The ITUC, the world’s largest organisation of workers, reminds governments that workers and employers rely on the ILO to ensure the world of work is recognised internationally, to ensure international standards on workers’ rights are applied in individual countries and to help governments and social partnerts to improve the functioning of their labour markets and institutions.

Luc Triangle, ITUC Acting General Secretary said:
“Workers around the world depend on the ILO to ensure their rights are upheld and to put social justice at the heart of global debates. If governments defund the organisation – for whatever reason – it is their workers who will bear the brunt. Workers facing unemployment, poverty and repression will not forgive those governments for abandoning them.

So we call on every government to recognise their international and domestic obligations and agree the budget that employers, workers and governments have drawn up together. There can be no more delay, no more procrastination. The time to act is now.”

Without a two thirds majority vote in favour of the 2024-2025 ILO Programme and Budget at this International Labour Conference plenary session, the ILO would run out of money to operate, including paying salaries and running programmes, on 1 January 2024.