Labour20 (L20) engagement group’s inception meet Monday adopted two joint statements as the final outcome of the two-day deliberations, one calling for resolving the question of portability of social security among G20 nations as a first step towards universalisation of social security, and another for plugging the gender gap in the global workforce.
In a statement issued here, trade union leaders, labour studies experts and delegates from 20 nations at the Labour20 inception meeting under India’s G20 presidency deliberated the universalisation of social security on the first day, and the last day of the event witnessed productive discussion on Women and Future of Work, in dedicated sessions to thrash out issues and concerns.
The joint statement on universalisation of social security stated that the question of portability of benefits within the G20 nations is a low hanging fruit, which could be addressed by the grouping at no time and pointed out to the BRICS deliberations for an intra-group arrangement in this regard. Incidentally, BRICS nations are members of G20 or Group of 20.
The joint statement on women and the future of work called for upskilling of women workforce globally to meet the emerging challenges of tech-intensive industry and the post-pandemic job market, and asked the governments and employers to shoulder this responsibility.
It also called for recalibrating how women in the informal sector, and in family-raising roles, contribute to the global economy, and asked for valuing that contribution.
Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav addressed the delegates from a virtual platform on Sunday when he said the world had resolved to recover together post-pandemic, and to make the recovery a human centric process, for which there was a need to collectively ensure that workers were equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the dynamic environment.
Yadav agreed that universal social security and its portability across the world is an important issue that G20 and L20 must focus on.
He said the informal sector must be brought under the ambit of social security. “There has to be a sustainable mix of social insurance and social assistance schemes for social security," he added.
Keeping in line with the vision of ‘Nari shakti’ or ‘Women Power’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister said women’s participation in the labour force has to be enhanced which would in turn lead to creation of an equitable, inclusive and developed society.
Representatives from Russia, India, Australia, Nepal and Bangladesh shared their national experiences on wages and its various dimensions, particularly the impact on livelihoods.
L20 is one of the 11 engagement groups of the G20. The L20 discusses the concerns and issues of labour and employment in the light of the latest trends in labour globally.
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