(GB. 353/PFA/1: P&B proposals for 2026-27)
(March 10, 2025)
(PART 1: Executive overview and draft decision on budget level)
Thank you, Mr. Chair, I am speaking on behalf of ASPAG.
1. We commend the Office for preparing the DG’s P&B proposals for 2026-27, which serves as a strategic blueprint for the next biennium. We also thank the Office for organizing informal inter-session consultations.
2. The world today is still facing complex situation. Globalization, geopolitical competition, climate change, technological advancement and demographic shifts present both unprecedented opportunities and potential challenges to the world of work. Despite progress, substantial efforts are still required to address persistent decent work deficits. More innovative and effective actions are urgently needed to accelerate the stalled progress towards the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3. In this demanding context, ASPAG fully supports the ILO to play a leading role in the world of work and requests the Office to adhere closely to the guidance of the ILO Constitution and its four landmark declarations, uphold tripartism and multilateralism and adopt a human-centered approach to achieve social justice and decent work.
4. ASPAG welcomes the vision of a renewed social contract and supports the design of the P&B to accelerate transformative action for social justice. The P&B should prioritize driving full, freely chosen and productive employment and ensuring decent work for all, serving as a tangible vehicle to operationalize the ILO’s Strategic Plan for 2026-29.
5. ASPAG agrees with the proposed programme framework, which builds on the consolidation of the past experience while adapting to new realities. We welcome the continuity of the policy outcomes 1-7, which are designed to support the constituents in developing and adapting policies to advance social justice and promote decent work. We appreciate the Office’s incorporation of our request at the previous GB sessions to provide technical assistance to member states on international labour standards, in line with the Singapore Statement of the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, as reflected in the executive overview. The introduction of the innovative policy outcome 8 is a timely response to the growing impact of the digitalization including AI, which injects new impetus into the world of work. We encourage the Office to harness the benefits of the digitalization while mitigating its potential negative impact. ASPAG also appreciates that the Office has reviewed and reorganized the initial outcome setting into outcomes 8 and 9, eliminating duplication and enhancing clarity.
6. Chair, enhancing policy coherence across multilateral organizations and within the ILO is essential to achieving greater coordination and synergies. This can be achieved through initiatives such as the Coalition, the consolidation of the priority action programmes, and other major multi-stakeholder initiatives. Such efforts will ensure a more unified and effective approach to addressing global challenges.
7. ASPAG supports the ILO in consolidating its leadership role in advancing social justice as a global priority. The decentralization of development cooperation resources to the regions is a positive step towards optimizing the ILO’s operations and service delivery. We encourage the Office to tailor development cooperation efforts to the specific needs and contexts of different countries, ensuring they address the diverse needs of the constituents. The efficiency, effectiveness and agility of the ILO’s operation must be underpinned by transparent, responsive, and accountable governance mechanisms.
8. We welcome the Office’s efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion through the new Human Resources Strategy. However, we note with concern the persistent under-representation of staff from many member states and lack of information on envisaged measures to make changes. In particular we regret to see the Asia Pacific region only records a 1.7% increase of number of staff last year, which is the lowest among all 5 regions and even lower than the increase at Headquarters. With this, we reiterate the extreme importance of achieving a fair and equitable geographical distribution of staffing among countries and regions. Therefore, we request the Office to develop a concrete roadmap and detailed programme with clear actions and timelines. This should be integrated into the P&B and the new HR Strategy with a stand-alone output under Enabling Outcome B. We look forward to hearing the Office’s response at the current GB session.
9. With ASPAG representing 60% of the global working population, we propose that the Office take into consideration the size of each region’s working populations when allocating the regular budget to regions. We welcome the tailoring of programmes to regional and national priorities. We request the Office’s rational explanation on geographical imbalances in extrabudgetary resource distribution. We support a focus on decent work and social justice and also emphasize the importance of employment promotion, social security, skills development, formalization, entrepreneurship, new quality productivity, sustainable enterprises.
10. ASPAG appreciates the Office's commitment to improving budgetary efficiency and commends the efficiency gains of US 16.6 million. However, we note the proposed real-term increase of 0.4% and a nominal increase of 1.7% over the previous financial period’s budget. It is indicated that a significant portion of this increase is attributed to rising conference rental costs, which creates a clear contradiction with claims of reduced printing and travel costs.
11. Given that many member states are facing economic downturns and constraints on public finance, we urge the Office to make every effort to maintain a nominal “zero-growth”. We encourage the Office to intensify its fiscal efforts to offset cost increases by adjusting expenditures for possible reductions, increasing savings, redeploying resources more prudently, trying every means to reduce conference cost, and exploring more possible extra-budgetary channels. These steps will enhance efficiency, effectiveness and value for money. We request the Office to further adjust the budget and reduce the total amount by strengthening these efforts. The proposed new positions’ functions should be fulfilled through reallocation of existing personnel or implementation of technology-driven solutions. We also request the Office to continue prioritizing efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of the adopted budget.
12. At this stage, we would like to hear the views of other GB members, as well as the Office’s response and reaction, before proceeding to the second sitting of our discussion for a final decision.
I thank you, Mr. Chair.