sector. Why? Because in case it's a smart government, it has the capacities, I mean human resources, it has the money, and can make a lot to improve the efficiency of the government. And this is the case in our government because today we have a platform, which is e-Albania, that provides 1,250 services to the population with one click. If you go to the private sector and you see the level of adoption of technology, you see that this is at very low level. And now, only now, two, three years after all this focus in the public services, digitalization, the government has put some attention, and it's going faster, I think, more and more, to innovation, how to support startups. And of course, we are not a country that are not yet in the platform economy. Apart from this government thing, we have in transportation, in financial market, we have EasyPay, we have platforms around. But still, the businesses are very hesitant for so many reasons to become fast actors in this thing. So I think that for the future, I don't know in terms of time where I... You have one minute. Okay, I said no. But what I see is, we are lucky because we have been always supported. ILO was one huge supporter of us in the field of labor market, and we are really very grateful to it and to other UN organizations that have been going all the way along with with us and helping and assisting. But we are lucky enough because for the moment we have the EU perspective ahead of us, apart from, of course, all the participation we have, including the convention that you mentioned. But with the EU, we have the guarantee that by 2030, that in fact is the perspective of our, I hope very much our membership to you. We are closing the chapters now, negotiations. We will have a kind of guarantee that along this path, we are not alone, and we can guarantee that we can handle the complexity of the issues that are in this market. Another last issue is this one. I have done, just finished a study to see that how the past influence the current status in certain fields. And it was in concrete terms, the financial market. You modernize the financial market in terms of institutions. The World Bank is, sorry, the Bank of Albania has done a lot of reforms to make it a modern, let's say, system. the Bank of Albania and the second level banks. But if you see what is happening in that market, is that all what was inherited culturally to the population is affecting the way the financial market works today. So we can go on with modernization. We can go on with many reforms. But if we don't take along with us the population itself, it's impossible to make efficient whatever we are doing as huge efforts by the government and institutions. And with this, I want to emphasize that the cultural aspects of what we are talking about of the populations are crucial to make these conventions work and to make these labor markets really, you know, modernized in a world that is global and is not more local, and especially in economy is very much so the case.

Thank you. Thank you so very much, Dr. Rama. Thank you for sharing with us the Albanian experience. The adoption has been largely by the public sector, but the private sector is a little more reticent. in adoption relating to the issues of technology, but also particularly on the platform economy. So now goes straight to the private sector, President, who is here with us. And when I'm Jacqueline Mogo, I call her Madam President. And I delight in saying Madam President because there's so few Madam Presidents. So any opportunity I get, I use, right? So Share with us your reflections from the private sector perspective along the lines that we have already articulated. Over to you, and you have five minutes.

