L20 adopts joint statement on universalisation of social security

The Labour-20 (L-20) engagement group of the G-20 has adopted a joint statement  in its inception meeting on resolving the issue of portability of social security among G20 nations and plugging the gender gap in the global workforce.

Trade union leaders, labour studies experts and delegates from close to 20 nations deliberated on social security, gender gap, labour migration among other things as a step towards the welfare of workers in the two day meet at Amritsar. 

“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. It also 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”, said the labour ministry in a statement. 

Union labour minister Bhupender Yadav said in a virtual interaction that it is necessary to make the recovery a human centric process, for which there is a need to collectively ensure that workers are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the dynamic environment.

“There has to be a sustainable mix of social insurance and social assistance schemes for social security,” he added.

Meanwhile, the representatives from Russia, India, Australia, Nepal and Bangladesh shared their national experiences on wages and its various dimensions, particularly the impact on livelihoods. 

Earlier, Arun Maira, former member of the Planning Commission of India, said that it is time to bring back the “family spirit” in the economy. “There are many communities who are concerned about their future well-being in the economy and in society. These include women, youth, farmers, factory workers, self-employed workers, and micro-enterprises. All of them must be listened to now”, he said.

The inception meeting will be followed by an L-20 summit in June before the G-20 labour ministers meeting in the latter part of the year. Last year, the G-20 labour ministers meeting in Indonesia focused on the promotion of responsive and robust policies relating to employment generation, social protection, skilling and formalisation in the post-pandemic period for ensuring a more resilient, equitable and sustainable recovery.