ILO Summit Goal: A New Social Contract to Lift 700 Million from Extreme Poverty.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Institutions: Ministry of Labour & Employment
The ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) released the report, The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development, synthesizing the collective voice of trade unions ahead of the Doha Summit (November 2025). The report asserts that a renewed social contract anchored in social justice and human rights is essential to navigate the current global “poly-crisis” driven by technological, climate, and demographic shifts.
The call for renewal is underpinned by stark data illustrating severe global deficits in decent work and equality:
Poverty and Exclusion: Nearly 700 million people still live in extreme poverty. Progress in poverty eradication was sharply reversed, with the number of workers living in moderate or extreme poverty increasing by 108 million in 2020.
Informality: A staggering 58 %nof workers globally remain in informal employment, leaving them without basic labor protections or social security.
Gender Inequality: Women’s participation in the labor force lags 24 percentage points behind men’s. The current pace of change suggests it could take a century to close the global gender pay gap.
In response to these systemic deficits, trade unions demand a decisive rebalancing of economic priorities:
Decent Work: Policies must place full and productive employment and decent work at the heart of macroeconomic policy.
Just Transitions: Climate and technological transitions must be human-centred, combining reskilling, universal social protection, and worker participation to ensure vulnerable groups benefit.
Strengthening Institutions: Workers demand the defense of freedom of association and collective bargaining as fundamental foundations for equity and democracy.
The report is based on insights gathered from regional dialogues across Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific (including the voice of Indian labour unions), Latin America, and Europe.
This report directly influences global policy debates on the future of work and is highly relevant to the Ministry of Labour & Employment. It provides a roadmap for ensuring that India’s digital and green transitions are implemented through social dialogue, strengthening labor rights and expanding universal social protection to manage the risks faced by India’s vast informal and gig economy workforce.
What is Doha Summit? → The Doha Summit (November 2025) is the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), a major United Nations conference aimed at strengthening global commitment to social progress and accelerating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Summit aims to adopt a concise, action-oriented Doha Political Declaration that gives new momentum to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in a world facing deepening inequalities, demographic shifts, and the climate crisis. Organizations like the ILO and UN Women are using the summit to advocate for a renewed social contract based on rights, social protection, and gender equality.
What is the Social Contract in the context of global labour policy?→ The Social Contract, in this context, is the understanding that defines the collective rights and responsibilities between the state (governments), capital (employers), and labour (workers). A ‘renewal’ is required because the traditional 20th-century contract has failed to keep pace with modern crises and digital work models, resulting in increased economic precarity and a decline in social protection.
Follow the full report here: The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development