The Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Marina Calderone, spoke today in Geneva at the plenary session of the 114th International Labour Conference. In her speech, the Minister reaffirmed the central role of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the face of current geopolitical tensions and profound market transformations, confirming Italy's historic role as a founding member state and the organisation's seventh-largest budget contributor. The Minister touched on the strategic issues at the heart of the international agenda and the government's actions. Calderone said "Italy actively supports the work aimed at adopting an international convention on labour in the digital platform economy in order to ensure innovation and rights are kept balanced. The recent adoption of the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention strengthens our ability to fight all forms of exploitation and child labour."
The Minister added that "the Italian government expresses its full support for a transformative agenda on gender equality. Removing inequalities, achieving equal pay, and sharing care burdens are not only social justice goals, but fundamental pillars of sustainable economic growth. Faced with the challenges of the digital transition, Italy is leading the way by establishing the National Observatory on the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence Systems in the Workplace at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. The body aims to ensure a safe, reliable and human-centric approach to AI, fully aligned with the 2024 Cagliari G7 Action Plan." The Minister emphasised that "strengthening collective bargaining and freedom of association remains a priority. The principle of fair wages introduced in Italy, promoting the tripartite model as the preferred space for governing demographic and technological changes, goes in this direction."