The 113th Session of the International Labour Conference ran from 1-13 June 2025 and brought together Government, employer and worker delegates from the ILO’s 187 Member States to address key workplace matters. On the agenda for this years’ conference was new international standards on the protection of workers against biological hazards in the workplace, decent work in the platform economy and innovative approaches to promoting transitions from the informal to the formal economy. We outline the key takeaways from the conference below.  

A new Convention with an accompanying Recommendation was adopted at the conference aimed at preventing exposure to, and protecting workers from, biological hazards in the workplace. The Convention is a legally binding international treaty, while the Recommendation is a set of non-binding guidelines. 

The ‘Convention concerning prevention and protection against biological hazards in the working environment’ calls on Member States to formulate national policies and adopt measures on occupational safety and health that include the prevention and protection against biological hazards, and the development of preparedness and response measures to deal with accidents and emergencies. It requires employers to adopt preventive and protective measures, in collaboration with workers, who must also be informed and trained on the hazards and risks. 

The accompanying Recommendation provides detailed guidance on implementation, including risk assessment, early warning systems, preparedness, and response measures (for example in the event of outbreaks, epidemics, or pandemics) and training. It also further elaborates on the definition of biological hazards and risk and lists specific routes of exposure and transmission – such as airborne, contact, or vector-borne pathways. 

Once adopted, ILO Conventions must be submitted by member States to their national authorities for consideration, and if ratified, they become legally binding one year later, requiring implementation in national law and regular reporting on their application. 

The conference also held its first standard-setting discussion on decent work in the platform economy. The form of the standards was agreed, a Convention with a supporting Recommendation, together with the basic definitions and scope.   

The proposed standards cover a wide range of issues, such as fundamental principles and rights at work, fair remuneration, social security, occupational safety and health, impact of automated systems on working conditions and access to work, protection of personal data and privacy, and effective access to dispute resolution. The discussion will continue at next year’s conference, with the goal of adopting both instruments. 

There were other developments at the conference that employers should be aware of. These include:   

• The adoption of a Resolution to reduce informality and support the transition to formal work. This calls for urgent action to improve working conditions, extend social protection, and create decent jobs, especially for those most affected by informality. It also requests the ILO to develop a global roadmap and support countries in putting national strategies into action.  

• The approval of seven amendments to the 2006 Code of the Maritime Labour Convention. These include changes to address violence and harassment on board and to call for the recognition of seafarers as key workers. 

The developments around biological hazards at work are significant and we now await developments on the ratification and implementation by individual countries of the new standards. It is important that employers are fully across these developments in the jurisdictions that they operate. The new protections are likely to have a material impact on international workplace health and safety practices.