At the 6th OECD Skills Summit in Istanbul on 27-28 April, TUAC challenged governments to build skills policy around workers’ participation and social dialogue, warning that responses to structural changes currently underway will only deliver shared prosperity and inclusive growth if they are designed with workers’ interests at their core.
Trade unions argued that collective bargaining is central to navigating transitions successfully: it drives innovation, mitigates negative impacts on workers, , and boosts participation in adult learning – both by securing access to quality training and by ensuring workers see the returns through better pay and career progression. A substantial body of OECD analysis backs this up, showing improvements in , training opportunities and other aspects of job quality where bargaining is in place.
TUAC highlighted the direct relevance of these findings to the fiscal sustainability debate around ageing populations, where raising the statutory retirement age is too often seen as the solution. Trade unions contested this approach: such measures fall hardest on low-income workers, who are disproportionately concentrated in physically demanding occupations and already experience declining health and lower life expectancy before reaching retirement age. TUAC also cautioned against re-employment arrangements that keep workers in jobs beyond mandatory retirement on markedly inferior contract and pay conditions Trade unions advocated instead for investment in workplace health, safety and well-being – measures that cut accidents, reduce sick leave and lower rates of early retirement on health grounds.
Against blanket retirement-age increases, trade unions set out an alternative: negotiated frameworks that open genuine paths to career advancement through upskilling, workplace conditions that sustain rather than wear down those in demanding jobs, and social dialogue that gives those most affected a genuine voice in shaping the transitions ahead. TUAC insisted that empowering workers at all ages goes beyond ensuring lifelong learning, demanding a broader approach that addresses all dimensions of job quality.
Collective bargaining and investment in workers' health are the foundations of any credible skills strategy – as the OECD's own research confirms. Governments that are serious about unlocking talent across generations must start by guaranteeing fundamental principles and rights at work and meaningful engagement with social partners.
The Skills Summit, hosted by Türkiye under the theme “Unlocking Talent Across Generations”, brought together ministers and senior officials from across the OECD to address skills challenges across the life course.
