European Union 

Statement 

International Labour Conference
113^th session

 (2^nd June – 13^th June 2025) 

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Standard-Setting Committee: 

Realizing Decent Work in the Platform Economy

Closing Statement – ILC Plenary

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Geneva, 13 June 2025

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EU Closing Statement at the ILC Plenary

Standard-Setting Committee: Platform Economy

Geneva, 13 June 2025

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania[1], Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this statement.

1. The Conclusions we just adopted are a small but important step in promoting decent work in a growing part of our economies, the platform economy. We underline the hard work of all tripartite constituents and welcome the fact that a spirit of consensus allowed us to conclude work in the early hours of Thursday, and that we could agree on the most important elements, including the form of the instrument, definitions, and the scope.

2. The platform economy offers significant potential to create employment opportunities - particularly for individuals who may otherwise face barriers to entering the labour market. However, it is essential to ensure that these jobs are held to the same decent work standards as other forms of employment, and that we pursue a human centered approach in line with the fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards. 

3. The discussions over the past two weeks were not always easy, and we would have appreciated a more efficient process. While we regret that we did not manage to discuss all substantive points in the proposed Convention, we believe that we have held valuable and informative discussions that have allowed us to accelerate our deliberations towards the end of the week. We believe that we have laid the ground for further constructive discussions and for this, we would like to warmly thank all constituents. 

4. As we have not managed to advance as quickly as we would have hoped, we would find it useful if the Office could kindly assist us with organizing intersessional meetings with all constituents to help further approximate divergences on certain points and allow us to arrive well-prepared for more fruitful  negotiations in June 2026.  

5. At the halfway stage, let me be clear about where we stand. The EU and its Member States want to see a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation adopted that protects workers and promotes decent work. However, we also need an instrument that can actually be implemented by ILO member states. 

6. It therefore needs to have sufficient flexibility in the allocation of rights and obligations for workers with different statuses of employment concerning remuneration, social security and non-fundamental aspects of occupational safety and health. We’d like to underline that this is a key priority for the EU and its Member States and we expect it to be reflected appropriately in the brown report. 

7. We’d like to highlight some of the elements which we consider important to reflect in the Convention supplemented by the Recommendation: 

8. First and foremost, as fundamental principles and rights at work are universal human rights, every worker has the right to enjoy them regardless of their status in employment or whether they are in the formal or informal economy.

   1. Second, we would like to reaffirm our view that the correct classification of workers is essential, and we welcome the emphasis on the primacy of facts in determining employment relationships. 

   2. Third, we stress the importance of ensuring transparency, accountability, and safeguards in the use of automated systems. Algorithmic management can offer efficiencies, but it must not come at the expense of workers’ right. There should be robust safeguards in place to protect personal data and major decisions affecting workers should always involve human review.

9. With these considerations in mind, we are looking forward to finalising this important work next year and to working towards a new Convention supplemented by a Recommendation. 

10. Finally, we thank you, Chair, for overseeing these discussions. We also thank the Vice-Chairs of the Employers’ and Workers’ Groups as well as our colleagues from all the regions on the Government benches for the fruitful contributions that allowed us to lay the ground for a common understanding of this crucial matter. We appreciate the Office’s tireless support and guidance, and the interpreters for an excellent job in facilitating our work.

Thank you, Chair.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.