Thank you very much, our facilitator. And let me start by appreciating the organizers for bringing us together to have this very important conversation so soon after the adoption of the ILO Convention concerning decent work in the platform economy. As the international organization of employers, we were very involved in the conversation because we are the secretariat of the employers' group during the conference. If we remember where we started from on this conversation, it was a difficult conversation. Constituents were at very extreme positions and the conversation was difficult. Because we were developing for the first time, the international labor standard on a part of the economy that is extraordinarily diverse, rapidly evolving and operating across very different legal systems, labor markets and business models. So finding common ground was not easy, but I'm very happy to say, as the spokesperson of the employers group, that the outcome is an outcome that we are on the whole very pleased about. The final convention, in our view, is balanced. It is adaptable. It recognizes different forms of work and preserves important space for national approaches, which is very important. So we hope that this new standard will provide useful guidance to governments as they consider regulation of the platform economy, which is a difficult job. So to turn specifically to the question, I will deliberately leave out a reference to artificial intelligence today and focus on digital labour platforms as the title of our discussion. And so yes, so harnessing technology and AI is another huge conversation which perhaps will require you to organise for us another event when I'm moderating. From an employer's perspective, we should start by recognizing what the platform economy has already made possible. Digital labor platforms have expanded rapidly across regions because they respond to real economic and labor market needs. They have created new ways for people to participate in labor markets, generate income, provide services, and build businesses. can lower barriers to labour market participation and connect people with economic opportunities that previously may have been very difficult to access. A professional can now provide services to clients across borders, individuals can reach a much larger customer base, and people can participate in economic activity with greater flexibility over time. For young people, I think platforms can provide an important entry point into economic activity and entrepreneurship. And I have relatives who are now working online from the comfort of their homes, and this is common to many of us. So I think platforms are also contributing to enterprise creation and innovation. They can reduce transaction costs, improve the matching of supply and demand, expand access to services, and allow businesses, including micro, small and medium sized enterprises, to reach out to us and talent in new ways. That is why employers consider it essential during the negotiations leading to this instrument that the convention should not look at the platform economy only through the lens of risk. Of course, there are challenges, questions around working conditions, social protection, Occupational safety and health, pacification and access to dispute resolution, these are legitimate issues and they need careful consideration. But good policy must recognize both sides of the equation, the protection that may be needed and the opportunities that we want to preserve. So let me now address the second part of my question that was given. What policy and regulatory frameworks do we need? For employers, one word is fundamental, balance. Governments need frameworks that protect people by allowing innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable enterprises to flourish. The Convention provides a useful starting point because it recognizes that there is no single model of platform work, no single model. The convention does not impose a single international classification model. It recognizes that employment relationships, self-employment and other legal categories may exist according to national law and practice. That distinction is important. We need to preserve the diversity of working arrangements that characterizes the platform economy rather than trying to fit very different realities into a single model. Second, implementation must reflect national realities. I think I've alluded to that. And thirdly, the recognition needs to support an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises. The convention explicitly recognizes the role of digital labor platforms and micro, small, and medium sized enterprises and the need for an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises and fair business competition. That should have practical meaning. Requirements need to be proportionate, implementable and adaptable to technological and business model. So as private sector, we think that policymakers should consider their impact on different types of enterprises, particularly SMEs and startups. And I'm glad that those who spoke earlier also alluded So another very important aspect of social dialogue, I think this will be essential as we move forward because the negotiations we had as I started off demonstrated this. We started with positions, but through dialogue were able to reach an agreement. So if we preserve this spirit of dialogue and the balance between protection and opportunities, I believe that this convention can help countries develop good frameworks that support decent work while enabling the platform economy to continue innovating, creating opportunities, connecting people to markets, and contributing to sustainable Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Much of our things, but I think things that are important, some dialogue, but also balance, balance in different dimensions. I was about to merge you when you said we're winding up. Since you're close to me as well, as you say, right? But thank you so very much for that. Now we'll go. Having heard from the employers, we'll go to the workers. And it's really wonderful that we have with us the Deputy President of the International Trade Union Confederation. It's Kathy Feingold. You have the same five minutes to share.

