The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is pushing for a major shift in how global economic policies are designed, insisting that job quality and workers’ earnings must move to the centre of advice given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
In a statement presented to the Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee at the 2026 Annual Meetings, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo argued that lasting economic stability cannot be achieved without social justice.
Houngbo said growth models must ensure that increased output, particularly gains driven by artificial intelligence, result in higher pay, better workplace conditions and more robust social protection.
According to the ILO, global labour markets appear steady on the surface, but underlying cracks are widening. The organisation pointed to slow hiring, falling real wages, entrenched informal work and worsening conditions as signs of hidden strain.
Houngbo stressed that how productivity is shared is as important as productivity itself.
“Productivity growth is the foundation of rising living standards, but its benefits depend on where productivity gains occur and on how they are distributed between capital and labour, among enterprises, and among workers,” he wrote.
The intervention comes as the world economy faces fresh headwinds, from elevated prices of energy, food and fertiliser connected to the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict, to shipping disruptions, a resurgence in inflation and mounting public debt.
The ILO noted that the impact is being felt beyond job losses, with low-income families, informal and migrant workers, youths and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises bearing the heaviest burden.
It disclosed that about 2.1 billion people, representing 58 per cent of all workers globally, are still trapped in informal employment, adding that efforts to reduce informality have lost momentum.
The UN labour agency is now calling on the IMF to broaden its economic assessments to include how productivity gains are shared, the effects of market concentration, and the quality of employment, both in its regular policy advice and in programme design where applicable.
