The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, concluded his participation in the World Government Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he called on governments to place people, rights and institutions at the centre of economic transformation, warning that growth without decent work risks deepening inequality and social fragmentation.
During the Summit, which runs from 3-5 February, Houngbo held a series of high-level bilateral meetings, including with the Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajic and UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar. Discussions focused on labour-market reforms, skills development, labour protection systems and the governance challenges arising from rapid economic and technological change, particularly in highly diverse and migrant worker-dependent labour markets.
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Across high-level panels and ministerial discussions, the Director-General stressed that effective labour-market governance is essential to ensure that digitalisation, green transitions and new forms of work translate into productivity, resilience and opportunity for all.
"The future of work does not simply happen. It is shaped by the choices governments, employers and workers make together," Director-General Houngbo said at the conclusion of his engagement in the Summit. "As economic transformation accelerates, the test is whether our institutions can turn change into decent work and shared prosperity. Strong labour governance is not a barrier to growth; it is what makes growth inclusive and resilient."
Governing labour markets to deliver transformation
Speaking at the Summit's Future of Work Forum in a session on how countries are governing increasingly dynamic and digital labour markets, Houngbo noted that governments are no longer only regulators of employment, but architects of labour-market systems that must balance innovation with inclusion and competitiveness with protection.
He emphasized that modern labour governance must move beyond job-centred approaches towards worker-centred systems, where rights, social protection, skills development and workers' voices accompany people across increasingly diverse and mobile careers, including in platform and digitally managed work.
The Director-General also highlighted the growing importance of transparency, accountability and fairness in algorithmic management and digital workplaces, stressing that innovation must operate within a framework of rights and responsibilities rather than creating new regulatory gaps.
Partnerships and the post-2030 development agenda
At a ministerial roundtable held during the Summit, Houngbo warned that the world remains off track on the Sustainable Development Goals and argued that the post-2030 agenda must move away from fragmented initiatives towards long-term, strategic partnerships capable of delivering measurable social and economic outcomes.
Houngbo stressed that future development cooperation must be people-centred, rights-based and anchored in international labour standards and social dialogue. He also stressed that partnerships should function as platforms for policy coherence, aligning labour, economic, social and environmental objectives in a context of fiscal constraints and growing global uncertainty.
Rethinking the future of work
In his contribution to a discussion on future trends in the world of work, Houngbo addressed how digitalisation and artificial intelligence are reshaping jobs, skills and organisations, and why outcomes remain a matter of choice rather than inevitability.
He noted that while technology can boost productivity, it also risks widening inequality if productivity gains are not shared, labour protections are not extended to new forms of work, and access to lifelong learning remains uneven. He argued that skills development must become a permanent entitlement attached to workers, supported by strong institutions, active labour-market policies and social dialogue.
The Director-General's engagement at the Summit took place in the context of the United Arab Emirates' growing role as a global convenor on future-oriented governance. He noted that the UAE's experience as a highly diversified economy reinforces its role as a leader of global digital transformation and innovation.
Director-General Houngbo reiterated the ILO's readiness to work with governments, employers and workers to ensure that labour market reforms support innovation while advancing decent work and social justice - the ILO's founding mandate.