Now watch the elbows. Thanks so much for having me here today. And I want to start by bridging with the last panel because I think two major things came up. One around multilateralism. And sometimes there's a lot of discussion around multilateralism, especially this week as everybody's in town. But I want to remind you, a key part of multilateralism is the people that build the multilateralism. We have a lot of governments, and that's fantastic, and that dialogue so important to addressing some of the world's greatest challenges. But as you'll see during Climate Week and UNGA, it's actually the people. And so I want to start by saying the really big win about this standard, and I have participated in the domestic worker standard, the gender-based violence and harassment standard, is the mobilizing that happens. It's the conversations that build up to the convention. It's not just the social dialogue that happened last year because we were in difference of opinion. It was years and years years of work and discussion and papers and blue papers and gray papers and many different color papers that come out of the ILO. So I want to emphasize that one thing these standard setting processes do is it builds conversations for almost a decade. It gets people talking about before we started this discussion, what was platform work? It was not even on agendas of employers or workers. And so I want to just emphasize multilateralism not as this kind of esoteric concept about, big institutions, it's people driving really important conversations with their governments. So that's the first thing. And so, we even saw here in New York City, actually, a big example. There was just a wind that the mayor announced with a major platform company about addressing some problems that had happened around wages. That would not have happened had we not had this big conversation around platform work. You take the big conversation, you drive it into a city like New York City and have a mayor making it real. The second is social dialogue. Again, this concept that if you are from the United States, which I am, is not a concept that you hear about very often. But indeed, social dialogue, bringing together employers, unions, and governments makes these kinds of transitions much easier. And so for those of us that don't come from countries where that is the culture, it's something that we continue to advocate for. So like everyone else has said, for the labor movement, Convention 193 was a lot of work and was historic. for all of us. So now it really puts on the agenda one of the big questions, and I agree we need a separate conversation about artificial intelligence, because it really is how do we ensure that technological progress advances shared prosperity? I think the conversation that's being advanced these past couple weeks around the world is, What's the purpose of all of this? And we heard, for businesses, some opportunities, which is fantastic for countries making public service provision better. But you need to be able to answer that question, in the service of what? Is it going to make the lives of working people better? Those are the types of questions the labor movement put on the table. Another central message that came out of this debate is that technological innovation and regulation can actually go hand in hand. So, so long and we currently here, again, I'll use my country as an example of the G20 agenda, deregulation has to be in service to innovation. But what this standard setting process shows is actually you can innovate because we are for innovation, the labor movement. We need jobs, we need innovation and opportunity, but you need Regulation that ensures that there is, underneath all of the innovation, that labor income share isn't falling, that the people that doing the work are actually benefiting. There's a social protection floor for everybody. So again, I think that was a huge thing that came out of the platform discussion. Regulation does not prevent innovation. It provides the conditions for innovation to contribute to the public good, creates legal certainty, protects fair competition, and provides a level playing field. So that now countries all over the world can talk with the same framework and the same vocabulary. Again, you see the fight in a city like New York. So the first time the international community has adopted this binding labor standard and confirms that platform work is indeed is employment for a boss and a company and that technological innovation does not remove the obligation to respect labor rights. This was not taken for granted. this was part of this very robust social dialogue that we had that indeed these are workers with an employment status. And we know that productivity gains do not automatically translate into more and better jobs or higher wages, less working time or more social protection. So again, without the guardrails of this regulation and having the power dynamic addressed, and again, when you talk about technology, you must talk about power. As this technology, whether it's platform work for artificial intelligence. I see the elbow. We have to address power and so collective bargaining is critical. and will be wrapping up that chair. So the next. stage, where do we go from here? We're going to as a labor. movement, use this framework to educate. to organize platform workers because you cannot deal with this power imbalance. You cannot have workers standing up for their rights and protections and implementing this kind of framework if they have no power. It's not going to be worker by worker. You need them to be organized. We will have litigation and campaigns for ratification, and we will make sure that we hold up our part of ensuring that social dialogue is robust with employers and governments. So our collective responsibility, all of us in the room here today is to apply what we learned from these robust debates, secure ratification. So I'm looking to you countries who have not started the ratification process and ensure that the future of work is actually built on a floor of robust rights and protections. Thank you so much.

Thank you so, so very much. And I like the way you've broken down multilateralism to go beyond the member states. the engagement of everyone in making multilateralism really deliver. Yes, there's the adoption, but it has to be ratification and implementation. So many things there. And thanks for seeing the elbows. I hope others see the elbows as well. Now it's my pleasure to turn to Ms. Supti Dasgupta, the director of the ILO Employment Skills and Enterprise Development, who was physically in the room. She's still here smiling. And still smiling. She survived working in different hours to achieve a decent work outcome. So we have you, Madam Desh Gupta. Let's hear your perspectives on this very important issue. Let me have five minutes.

