He was speaking at an Informal meeting of employment and social affairs ministers (EPSCO), chaired by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. He participated in the second Plenary meeting which discussed social convergence and social justice beyond the EU borders.

Houngbo told the meeting that post-pandemic economic and social recovery remains incomplete and warned that both new and existing inequalities are eroding progress towards greater social justice for all.

He also briefed the Ministers about the ILO’s report World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024. The report estimates that an extra two million workers will be looking for jobs this year and finds that the global jobs gap – which measures the unmet need for employment – stood at 435 million at the end of 2023. Last year, real wages have declined in the majority of G20 countries as wage increases have failed to keep pace with inflation.

He stressed the need to re-establish trust in institutions, including by ensuring socially just digital and green transitions, and by putting social justice back at the centre of policy-making. “Many people around the world, including here in Europe, have lost trust in their institutions. They look wearily to a future that is fraught with uncertainties that have the potential of threatening their livelihoods and the future of their children,” he said.

He called on the EU and its Member States to support the Global Coalition for Social Justice, an inclusive, multi-stakeholder initiative that was endorsed by the ILO’s Governing Body last November and which the ILO is spearheading. Belgium and Germany have already agreed to join the Coalition.

To reduce and prevent inequalities in the world of work, the ILO prioritises policies that promote both distribution and redistribution, rights, opportunities and outcomes, as well as decent work for all workers, irrespective of their gender or social status, including informal workers. “Our response for social justice also includes the Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transition, a powerful mechanism to ensure that the SDGs are achieved across the world,” Houngbo said.

The EU sees the promotion of labour and social rights worldwide as key to preserving its social model in the long term, and regards greater policy coherence at global level as an essential component of this. It already uses its trade policy and partnerships for development cooperation to promote international labour standards and decent work. This includes recent EU legislative initiatives to foster responsible business conduct in supply chains to tackle inadequate working conditions worldwide.

The ministers also discussed ways to foster social progress in EU membership candidate countries. The employment ministers of two EU candidate countries, Ukraine and Moldova, addressed the meeting.