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17 April, 2025The sector is going through turbulent times with growing global instability, technological disruption and increasing corporate consolidation. This was discussed by over 30 trade union representatives attending the online steering committee meeting of the ICT, electrical and electronics sector, organized by IndustriALL Global Union.
Opening the meeting, co-chairs Masashi Jimbo and Prihanani Boenadi and IndustriALL assistant general secretary Christina Olivier set the tone: the stakes for workers in a sector at the crossroads of innovation and inequality are higher than ever. The meeting covered burning topics; from changes in the supply chain to workers' rights, occupational health and safety, including workers’ mental health, and the impact of artificial intelligence.
Anne-Marie Chopinet, chair of the industriAll Europe ICT sector network, highlighted key challenges in the European ICT, electrical, and electronics industry, including EU-U.S. trade tensions, deregulation and declining investment. She emphasized the need for strategic autonomy, upskilling, stronger AI regulation and improved occupational health and safety measures, while reaffirming the vital role of trade unions in protecting workers and shaping industrial policy.
A key message through the debates was that the global electronics workforce is under pressure from multiple angles. Wages in manufacturing centres remain stagnant despite record profits for companies. According to Alexander Ivanou, IndustriALL director of ICT, electrical and electronics, supply chain shifts caused by geopolitical tensions and “Anything but China” strategies have led to instability, while exposing workers to lower protections and lack of respect to union rights.
Casper Edmonds from the ILO highlighted major challenges in decent work, including non-standard employment, long hours, OSH issues, and rights violations, especially in Asia, the sector’s manufacturing hub. He stressed the urgency of stronger labour standards and mandatory human rights due diligence to ensure fairness and social justice in the global supply chains.
IndustriALL is developing a gender specific occupational health and safety toolkit to address chemical exposure, reproductive health and gender-based violence, issues that most affect women in electronics manufacturing. The toolkit is part of a broader call for harmonization of cross-sectoral efforts on occupational health and safety, particularly in the critical supply chains of minerals and batteries.
Speaking about organizing as the main task for unions worldwide, campaigns director Walton Pantland demonstrated tools for developing unions in the supply chain, including power mapping, corporate research and mobilization strategies.
At the end of the meeting, participants recognized that the global context is turbulent - from escalating tariffs to climate change - yet there is an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild the industry from the ground up.
“Only through collective action can we make digital and green transitions work for people, not just profit,”
Christina Olivier concluded.
Photo credit: Electronics factory worker, Cikarang, Indonesia © ILO/Asrian Mirza