The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently released, on January 2024, the Law and Practise report in the emerging field of digital labour platforms and their impact in the World of Work.
The Law and Practise report (known as White Report), is intended to inform the discussions at the 2025-2026 Standard Setting on Platform Economy and to help Member States in responding to the appended questionnaire.
The inputs and responses provided by the Member States will set the base for the Yellow Report, which will be the draft report discussed in the first sitting of the Platform Economy Standard Setting in 2025.
On 27 November 2023, the European social partners of the steel sector, industriAll European Trade Union and EUROFER, signed a joint declaration to support the double green and digital transition of the European steel industry and its workers.
On 10 January 2024, the International Labour Organization (ILO) published a new annual report on the global labour market, employment trends, and emerging labour market challenges.
The report shows a complex scenario, characterised by disparities between high- and low-income countries, a large part of the workforce employed informally and the prevision of a slight increase in global unemployment in 2024.
At the same time, although the recovery from the pandemic remains uneven and economic conditions due to inflation have worsened, labour markets have shown impressive resilience.
On 14 December 2023, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament agreed on a text for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
It requires formal approval by the Legal Affairs Committee and the European Parliament as a whole, as well as by the Council (EU governments) to enter into force.
It aims to enhance the protection of the environment and human rights in the EU and globally.
The Commission proposal was introduced on 23 February 2022, and the Council adopted its general approach on 1 December 2022.
On 24 November 2023, presidents and chief executives of the member federations of BusinessEurope met in Brussels to present their priorities for the next Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
On 12 December 2023, ILO presented its first global report on public employment services (PES) and active labour market policies (ALMPs), published on 14 July 2023.
ILO presented its main findings during an online launch event, with the participation of the World Employment Confederation (WEC), the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES), and the World Bank (WB).
The report's findings will be used to provide technical advisory services for ILO Member States.
On 8 December 2023, the Council presidency and the European Parliament's negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.
The Act aims to ensure that AI systems in the EU respect fundamental rights and values, while stimulating innovation and investment in AI in Europe.
Both Parliament and Council must formally adopt the agreed text for it to become EU law.
The AI Act should apply two years after it enters into force.
The 21st International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) took place in Geneva from 11 to 20 October 2023, marking the centenary of the first Conference.
Workers, employers, and governments from ILO member state delegates from around 140 countries addressed critical issues related to labour market statistics and ILO statistical activities.
Topics covered ranged from informality, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators, violence and harassment at work, international labour migration, International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO), child and forced labour, and cooperatives.