RESOLUTION #10: CALLING ON THE ILO TO WORK WITH PUBLIC SERVICE UNIONS TO ADVANCE LABOUR RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN SOUTH ASIA

The 15th Asia Pacific Regional Conference (APRECON) Meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, 8 - 11 September 2025

CONCERNED that many ILO Member States in South Asia have demonstrated a consistent failure to ratify and effectively implement ILO Conventions - despite having voted in favour of their adoption at International Labour Conferences;

ALARMED that these governments often prioritise the interests of employers over those of workers, undermining the very principles of social justice and decent work that underpin the ILO’s mandate. This failure not only denies workers their fundamental rights but also weakens democratic governance and inclusive development across the region;

RECOGNISES that workers across South Asia continue to generate the wealth of their nations under precarious and often exploitative conditions, while being denied internationally recognised labour standards and protections;

DEPLORES the widespread violation of labour rights of public service workers across South Asia. In many countries, these workers - who deliver essential services such as healthcare, education, energy, sanitation, and social protection - are denied the right to organise, bargain collectively, and strike. Many are subject to precarious contracts, wage suppression, and reprisals for union activity. These conditions contradict the ILO’s commitment to universal and indivisible core labour standards;

INSISTS that the ILO must promote and protect the fundamental rights of all public service workers, and that governments must guarantee freedom of association, collective bargaining, and decent working conditions in the public sector as a matter of urgency and international obligation;

NOTES WITH ALARM the growing concentration of global wealth and power in the hands of billionaires and transnational corporations, whose influence over economic policy and public services undermines democratic governance, fuels austerity, and drives inequality;

RECOGNISES that this corporate capture erodes the ability of states to provide quality public services, and increasingly leads to the commodification of essential services such as water, energy, education, and healthcare, leaving workers and communities vulnerable;

INSISTS that the ILO Country Offices in South Asia take proactive steps to raise these concerns directly with their respective governments, advocating for the immediate ratification and full implementation of key ILO Conventions, particularly those relating to freedom of association, collective bargaining, decent work, gender equality, and social protection;

CALLS UPON the ILO Country Offices to provide technical and political support to trade unions in their efforts to promote ratification and enforcement, and to ensure that governments are held accountable to their commitments under international labour standards;

INSISTS that the ILO Country Offices uphold the commitment to tripartism and by involving unions in every dialogue and activity with employers, including national and sub-national governments as employers. To this end, engage the Sub-Regional Office of Public Services International (PSI) in all activities with governments in the region and support coordinated advocacy and monitoring across South Asia; 

RESOLVES to strengthen regional union coordination to demand accountability from ILO Member States in South Asia and to continue campaigning for the full ratification and implementation of all ILO Conventions that protect and advance workers' rights, including Convention 151;

FURTHER RESOLVES that the only path to reversing extreme global wealth inequality is through the power of a strong, democratic, and united trade union movement who can fight back against the growing influence of the billionaire class, defend our public services and win labour rights and social justice for working people everywhere.

Submitted by Confederation of Public Service Independent Trade Unions