ILO Research

20/08/2026

🌏 How can trade and investment contribute more effectively to decent work and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific?

This week in Colombo, the ILO is bringing together representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations from across the region for the Regional Seminar on Trade, Investment and Decent Work: Fostering Development in Asia-Pacific.

Through presentations, case studies and tripartite dialogue, participants are examining how trade and investment policies can deliver better outcomes for workers and enterprises, while identifying practical opportunities for stronger policy coherence, social dialogue and regional cooperation.

📍 Colombo, Sri Lanka
📅 18–21 August 2026

International Labour Organization

17/08/2026

🌡️ High temperatures are linked to increased worker mortality in Colombia, with some occupations facing substantially greater risks than others.

A new ILO working paper examines the relationship between heat exposure and occupational mortality using mortality, weather and labour force data covering 297 municipalities across Colombia.

The study finds particularly high risks among agricultural workers, assemblers, health associate professionals and teaching professionals, while also highlighting important differences by s*x and occupation.

The findings reinforce the need for stronger workplace prevention, adaptation measures and social protection as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of high temperatures.

📄 Read more about the findings and access the working paper: https://tinyurl.com/2e9m5kjm

12/08/2026

Young people are facing a tougher path into decent work.

The ILO’s new Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026 finds youth unemployment rising globally, while 257 million young people are now outside employment, education or training.

The report calls for renewed investment in decent jobs, skills, social protection and stronger labour market institutions to help young people navigate an increasingly uncertain world of work.

04/08/2026

Green transitions can create new jobs and new opportunities.

But better outcomes are not automatic. Skills matter, and so do the wider choices that shape fairness and job quality.

Read more: https://ow.ly/kfuU50YUsBb

27/07/2026

People keep learning long after they leave formal education. They build skills at work, in families, in communities and through everyday life.

The challenge is that support for that learning is still too fragmented and too uneven.

Read more: https://ow.ly/py1s50YUsl4

21/07/2026

What skills will matter most in the AI era?

New International Labour Organization research suggests the answer is not only technical AI expertise.

Foundational cognitive, socio-emotional and digital skills will be central to helping workers adapt, use new technologies and access quality jobs.

🔗 Read more: https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/old-skills-new-technologies

03/07/2026

🩺 Can a general-purpose AI tool improve doctors’ clinical reasoning?

A new ILO study involving physicians in Indonesia, Kenya and the Netherlands finds average performance gains, but also uneven results.

Access alone is not enough. Effective use also depends on training, safeguards and human expertise.

Read more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4vG1G4j

24/06/2026

What could AI mean for an entire economy, not just individual jobs?

Poland is the first country to apply a new World Bank Group–ILO framework assessing AI’s impact on growth, firms, employment and living standards.

🔗 Read Paweł Gmyrek’s article on the subject: https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/how-measure-economy-wide-impact-ai
📘 Full report: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099061826172092709

18/06/2026

A landmark step for decent work in the digital economy.

The International Labour Conference has adopted Convention No. 193, the first international labour standard dedicated to decent work in the platform economy.

It calls for stronger protections for platform workers, including fundamental rights at work, fair payment, occupational safety and health, social security, data protection, and safeguards around algorithms and automated decisions.

Adopted by governments, employers and workers at , the Convention shows the power of tripartism to shape the future of work.

Learn more: https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/ilc/ilc114/international-labour-conference-ends-adoption-first-convention-decent-work

The 114th International Labour Conference concluded on 12 June with the adoption of the first international labour standards aimed at improving working conditions for millions of people who earn their living through digital labour platforms.

The new Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy represents a landmark step in global efforts to ensure that technological innovation and new business models go hand in hand with workers’ rights, fair competition and sustainable economic growth.

Read more: https://ow.ly/NoG550ZcfxA

02/06/2026

The opening session of this year’s International Labour Conference took place today at UN Geneva.

From the first plenary moments to delegates gathering from
around the world, here’s a closer look at Day 1 of .

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Photo: ILO