By Dr. Gyan Pathak
The world of work is at a crossroads. Global economic, social, technological and environmental transformations are rapidly reshaping the world of work deepening inequalities and job insecurity with destabilizing change that is leaving millions without stable livelihoods or basic protection.
The new assessment by International Labour Organization released just before the Second World Summit for Social Development, to be held in Doha, Qatar, on 4-6 November 2025, warns that the changes are testing the resilience of social and economic systems across the globe, and calls for a new social contract to overcome the new challenges. Without action, existing inequalities are likely to worsen, particularly for workers in informal, temporary, or low-waged jobs, it warns.
The report has come as about 14,000 attendees – including Heads of State and Government, ministers, employers’ groups, civil society organizations and youth representatives – prepare to gather in Doha. “Everyone deserves an equal chance at quality jobs and shared prosperity. Let us come together again – to deliver fair, inclusive and lasting progress for people everywhere,” ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo has urged governments to act with ambition and unity.
The assessment report titled “The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development” has underlined persistent deficits in decent work, insecure employment, widening pay gaps and the erosion of labour rights are compounded by climate change, rapid technological transformation, demographic shifts and weakening multilateral cooperation. Consequently, the current social contracts in place in many countries are increasingly falling short in protecting workers or delivering social justice to their people.
Global workers’ insecurity remains high, the report says. In 2024, the world faced a persistent deficit of 402.4 million jobs, with 58.2 per cent of workers in informal employment and rising working poverty. Social protection systems remain limited, covering only47 per cent of the global population, with large disparities in both scope and adequacy, leaving over four billion people without any form of coverage. Additionally, millions of workers are getting wages less than the minimum wages, while the existing minimum wages fail to meet the basic needs for survival.
The report presents the perspectives, experiences and solutions of trade unions worldwide, as expressed at a series of regional and global conferences convened by the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) throughout 2024 and 2025 in preparation for the Second World Summit for Social Development. The report provides a comprehensive call by workers’ representatives to renew the social contract, placing decent work, rights and inclusion at its centre, while ensuring the agility needed to navigate rapid and complex societal transformations.
Significance of the report lies in the fact that thirty years after the first World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, and in light of the forthcoming second summit in Doha, trade unions have taken stock of the progress and setbacks on the commitments made in 1995: to eradicate poverty, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, and advance inclusive social development. While undeniable progress has been made, the world remains far from these goals. Nearly 700 million people still live in extreme poverty, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in 2024, informality and exclusion continue to dominate labour markets, and inequalities, both within and between countries, are widening.
The current global poly-crisis, driven by technological disruptions, climate change, demographic shifts, geopolitical tensions, and weakening multilateralism, has further exposed the fragility of our social and economic systems. Decent work deficits persist, democratic space is shrinking, and too often employment is treated as a by-product of growth rather than as its driving force. Workers’ organisations therefore reaffirm that what is needed today is not merely reform, but renewal, a renewed social contract anchored in rights, grounded in justice, and centred on people.
The report says that decent work and labour rights are foundational. Freedom of association, collective bargaining and protection against discrimination, child labour and forced labour are non-negotiable pillars of social justice. Weak enforcement and legislative gaps must be addressed to safeguard workers globally.
Economic governance must serve people it emphasized. Current economic policies often treat employment as a by-product of economic growth. Trade unions call for a shift towards pro-employment macroeconomic frameworks, coherent trade policies, responsible international financial interventions and development cooperation that aligns with the ILO Decent Work Agenda. Furthermore, social protection, fair taxation and corporate accountability are essential to financing sustainable social investment.
Technological and climate transitions require just and inclusive strategies the report says. Rapid digitalisation, artificial intelligence and climate change pose both risks and opportunities. Trade unions stress that transitions must be human-centred, combining reskilling, social protection and worker participation to ensure that no one is left behind, and that vulnerable communities, particularly women, youth, migrant workers and those in the informal economy, benefit from these transitions.
The report underlined the requirement of tailored solutions for Local realities. Child labour, informal work, precarious employment, wage insecurity, gender discrimination and systemic exclusion remain widespread. Regional examples, from Africa to Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, the Arab States and Europe, illustrate that context-specific solutions such as sectoral agreements, minimum and living wages, and formalisation of informal work can protect workers and promote social cohesion.
Trade unions are transforming to remain relevant it observed. By prioritising inclusion, building economic expertise, forging alliances and embracing digital tools, unions can better shape policies, protect rights and drive social progress across borders, the report emphasized.
Maria Helena André, Director of ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities, said that the report aims to convey workers’ voices, experiences, and solutions as a contribution to shaping the Summit’s outcomes and the development agenda beyond 2030.
Presenting a new vision for the future, the report says that renewing the social contract is not merely a reformist endeavour; it requires putting decent work and labour rights at the forefront of economic and social policies and ensuring that those policies reach all in society through strengthening institutions capable of navigating an era of complex global transitions. Trade unions are indispensable actors in this process, it said, advocating for a human-centred, just and resilient world of work. (IPA Service)
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