Thank you, Cynthia, and good morning to all. So I will also focus more on the Convention 193 rather than the larger issue of AI. But it's also true that artificial intelligence and digitalization is transforming the world of work very fast. But at the same time, labour market governance needs to keep pace. And in that context, the adoption of Convention 193 was truly historic. It was a testament to the enduring relevance of tripartism, because we had very difficult conversations for at least over two years, and in June of 2003, a very, very difficult conversation. But in the end, the committee adopted the convention by consensus. That was very important, adopted by consensus. So it shows that it is possible, but it also shows the extreme relevance of international labor standards in a changing world of work. Because this convention is about the future of work. It is about regulating issues such as algorithmic management. It is about regulating issues which were not done in the past. And one of the reasons we could do it, and I think Kathy made a very important point about the fact that innovation does not necessarily need deregulation, can go here. The reason that was possible was because of what you, Jackie, said about the balance. So this convention managed to achieve the balance between the job creating potential of the platform economy, because indeed it creates lots of jobs for young people. It can aid formalization because of traceability. It also gives the chance to many people who are usually marginalized, such as refugees and migrants, workers with disabilities, and even women who want to balance family work with care work. So there are many positives, but at the same time, there are two concerns and huge challenges about protection and rights of work. So the convention recognizes the positive elements, the potential of job creation, but at the same time it addresses those issues in relation to protecting workers, wages, remuneration, payment, social security, protection of data, protection against violence and harassment, also human involvement in decisions that relate to automated decision making. So all these issues are also taken care of. Now, No way. It is about. And I also want to make this clear that this convention is not about regulating technology. It doesn't regulate technology. What it regulates is the impact of technology. Access to work and on conditions to work, and I think this distinction is very important. Now going forward, of course it provides an excellent benchmark to the international community. It also, in a way, translates the. centenary declaration of the ILO in 2019, which spoke about a human-centered approach to technology. It also provides a very good benchmark to the global digital compact, which is about also having a human-centered approach to technology. But the question now is implementing it. And in implementing it, of course, they are working with countries and there is a lot of interest. But the actual implementation of it will require very robust labor market information systems. But it can also be based on the four pillars of the decent work agenda. That is promoting job creation, skills. Skills will be a very important part of it. Enterprise development, as in support for SMEs, along with the protection of workers, social security, wages, protection against violence. Social dialogue, I think everybody has mentioned, is what brought us here today. But we need to continue with that at the country level and at the global level. And the question of fundamental principles and rights at work. And I also want to say that this convention not only recognizes the importance of respecting, promoting, and realizing fundamental principles and rights at work, but also in the context of automated decision-making and algorithmic which were very difficult discussions, but in the end, we got there. I see the end goal. And in terms of going forward, international cooperation, it's a great benchmark. And it also shows that international labor standards will continue to be an important instrument in regulating the world of work in the context of the various changes that we are seeing. And who knows what change we will see in the coming years. I mean, the change that's happening is so fast, at least we have a basis And the convention is very principles-based, but it allows space for change, and it leaves a lot of very detailed decisions to the member states. It does not specify every single detail, except of the broad context. With that, over to you, Secretary. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Tripti. And just to, again, thank the Minister of Labour From Bulgaria, who is with us, Her Excellency, and also the Minister of Labour and Public Health and Social Development of the Government of St. Martin. We'd love to have you here. and I know there will be interventions immediately after we hear from the panellists. But already if you're keen to make an intervention, make sure that your hands are visible so that you can be given the opportunity. But now we'll go to UNESCO, our partner not in crime, but in virtue. Yes, we are partners in virtue. And so, Lili, you have the floor to share your perspective.

