International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo welcomed the G7 Labour and Employment Ministers' commitment to promoting quality jobs and strengthening decent work as a means of safeguarding fair competition and economic resilience.
The Minister of Labour and Solidarity of France, Jean-Pierre Farandou, convened a meeting of G7 Ministers responsible for labour and employment, together with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, on the margins of the International Labour Conference at the headquarters of the International Labour Organization.
In his opening address, Houngbo highlighted the profound uncertainties, significant imbalances, and rapid technological changes reshaping labour markets. He stressed that "economic transformation must go hand in hand with social justice."
The Director-General welcomed the adoption of concrete initiatives aimed at strengthening decent work, including the endorsement and dissemination of the G7 Toolkit for Standards-Based Criteria to Identify Risks of Forced Labour in the Extraction of Critical Minerals.
"As the demand for critical minerals rises, we face the risk of an increase in forced labour and other forms of labour exploitation," Houngbo said. "The critical minerals that underpin the economies of the future must be grounded in decent work and respect for fundamental principles and rights at work."
The Director-General also commended the French Presidency's efforts to promote fair recruitment for migrant workers through the dissemination of a dedicated toolkit designed to help governments and enterprises prevent recruitment-related abuses and reduce workers' vulnerability to exploitation.
The G7 Labour and Employment Ministers concluded their discussions by reaffirming the importance of promoting quality jobs and strengthening decent work as foundations for resilient economies and for maintaining a global level playing field that upholds labour rights. They also agreed to advance cooperation on skills development for artificial intelligence through a new "G7 AI Training Hub," improve labour market participation across all age groups, and further efforts to support labour mobility and career progression.
