The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released a new blueprint for the global railways sector, following a historic meeting of government, employer, and worker representatives.
The recommendations aim to create a safer, more sustainable, and socially just industry. This marks the first such global technical meeting on the sector in over 30 years.
Key measures for a just transition:
The consensus underscores the railway sector’s potential to generate decent green jobs and spearhead a just transition to a lower-carbon economy.
Global leaders emphasized the critical need for significant investment in workforce training, reskilling, and recruiting and retaining staff to meet future demands. The recommendations also highlight the crucial link between operational safety and occupational safety and health.
Thought leadership:
Frank Hagemann, Director, Sectoral Policies Department, ILO, and Secretary-General of the meeting, said, “The railways sector is highly strategic for the economic development of many countries and is vital for the transport of passengers and delivery of goods. This meeting provided a platform to look at the sector through the lens of social justice and the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, based on social dialogue. The resulting conclusions and recommendations, when implemented, will improve outcomes for railway workers and public and private employers alike.”
Sonya Mohamed Janahi, Chairperson of the meeting, said, “…—we evenly reached consensus in preparing and finalizing a truly meaningful set of conclusions and recommendations to achieve decent work in the railways sector… and that is a rare opportunity. This sets the stage for concrete action and is hopefully the beginning of many more discussions to come.”
