Indian Business Leaders Explore AI, Heat Stress and the Future of Work at the ILO

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Indian business leaders explored how emerging technologies, climate pressures and new forms of employment are reshaping the decisions employers face during a visit to the International Labour Organization's Bureau for Employers' Activities. Organized through the Advanced Global Leadership Program of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), the visit brought participants into direct conversation with ILO specialists about developments affecting enterprises and their workforces. Discussions covered artificial intelligence, digitalization, just transition and heat stress, allowing the delegation to examine these issues through the everyday concerns of running businesses and managing people.

Bringing employers into the conversation

Welcoming the delegation, Maria Paz Anzorreguy, Director of the ILO Bureau for Employers' Activities, stressed the importance of bringing employers' perspectives into discussions about the future of work. The exchange gave business leaders space to consider how global developments relate to their own organizations, where changes in technology, working conditions and employment arrangements can influence business operations and workforce decisions. For participants, the visit offered a setting to discuss the responsibilities and questions facing enterprises as the world of work changes, with employers' experiences forming an essential part of that conversation.

ILO employers' specialists introduced the Organization's role and current agenda, opening a lively discussion about its continued relevance and its response to emerging challenges. Participants explored how the ILO's work connects with the issues enterprises are encountering, moving from an overview of the institution to a broader exchange about the changing nature of employment. The discussion allowed the delegation to examine the relationship between international labour debates and business concerns, and to consider how an organization focused on the world of work is responding to developments that affect employers across different sectors.

Technology and climate pressures shape business decisions

Artificial intelligence and digitalization featured among the issues discussed, placing technological change alongside the pressures associated with just transition and heat stress. Bringing these subjects into the same exchange reflected the range of developments employers need to understand as they consider the future of their enterprises. Participants had an opportunity to examine their implications for business operations and employment, with the conversation centred on what these changes mean from an employers' perspective. The programme created room for leaders to explore issues that reach beyond any single workplace and increasingly feature in wider discussions about work.

Platform work opens another area for dialogue

The recently adopted Convention No. 193 on decent work in the platform economy formed another part of the discussion, with ILO specialists presenting some of its key provisions and explaining their relevance for employers. Its inclusion allowed participants to consider platform work within the broader conversation about evolving employment arrangements and enterprise responsibilities. The visit strengthened dialogue between SCOPE and the ILO Bureau for Employers' Activities, providing a foundation for continued exchanges on emerging issues affecting businesses. That continuing connection offers a way to keep employers' perspectives present as discussions about technology, climate pressures and employment develop.