Retail’s Digital Shift Puts Worker Safety at the Centre of New ILO Recommendations

Governments are called on to strengthen labour inspection, safety and health data, institutional capacity and social protection, and introduce measures addressing extreme weather.

The technologies changing how shops, warehouses and distribution services operate are also changing the pressures workers face, making safety an essential part of decisions about the sector's future. Representatives of governments, employers and workers have adopted conclusions to strengthen occupational safety and health (OSH) in retail following an International Labour Organization (ILO) technical meeting in Geneva from 28 September to 2 October. Covering retail enterprises and work arrangements, including warehousing and distribution, the conclusions reaffirm that a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work that applies to every worker.

Giving workers a voice in technological change

Artificial intelligence, automated systems and other digital tools can improve productivity, make tasks safer and strengthen risk assessments and training, but their effects depend on how they are designed and used. Participants recognised that these technologies can create or increase risks through greater work intensity, monitoring and decisions that affect workers' daily lives.

The conclusions address privacy, data protection and potential bias, alongside the need for human involvement in reviewing decisions. They recognise enterprises' responsibilities for investment and operations and call for early, effective consultation with workers when technological changes could affect their safety and health.

Vera Paquete-Perdigão, Director of the ILO's Governance and Sectoral Policies Department and Secretary-General of the meeting, described the conclusions as a framework for bringing innovation and sustainable enterprises together with effective worker protection. That approach gives social dialogue between governments, employers and workers an important role in managing technological change, with prevention built into discussions about new systems and working methods. Worker consultation can bring practical experience into those discussions, helping identify concerns about how technology affects workloads, monitoring and safety.

Looking beyond physical hazards in retail workplaces

Preventing harm sits at the centre of the conclusions, supported by risk assessments, a high standard of protection and the hierarchy of controls, which prioritises removing hazards or controlling them at their source. The priorities extend to psychosocial hazards associated with workload, staffing levels, working time, monitoring and organisational change, recognising that the way work is organised can affect health. Violence and harassment, including incidents involving third parties, are also identified as concerns, with equality and non-discrimination forming part of safety management. Women's significant representation in retail makes a gender perspective essential to OSH policies and assessments of workplace risks.

Smaller businesses need practical help to put these protections into everyday use, and the conclusions call for information, training and technical or financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Extending occupational safety and health services to the informal economy is another priority, linked to efforts to bring businesses and workers into formal arrangements. These measures recognise that stronger protection requires accessible support for enterprises and workers across the sector, including those who may lack the resources or services available in larger, formal workplaces.

Turning the conclusions into everyday protection

Governments are called on to strengthen labour inspection, safety and health data, institutional capacity and social protection, and introduce measures addressing extreme weather. Employers' and workers' organisations are expected to promote prevention, provide useful tools to their members and engage through social dialogue, collective bargaining and workplace cooperation. These responsibilities connect national systems with decisions made inside workplaces, giving the conclusions a practical route into the daily management of retail operations.

Building on the ILO's 2023 technical meeting on digitalisation in retail, the organisation will promote ratification and effective implementation of relevant international labour standards, support social dialogue and strengthen training and institutional capabilities. Its work will help governments, employers and workers collect, analyse and use retail-specific safety data, develop and regularly update sectoral tools and training materials, and systematically share good practices and case studies, including examples of social dialogue. The focus is on making prevention a lasting part of how retail adapts to technological, organisational and environmental change.