Thank you, Madam Moderator. Good morning to everyone from UNESCO. Indeed, we are very pleased and also thankful and honored to be invited to be part of this important discussion. We are ready to contribute in a spirit of complementarity of our mandates and the work we do as a specialized agency in education, culture, communication. From this high level week, you know, many have referred to this moment of history that we are living, the artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, the platform economy. It has also been a point of reference for the Pope Leo's intervention today at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. So indeed, very happy to be engaged with everyone today. I have to start first from UNESCO to say that we really welcome the adoption of the Convention 193. A landmark achievement that comes at a time when robust normality frameworks and most importantly their implementation is essential to advancing sustainable and inclusive development, particularly important because digital platforms are not mere workplaces. Indeed, for millions of people around the world, they represent the first point of entry into the labor market. And I have here with me the statistics, apparently between 150 and 435 million people engage in online gig work worldwide, and the majority of them being under the age of 30. 6 in 10 living outside major urban cities. So indeed, this is not a niche phenomenon. It is a gateway to employment opportunity and livelihood for entire generations. So let me share just a few points from UNESCO. First, first for us is the need to bring education and training authorities more systematically into the social dialogue on the platform. The education community faces a profound challenge: how to prepare learners for a future in which many of the jobs they hold do not exist. So, this is why the dialogue on skills cannot remain confined to labour institutions, employers, and workers. It has to systematically include education systems, and training systems should also have a seat at the table. Labour stakeholders, of course, can signal what is changing in the world of work, but it is the education system that's going to translate that into the curriculum, qualifications, teachers' development, and finally into the assessments. And of course, today, this transformation must include AI skills. So we have certain tools at UNESCO that we've developed, like you just mentioned briefly, UNESCO's AI competency frameworks for students and teachers, but combined technical understandings with ethics and human-centered mindset. Second, is the importance to invest in AI literacy, as I said, media and information literacy. but also TVET and lifelong learning. And to make sure that skills gained through the new forms of the work are recognized and can be carried forward. So indeed, the issue of the recognition. Of course, the platform work is inherently global, and we know that the worker in Nairobi may be serving a client in Berlin, from a platform registered in a third country. Our labour standards and protections generally apply where the worker is based. The problem is that again, the qualifications and the skills rarely travel as easily across borders. So as a result, There is a need for a qualification recognized across the border and UNESCO has a tool, the UNESCO Global Convention on Recognition of Qualifications. Let me run through very fast to my last point, certainly to mention that ethics and governance is quite important. None of what we have discussed today can rest on individual skills and capabilities. It depends on how the platforms and technologies shaping the future of work are governed. And here, UNESCO has done, has led on the global agreement, there are UNESCO recommendations on ethics of artificial intelligence that places, of course, human dignity at the center of the entire AI life cycle. And this cannot be an afterthought. Definitely, technology should not risk reinforcing existing inequalities, but should rather reduce them. And I have to say that our normative work fully aligns with the normative work of our sister agency, with the ILO's Convention 193. And it's definitely a solid normative framework that can help each one of us contribute to a more inclusive digital future. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Very interactive. I really tried with the nodding and the elbows to see that we conserve time. I don't know if there's an excellency, the minister of labour and social policy of Bulgaria, if you just stepped out. How much? That's his Excellency, Mr. Claret. Connor, OK, so would would like to invite Mr. Karen Connor to share his Excellency to share in 2 minutes. Your perspective, the honorable Vanessa.

My apologies for for being late. Obviously this week is a challenging one. As Minister of Labor and Employment, obviously, we're listening to the panel, very insightful information. Our challenges are the same. We come from a very small island. The economy is service-based. We have a tourism economy. And the relationship between the private sector and the public sector is no less challenging to those of larger countries. So just being here and listening in on the... the discussions from the distinguished panelists is very insightful for me as well as I take back some of this information home to share with my colleagues and also the markets and my other stakeholders. So thank you for the opportunity to just to acknowledge my presence and I look forward to the rest of the dialogue.

