High-level regional dialogue on living wage under the Global Coalition for Social Justice

The International Labour Organization (ILO), under the Global Coalition for Social Justice (GCSJ), will convene a high-level Asia-Pacific regional dialogue on living wages, bringing together different stakeholders from across the region. The event builds on the ILO Governing Body–endorsed conclusions on wage policies, including living wages, the outcomes of the April 2025 Global Dialogue on Operationalising Living Wages, the GCSJ living wage initiative and the launch of the ILO’s first-ever Living Wage Programme.

Participants will include representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral organizations, development partners, private sector, civil society, academia, and existing living wage initiatives, along with members of the Global Coalition for Social Justice. High-level authorities, including Labour Ministers from countries, will also take part.

The GCSJ launched the initiative on Living Wages seeking alignment of diverse living wage initiatives with ILO principles for wage setting. The aim is to ensure that living wage estimations and operationalization are grounded in evidence-based social dialogue, collective bargaining, and tripartite engagement, while balancing the needs of workers and their families with economic factors. The ILO Living Wage programme builds up on two pillars: first, supporting countries in estimating living wages through its standardized methodology and a new wage data hub that centralizes wage information; and second, guiding the operationalization of living wages including by strengthening wage-setting institutions and closing the gender pay gaps.

As the Asia-Pacific region grapples with persistent low pay, informality, and rising inequality, living wages can be a powerful lever to improve livelihoods, reduce poverty, and foster inclusive growth. The dialogue will promote policy coherence and stronger wage governance by aligning national wage-setting frameworks and emerging living wage initiatives with ILO principles.

The event will also launch the Asia-Pacific Digital Repository for Minimum Wages—a pioneering platform that consolidates official minimum wage data and other economic indicators. This tool will provide wage-setting institutions and social partners with transparent, consistent, and comparable data to inform evidence-based decision-making to set adequate wages.

This regional dialogue in Colombo, Sri Lanka, represents a milestone in advancing social justice and adequate wage-setting mechanisms in Asia and the Pacific. At a time when multiple living wage initiatives are emerging globally, the event offers a unique opportunity to align them with ILO principles—particularly in relation to enhancing social dialogue to shape the living wage agenda. By bridging gaps, fostering shared learning, and promoting collaboration, the dialogue aims to catalyse progress towards living wages that ensure decent work, reduce poverty and inequality, and advancing social justice in the region.