All publications

Synopsis of the Baseline Assessment of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) in Kathmandu Valley

This document provides a synopsis of the baseline assessment of the cultural and creative industries in the Kathmandu Valley from the perspective of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The study has greatly benefited from the invaluable...

Report to the Government of Republic of Zambia

An assessment of Zambia's legislation in view of a possible ratification of the Social Security Minimum Standards Convention,1952 (No. 102).

This comprehensive comparative assessment was conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) within the framework of the Development Cooperation Project “Accelerating the Achievement of Universal Social Protection to Leave No One Behind”...

Working Paper 154

AI in human resource management: The limits of empiricism

This paper critically examines the use of AI in human resource management, showing how flawed objectives, biased data, and opaque programming undermine its effectiveness. It challenges the optimism surrounding AI’s promise of efficiency and fairness...

Findings from the Rapid Survey in Baghdad and Basra

From Reform to Reality: Understanding Perceptions of Iraq’s New Social Security Law

A new ILO report, From Reform to Reality: Understanding Perceptions of Iraq’s New Social Security Law, presents evidence from a rapid survey of 121 formal enterprises and 300 workers in Baghdad and Basra. The findings show strong support for the...

Road map to a green cocoa value chain in Timor-Leste: Business and skills development along with environmental sustainability, amid...

Conducted in mid-2025 through primary and secondary research, the study was undertaken as part of the ILO’s Preparing Timor-Leste’s Workers and Policymakers for a Just Transition and the Formal Economy Project and is intended to facilitate...

Guidance Note

Social Safeguards for Employment Intensive Approaches: Operationalising the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus in Afghanistan

The guidance note was developed to promote coherence and provide practical direction on integrating social safeguards among agencies implementing employment-intensive initiatives and cash-for-work projects in Afghanistan. The document underscores...

Policy Brief

Demographic Change in Europe and Central Asia

A Call for Labour Force Inclusion

Towards universal coverage in Timor-Leste: Assessing the cost and financing gap of social protection reforms

This policy paper aims to estimate the fiscal cost of current and proposed social protection reforms, using the ILO Rapid Assessment Protocol (ILO/RAP), and assess the financing gap by comparing projected costs with available and potential fiscal...

Wage policies

Setting a minimum wage through evidence-based practices. A situation analysis and guide for Caribbean employers’ and business member...

This report examines multiple dimensions of minimum wage policies in the Caribbean and is informed by a survey of 190 companies and 17 EBMOs across 12 territories. Throughout the report, emphasis is placed on the need for an evidence-based approach...

A toolkit for cultural and creative entrepreneurs

Basic Entrepreneurial Steps Toward Professional Realisation and Organization (BEST PRO)

The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Performing Arts Network for Empowerment Leadership in Zimbabwe (PANELZ), supported the development of the BEST PRO Toolkit, a practical guide that equips artists and creative...

Infographic

Decent work in Ghana’s agri-food sector: Policy insights from JobAgri surveys

This infographic highlights key findings and policy insights from preliminary JobAgri survey data collected in Ghana’s Bono East Region.

ILO Brief

The impact of artificial intelligence on employer and business membership organizations in Small Island Developing States

This brief explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping employer and business membership organizations in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Based on a 2025 survey of 35 EBMOs across 25 SIDS, it highlights early-stage adoption, key...

Synthesis review of ILO evaluation reports on social dialogue interventions, 2019-25

This synthesis review was prepared as an input into the International Labour Conference Recurrent Discussion on the strategic discussion of social dialogue and tripartism.

ILO Brief

Enhancing Refugee and Host Community Livelihoods in Koshi Province, Nepal

A systemic strategy for the agriculture sector

Migrant Worker Resource Centres

Empowering Migrant Workers: Lessons Learned from ILO Migrant Worker Resource Centres in the ASEAN region

This publication draws on the experience of the International Labour Organisation’s support for Migrant Worker Resource Centres (MRCs) in the ASEAN region. It highlights how these centres improve access to information, legal aid, and social...

Policy Brief

Brief 3 — Unions at the heart of inclusive, job-rich structural transformation

True social progress demands structural transformation—shifting employment and production toward higher-productivity, decent-job sectors. This brief places trade unions at the centre of that transformation. It explains how unions can help ensure...

Policy Brief

Brief 2 — Fiscal policies to advance social justice

Fiscal policy lies at the heart of social justice. Every decision on taxation, spending, and borrowing expresses a society’s social contract—defining who contributes, who benefits, and whose needs are prioritized. This brief provides trade unions...

Policy Brief

Brief 1 — Advancing decent work through macroeconomic policy coherence

This brief reframes macroeconomic policymaking as a space of democratic choice, not technocratic abstraction. It shows how fiscal, monetary, and exchange-rate decisions directly affect employment, job quality, and equity—and why workers’ voices are...

WSSD2 Brief

Bridging the digital divide

The brief highlights the issues associated with digitalisation of work and AI faced by social actors in countries around the world. It identifies key labour market issues associated with these technological developments and suggests how the benefits...

Report

The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development