Multi Polarity Underpins the ILC Meeting
K N Umesh
THE 113th International Labour Conference (ILC), held in Geneva from June 2-13, 2025, concluded with the adoption of a Convention and Recommendations on Biological Hazards, a resolution on standard-setting discussions on the platform economy, and a general discussion on promoting transitions towards formality. The Conference also adopted a landmark resolution on Palestine, upgrading its status from a liberation movement to a non-member observer, with a significant majority of 386 votes in favour, 12 against, and 42 abstentions.
Seven amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention were adopted, ensuring the rights of seafarers as key workers. These include provisions for non-discriminatory repatriation, shore leave, fair treatment in maritime casualties, coverage of repatriation costs, medical training, and protections against violence and harassment.
The Conference passed a resolution urging Myanmar’s military regime to uphold ILO conventions on the right to freedom of association and the prohibition of forced labour.
The ILC also endorsed ILO’s recommendations to the upcoming UN World Summit for Social Development, scheduled in Qatar in November 2025. Member states were urged to involve employers' and workers’ representatives in preparing national inputs and to include them as advisers in their summit delegations. The annual summit of the Global Coalition for Social Justice was held on June 12.
A notable feature of this ILC session was the visible contradictions among imperialist nations and the emergence of multipolar dynamics. All through, the African, Latin American, Gulf, Asia Pacific nations were taking positions almost similar to that of workers group. In addition to that the European Union, Canada, Mexico were also taking a position little bit opposed to that of employers group and that of USA and UK. On several amendments of employers group in biological hazards committee, these nations either opposed it or remained silent, not supporting them. This made the employers group leader to make desperate statements both in the committee as well as in the plenary session while adopting the convention. On record the employers group leader made a remark that they were not able to digest the position of the nations and their attitude towards the multinational corporations and grand silence of them on some of the concerns of the employers.
During the standard-setting discussions on the platform economy, there were intense debates within the committee regarding the adoption of a Convention with a subsidiary Recommendation. The Employers’ Group, along with representatives from the USA, UK, Japan, China, and India, opposed this proposal. However, the ILC, through a recorded vote with a significant majority, decided in favour of adopting a Convention accompanied by a subsidiary Recommendation on the platform economy. Following this, the draft underwent extensive discussions involving amendments, sub-amendments, and even sub-sub-amendments, ultimately culminating in a resolution to adopt the Convention with a subsidiary Recommendation through the double discussion procedure. The final decision will be taken at the next session of the Conference.
In the general discussions on promoting transitions towards formality, the adoption of the draft conclusions also saw prolonged and intense debates, continuing late into the night. The ILO Office draft for general discussions on transition towards formality, as usual true to its class collaborationist approach, enlisted the Employment linked Incentive (ELI) scheme of the Government of India as an innovative scheme enabling the transition from informality to formality. However, in reality, the scheme facilitates the transfer of public funds to corporate entities and promotes the creation of precarious, temporary jobs.
INDIA STOOD ISOLATED APPEASING THE EMPLOYERS
India all through the conference stood isolated in its pursuit to appease the employers, true to its nexus with corporates. Even though it voted in favour of all seven amendments to Maritime Labour Convention, it voted against Convention and subsidiary Recommendation for Platform Economy, abstained in voting on Convention on Biological Hazards. Interventions of India in plenary sessions while adopting the convention on biological hazards and resolution on Platform economy and transition towards formality were marked by its standalone position. It expressed reservations on non-accommodation of its concerns on not dovetailing the standards set in the convention and other resolutions to national laws and practices, assessment driven on evidence-based data, payment during work withdrawal based on the capacity of the employers and other amendments fully stood in the way of implementation, signalling its intent of, not ratifying the convention.
Even in the course of discussions in the three committees, several amendments were moved by India many of which did not even get secondments. Several of the proposed amendments were withdrawn and some were not adopted as they lacked support. Most of the amendments even though were said to be moved to defend the micro small and medium enterprises and self-employed, were in fact pro-employer and pro-corporates. Most secondments were from Iran and USA while some were by the employers’ group and UK.
India moved 56 amendments to the draft text of convention on biological hazards of which only one was adopted, 40 were withdrawn, 11 did not have secondment and 4 were not adopted. On the draft text of recommendation India moved 10 amendments of which only 2 were adopted, one did not get secondment and 7 were withdrawn. All three adopted amendments of India only enable the employers to evade the responsibility in case of biological hazards, and are detrimental to the interest of the workers. India had also not replied to the questionnaire on biological hazards sent by ILO in 2024 itself. These stances of the Indian government reveal the anti-labour and anti-people, pro- corporate governance at the centre in India and its policy of appeasement of employers.
ILC ADVISORY TO GOVT OF INDIA
The conference adopting the credentials committee report, has advised the Government of India to comply with the Article 3(5) of ILO constitution in future representation to ILC. The report noted that India has violated the Article 3(5) of the constitution of ILO by denying representation to INTUC, and restricting the participation of a worker representative for continuous three ILC’s without the consent of the central trade unions and denying representation to the woman adviser nominated by CITU in the workers group from India.
The issues concerning the complaint to the credentials committee by the joint platform of ten CTU’s regarding violation of Article 3(5) of the constitution of ILO in composition of advisers in the workers group and denial to accommodate CITU nominated women adviser by the Government of India, union busting and victimisation of workers leaders against the ILO Convention on right to Freedom of Association by Samsung India management in India, and joint platform of CTU’s opinion on Employment linked Incentive (ELI) in not promoting formality were raised by CITU representative in the workers group meeting of the ILC. Prior to this, advisers representing CITU and HMS also made a complaint to the credentials committee regarding the violations in composition of workers group attaching the Joint central trade unions complaint.
The ILO Secretary General in his opening address noted that the world was not better than what it was a year ago. But in the closing address he noted that the world as on the closing day of ILC was worse than that was during the opening of the 113th ILC with the attack of Israel on Iran.
The worldwide ongoing movement of working class and the masses of people combined with the inter-imperialist contradictions, assertions of African, Latin American nations and Gulf countries council and emerging multipolarity underpinned the 113th ILC. This marked feature enabled the adoption of the convention and recommendation on biological hazards, resolution on platform economy, transition towards formality along with historic resolution on Palestine according it non-member observer status in spite of tough positions and class assertions by the employer groups combined with backing by imperialist USA, UK, Japan including India and few others, through tough negotiations and compromises.
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