Thank you so much, Mr. Nunez. So now the opportunity to hear reflections. Who wants to make an intervention? Nobody. I see only one. So you're going to get an extra 30 seconds. Any others? Thanks. This is your opportunity to say a lot more. So yes, please, would invite you to introduce yourself, ask your questions, disagree as long as it's not violent, and just share your own actions. You have 90 seconds.

Thank you. Good morning. My name is Shamina de Gonzaga with NGO World Council of Peoples for the United Nations. First, thank you to the ILO for convening this and to all the distinguished speakers. Two questions. One is several people have referred to the platform economy as a gateway to other forms of employment. And I'm curious if that is actually based on data. Do we already have studies accompanying the transition from platform work to other types of work? And if any kind of regional perspective on that would be interesting too. The other question, and my next congratulation to all of you on your work on this convention. As was said, of course, we know it builds on many years of efforts. One curiosity I have is to what extent there's an outreach campaign built into the adoption of the Convention, because by the very nature of platform work, people are often not connected to organized labor movements, perhaps not even to other associations, and don't necessarily follow multilateral decision-making processes. So what's going on to make sure that people know about this important landmark? Thank you.

Thank you so very much, Amina. It's good to have you with us, and we'll collaborate effectively with you. So those are two questions wrapped. Any other intervention going? Going? Okay.

Hi, I'm Anita Thomas. I chair the NGO Committee on FFD in New York, also represent Women First International Fund. Thank you and congratulations on this initiative because we also collaborated on ILO C190 as the coalition of NGO committees based in New York. And so this is very close to our heart. And I just had a question based on yesterday's session you had when you were talking about financial inclusion to financial health and to what extent is that being considered in this because those working on platform economies, platform related work are facing similar barriers, such as informal workers. And so what are some of the intersectionalities here and what are some of the efforts that we're doing to address it?

And Samillion Anita was a close partner and collaborator. And we have one member of this panel who was also on yesterday's panel. So the link between the two conversations, we have somebody who is excellently positioned to answer that question. But the issue of outreach, outreach, particularly outside of the traditional partners and the traditional Geneva environment. So. Who wants to tackle the questions?

The partners, obviously.

So to start with.

I mean, I'm happy to talk about partners because it's a great question and that's precisely, you know, you build a framework and then it's only as good as it gets implemented and there's organizing around it. So in terms from a labor perspective, what we have seen both with the domestic worker convention, the gender based violence and harassment, the informal to formalization discussions is it pushes the labor movement because again, this is not just a meeting that happens in June. It makes us expand our organizing. And so I can give lots of example is how we've expanded with informal economy. Our partnerships around gender based violence linked us with the feminists and the women's movements around the world. That was actually enormous. I mean, care, lots of organizations, I'm sure the ones you represent got very involved with that, but it pushes the labor movement to expand its organizing because we have to follow the workers. I worked and organized in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti, and one of the things I found when I arrived there, everyone said there are parallel workers and that was after the multi fiber agreement had just been shifted. And I said no, they're not, they're domestic workers. And so then we saw the labor movement. I had to start organizing domestic workers because they're no longer apparel workers. They went to find other work. So what you'll find now is many organizations from Mexico to Kenya around the world that are linking to the formal trade union movement. They are emerging with their own priorities, whether they're data moderators in Kenya or the moderators in Venezuela, all part of the platform supply chain or the platform drivers who I've met with in Brazil, but they're advocating for new legislation. They're often linked. And one thing we find is what the labor movement gives you is the largest non-governmental organization infrastructure in the world. And that allows the smaller groups that emerge in Mexico, in Kenya, or you've got these drivers and platform workers all over the world, they're able to use the infrastructure of the formal labor movement for litigation. You see that in the city, actually. Again, New York City is a great example of how the labor movement, formal unions, work with worker centers, the taxi drivers in the city, the platform workers that we're organizing to get their major win that they just announced. So it's a really, really important question. This helps build our movement, and we are very focused right now on organizing platform workers.

