Important Facts of the News
- Report released on 31 October 2025.
- Report title: The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development.
- Prepared by the International Labour Organization’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV).
- Summaries and proposals collected from regional and global conferences convened by ACTRAV.
- Regional dialogues covered: Africa; the Arab States; Asia and the Pacific; Latin America and the Caribbean; Europe and Central Asia.
- Maria Helena André is named as Director of ACTRAV at the ILO in the report.
- The report frames decent work, labour rights, pro-employment economic policies, and just climate and technological transitions as core priorities.
- It stresses adapting policies to rapid economic, technological, environmental and social change and strengthening institutions and collective action.
- The report is published ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development, scheduled to take place in Doha in November 2025.
Summary
A new global analysis from the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities, issued on 31 October 2025, gathers the priorities trade unions set out for remaking the social contract. Drawn from regional and global meetings convened by ACTRAV, the document records workers’ concerns about rapidly shifting economies, technology, the environment and social structures, and it presents a shared agenda for policy responses.
What workers want
The report highlights four interlinked demands: universal access to decent work, robust labour rights, economic policy that supports employment, and transitions from climate and technological change that do not leave workers behind. These priorities came through consistently across dialogues in Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia.
Role of trade unions and institutions
Contributors to the report underline the continuing importance of trade unions in shaping a humane and resilient future of work. The document calls for stronger institutions and collective mechanisms so that policy reforms can respond to local realities while keeping labour standards and social justice central.
Framing ahead of Doha
Released just before the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha in November 2025, the report is presented as the consolidated voice of workers preparing for that meeting. Maria Helena André, Director of ACTRAV, is quoted describing the text as a synthesis of trade union proposals from regional exchanges.
Read the full report
The complete document, The New Social Contract: Towards the Second Summit for Social Development, is available as a PDF from the ILO. Access it here: