ILO Urges Coordination Between Trade Rules and Workers’ Rights as Digital Work Grows

Around 70% of agreements containing those provisions refer to the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, giving international labour standards a prominent place in trade relationships.

Trade agreements can do more than open markets; their labour provisions can help countries put international commitments on workers' rights into practice. The International Labour Organization brought that message to a high-level conference examining how trade rules should respond to an increasingly unsettled global economy.

Speaking at New trade rules for a disorderly world, ILO Senior Economist Marva Corley-Coulibaly highlighted the growing role of labour provisions and the need for closer coordination between policies governing trade and work. The conference was co-organized by the European Trade Union Confederation, the European Trade Union Institute and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Labour Commitments Are Becoming Part of Trade Policy

About one in three trade agreements notified to the World Trade Organization now includes labour provisions. Around 70% of agreements containing those provisions refer to the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, giving international labour standards a prominent place in trade relationships.

These provisions create additional incentives for countries to fulfil commitments they have already accepted. They can help mobilize resources for changes to legislation, stronger institutions, capacity-building and social dialogue, supporting the practical work needed to turn commitments into protections. The ILO worked with Viet Nam and its social partners on labour law reform, the ratification and implementation of fundamental Conventions, and efforts to strengthen institutions and social dialogue.

Digital Trade Raises Questions About Informal Work

Services are the fastest-growing part of trade, and employment in the sector is also expanding. Digital platforms can lower barriers to international markets, creating opportunities for workers and small enterprises that previously struggled to reach customers across borders.

A large share of this work remains informal in many countries, raising questions about the kind of employment those opportunities create. Corley-Coulibaly asked whether platforms provide a viable route into formal employment or simply move the informal economy online.

Answering that question requires policies to work together. A single economic activity can fall under trade, labour, investment, enterprise and digital rules, but discussions about those rules often take place separately. That separation makes it harder to address the connections between market access, business activity and working conditions.

Platform Work Requires Cooperation Across Borders

The ILO's new Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy, No. 193, reflects the international labour framework's response to these changes. It covers both location-based platform work and work performed online.

The accompanying resolution recognizes that some digital labour platforms operate across national borders, making cooperation between Member States particularly relevant to implementing the Convention.

Corley-Coulibaly's message was that policy frameworks need to keep pace with the changing relationship between trade and labour. As more work reaches across borders through digital markets, governments need to connect decisions about trade with the institutions and standards that protect workers.