Thank you so very much. The INTACT coalition did marvelous work with C190. And we continue to work on that within the conversations happening here in New York. It's not just something that happened there, it's something that has continued. And I see the CSOPD chair is also with us. It's really been very, very massive. And we expect that that same level of engagement on C190 translate into the advocacy for C193 here in New York and beyond. Thank you so very much. So since you know we're tripartite, if the workers spoke, then the engineers have to go next. So and after that we'll go to doctor.

I think one of the things that happened is you didn't get the the adoption of C193 in the river. We came back home and we asked ourselves, what is happening? What do we need to do on the ground? What does it mean for employers that have workers, I use the term employers, for workers who are working in this digital space, like home deliveries, home deliveries, global super, what happens? So a lot of education is still needed, and government needs to take a lead on this. It's not happening as fast as we want to, Just to clarify, like on the domestic workers convention, as my colleague said, a lot of work has been happening in the last three, four years. Just for us to be clear, so what does the convention mean? How do we organize? How do those working in the digital space using these platforms join employers organizations or workers? It's still a very nascent conversation. A lot of fuzziness around it just to calm people. Because I think people came from Geneva thinking now employers are going to be told that these are your employees and you have to negotiate your collective management agreement. So we're doing a lot of work in that space. And as we were discussing yesterday about financial health, and you look at the structure of the economy in the developed world, where most of it is informal, And trade unions or employers organizations are not even there. They're not organized. How do you deal with that? So these are very early conversations that are happening for us to be able to be clear on how to move forward. We are having conversations with the companies that are working in this platform economy space and the digital platforms just to agree with them on where to move, how to move forward. but it's start, stop kind of conversation. We just clarifying some fears for them. But I think what we said yesterday was about making it possible for the financial systems to work for the informal, the small enterprises to address the real economy and adjust itself to the structure of the economy in each particular country. Same with C193, it's an instrument that then has to be translated at national level to see what really works for Kenya, what works for Sri Lanka. So that is not a one-size-fits-all. So I do agree that really the test now is on implementation and making adjusting it to the needs of the economy. I think the convention recognizes that employment relationships, self-employment and other forms recognized under national law and practice. will need to be prevalent. This will drive decisions as to what factors to put in place to be able to support workers in that sector and also to support employers. So determining the status of those who are working in that economy therefore remains grounded in national framework. And this is where the social dialogue needs to continue. So I think it's early days to be clear on what exactly do we do moving forward. just having this early conversation so that all parties are clear on what their roles, responsibilities and obligations are.

Thank you so very much. There was another question that was asked that I'll come to you last so that you can wrap it all together. On platform economy as a gateway. Yeah. And I would like to go specifically to Dr.

The second thing. But from all the discussions, I then would like to focus on, you know, we are talking for the platform work, but again, the platform work, in fact, has its own specificities compared with the work, traditional work that we are used to. talk about and what the conventions all over the time have been dealing with. And here I have in mind the fact that the workplaces might be home, might be in the nature. You usually are not clear who is the employer or how many employers are interactive. and how the employees are related to each other. So I think that this will bring difficulties. And beyond the convention, that is really very, very important to put the milestone, I think that many more details need to be under focus so that we know exactly what we are talking for and how we are dealing with all these kind of specifics. The second thing is that, we know that apart from all the efforts that are made by international organizations and governments and employers, organizations and employees, you know, certain phenomena like informality, for instance, we have not been able to, you know, avoid all through the way. And in platform economy, informality is also something that can be very much a part of, you know, all the problems that we might have. And so, questions like whether they, how we track, again, the information systems are very important and they are not in place right now. In many countries, I would say, intelligence systems to catch, you know, all these networks of employment, or who is the employer and where the social contributions are paid, so that they are, you know, they are insured for the, you know, there are so many cases that the answers get paid and they don't pay, they are not, you know, they are, they are not, they don't pay social security and maybe they are not bank. because the banks don't recognize them as statistics and because of that they don't get credits. So they enter standardly in the path that brings insecurities. And I think that these are small issues that should take attention because we are talking for the young generation mostly that is involved in that. And this will, you know, it's very much interactive and interrelated with the way of life that they are going to do based on this kind of work.

