The International Labour Organization (ILO) is facing a "serious" and "unprecedented" financial crisis as it grapples with dramatic cuts in international funding, its chief warned.
ILO, which plays a crucial role in protecting workers worldwide, is among a slew of organisations that have been left reeling as the U.S. has slashed foreign funding under President Donald Trump.
The U.S. has long been ILO's largest contributor, providing 22 percent of its funding.
But Washington is now lagging behind on its 2024 and 2025 ILO membership dues, with over $173 million unpaid.
"The financial crisis we are facing is serious, it is unprecedented in recent decades," ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo told the opening of the 355th meeting of the organisation's governing body on Nov. 17.
"It is already affecting our ability to meet the expectations of our constituents."
The U.S. is not the only country failing to pay up, with ILO saying the total amount of unpaid dues now amounts to around 250 million Swiss francs ($314 million).
That is "nearly a third" of the budget, Houngbo pointed out.
The agency published a document last month outlining reform proposals based on two financial scenarios.
The first scenario anticipates "a limited but sustained reduction of the real value of the regular budget."
The second scenario meanwhile "assumes a more significant shortfall of up to 20 percent in 2026-27, resulting from the non-receipt of a significant portion of the assessed contributions to the regular budget".
Houngbo told the Nov. 17 meeting that the latter was the most likely.
