ITUC Collective Voices

For World Day for Decent Work, we meet Melba Tampakan, aunion organiser from the Philippines who applied for a platform job herself to understand what riders really face.

She tells us what's behind the number on the screen, how riders went from feeling alone to building their own association, and why flexibility should never mean insecurity.

The economy is growing. Company profits are rising. Billionaires are getting richer. So why are so many workers falling behind?

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle unpacks one of the biggest questions facing workers today: Who really benefits when the economy grows? If you've ever wondered why life feels harder despite record wealth, this conversation is for you. How can we change things? As Luc explains, that starts with the fight for democracy.

🔗 See the ITUC’s campaign here: https://www.ituc-csi.org/fordemocracy  

What is the worst country in the world for working people? And how do we even measure that?In our new episode, we sit down with ITUC legal researcher Loredana Carta – who has spent the past decade building the Global Rights Index – to go through the receipts on workers' rights worldwide.The Index covers 170 countries and tracks violations of the rights to organise, strike, and bargain collectively. From the 10 worst countries to why the right to strike is under attack almost everywhere – this is the data that holds governments accountable.Read the full report: https://www.ituc-csi.org/global-rights-index?lang=en

Think platform work doesn't affect you?

Think again.

The conditions being normalised in the gig economy are spreading to every sector. This fight is bigger than any one app or industry.

In this episode of Collective Voices, we ask Monica Tepfer, legal officer at the ITUC, to break down one of the biggest labour rights battles happening right now.

In June 2026, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will vote on whether to adopt the first-ever binding global standards for platform workers, covering everything from algorithmic transparency and misclassification to gender-based violence and the right to organise.

It could be a turning point.

This episode covers:

→ How platform companies built a business model around avoiding labour law

→ Why "flexibility" is a myth designed to strip away rights

→ The gender pay gap and harassment crisis hidden inside gig work

→ What a strong ILO convention would actually look like

→ What you can do right now, whether you're a platform worker or not

📄 Read the ITUC Factsheets on the myths and realities of platform work – and get the campaign toolkit to help challenge the narrative: https://www.ituc-csi.org/campaign-toolkit-platform-convention

Listen, share, and keep fighting for a world where everyone has the right to decent work.

Audio excerpts courtesy of the International Transport Workers’ Federation. 

¿Qué implica realmente la regularización de personas migrantes? En este episodio, analizamos cómo esta medida puede cambiar la vida de cientos de miles de trabajadores y por qué es una cuestión de derechos, dignidad y justicia. Con la participación de José Antonio Moreno Díaz de Comisiones Obreras, exploramos el papel clave de los sindicatos en esta lucha y lo que significa para el futuro del trabajo.

Descubre más sobre los derechos de las personas trabajadoras migrantes:⁠www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper

Strikes aren't just drama – they're one of the most powerful tools workers have. Paapa Danquah, Director of the Human and Trade Union Rights department at the ITUC, joins host Stefania Cîrlea to explain why the right to strike is protected and how it's changed the game throughout history. When all else fails, this is how workers make themselves heard.

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Find out more about your rights at work:

www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper

Your job shouldn't be a threat to your health, full stop. Host Stefania Cîrlea and Zuzanna Muskat-Gorska, lawyer in the Human and Trade Union Rights department at the ITUC, breaks down why safe workplaces are a right, not a privilege, and what you can do when your employer isn't protecting you. Because coming home safe should be the bare minimum.

⁠Find out more about your rights at work:

www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper

Discrimination at work isn't just unfair – it's literally illegal, and it's time we act like it. Maria Tsirantonaki from the Equalities department at the ITUC joins host Stefania Cîrlea  to talk about how we build workplaces where everyone actually gets a fair shot. Equal rights aren't optional, they're non-negotiable.

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Find out more about your rights at work:

www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper

Forced labour isn't just a history lesson – it's happening right now, and it's closer than you think. Jeroen Beirnaert, the ITUC's Political Director, walks host Stefania Cîrlea through what modern forced labour actually looks like and why fighting it matters for everyone. This one's heavy but essential.

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Find out more about your rights at work:

www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper

Negotiating alone? That's playing on hard mode. Monica Tepfer, lawyer in the Human and Trade Union Rights department at the ITUC, joins host Stefania Cîrlea  to explain how collective bargaining turns “pretty please” into actual demands that employers have to take seriously. This is how workers go from hoping for change to making it happen.

⁠Find out more about your rights at work:

www.ituc-csi.org/back-to-basics-action-paper