Thank you so very much our distinguished second lady for those perspectives and also addressing some of the issues that have been raised. Lili, in one minute, your perspectives, and then I will go to Shukti.

Yeah, just very briefly, the message is that I think the future is not something that technology will have to predict for us. It should be based on the choices we made, which skills we want to develop, how we want to take it forward. But obviously, these choices should be the ones to expand, you know, the human part of the... related to the working space as well. Just everything. We are ready to work with our sister agencies and all the partners around to support that. These choices are human made, human focused.

Absolutely, and thank you so very much. You addressed the issue of complementarity in your event, I'm sure you've read, you addressed the issue of a whole of government engagement, not just specific ministers, ministers of education, but there are other ministries that need to be implicated in this shared understanding and shared decision making and shared implementation of the Convention 193 in different situations in different countries. So now I'll come to you, Shipti, and you have two minutes and 25 seconds. Thank you. So put everything together.

So thanks for the questions, Stuart. And I wanted to say that, you know, the platform economy indeed is a new phenomenon. And therefore, the discussions around it were both technically complex and politically complex. But at the same time, the convention provides clear definitions of what is a labour platform, who are platform workers. So those details are contained and I would encourage all of you who are interested to have a look at that. Now, in terms of going forward and awareness raising, indeed the office has received a lot of requests. from governments, from social partners, from others, academy, et cetera. And we are doing a number of, you know, awareness raising events in many countries. I have a few countries, Philippines, Tanzania, Serbia, South Africa, Ghana, Benin, and others. But it's also important to know the question you asked about the progression from platform. We do not have the data to say that at the moment. We just know that there are a lot of young people involved in these platforms. But it's also, I mean, at the same time, Cynthia and colleagues, there are also statistical standards being prepared for the platform economies, which will be adopted in 2028. So that will give some clarity to some of these issues. But we are carrying our diagnostics at the country level with the social partners on a number of countries to understand better what it means for implementation and ratification. Thank you.

How many of you agree with me that this has been a great panel conversation? This is to really express our appreciation to the panelists who have done an amazing job, including recognizing the elbow strategy to keep us inside. So really, Madam Second Lady, Madam President, Madam Vice President, Madam Director, Madam Representative of the Director, thank you so very much for making this conversation very... the interventions, particularly the link between different conversations. So when we come here, we have different conversations, but at the end of the day, we are moving towards the same objective of ensuring that the middle most on decent work, whether it's through financial health, whether it's through social and solidarity economy, through C190, C193, the aim is that we're promoting decent work for all. Not just because it's good to, but because it's a core pillar of inclusive and sustainable development. The Doha Political Declaration was unequivocal on that. 3193, as we've seen, shows us that multilateralism works. It delivers, despite the environment in which we operate, even on complex things. But it also shows the importance of social dialogue. It shows the importance of cooperation. So I really appreciate the question in terms of the outreach. How do we all contribute to the delivery of multilateralism? As Cathy said earlier, it's not just for the member states, it's for all of us. This is not an end. This is part of long-term engagement to ensure that we all, in our different capacities, contribute to promoting and ensuring decent work. for those who are in the platform economy, but using the platform economy as an example of those who are directly impacted by the transformations that we see in technology, by the especially emerging technologies, digitalization, AI, both the employers and the workers have already given us marching orders. that we have to have a conversation on AI as it impacts on the world of work. So I want to really thank you for your engagement. Can we please leave everyone around. 12 on the dot. We have exactly two minutes. So is there someone who has something burning? It can do it in 30 seconds. You have the, you don't? Going, gone. Thank you so very much.