G20 ministers recommit to human-centred road map out of crisis

THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has welcomed the re-commitment by the G20 group of nations to a coherent and human-centred approach to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that leads to greater social justice and decent work for all.

The declaration issued at the conclusion of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting in Italy echoes the ILO Global Call to Action for a Human-Centred Recovery, adopted by delegates at the June session of the 2021 International Labour Conference (ILC).

The Call to Action outlines measures to create a human-centred recovery from the pandemic to avoid the long-term scarring of economies and societies.

In a speech to G20 Labour and Employment Ministers at the meeting, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, welcomed the Ministers’ reaffirmed commitment to shaping a human-centred recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient.

He noted their renewed efforts to achieve more, better and equally-paid jobs for women, regulation of remote and digital platform work, and adequate social protection and safe and healthy working conditions for all.

Ryder underlined the importance of strong social protection systems and enhanced coordination between social protection and labour market policies, to protect workers during the crisis and help them back into work.

“The crisis has impacted some sectors and groups much harder. In particular, it has hit women and youth, along with those in the informal economy,” he said. “Those are also the groups facing the most difficult situations today and the biggest risk of being left behind in the months and years ahead.”

Ryder outlined the cataclysmic impact of COVID-19, which has led to the loss of the equivalent of 161 million full-time jobs in the G20 nations. This, he said, represents a world of work crisis four times as severe as the one triggered by the financial crisis of 2008/09.

The recovery of recent months, he said, has been uneven and fragile, with developing countries likely to find the process more difficult.

“Unless deliberate action is taken, COVID-19 will make the world of work more unequal, more unjust, less resilient, less inclusive and ultimately less sustainable. We can do things differently. The crisis has shown us that long-established policy settings and work arrangements can be modified in ways that were previously unimaginable.

“Governments, employers and workers must address the process of recovery, with the understanding that the future of work is not pre-determined,” he said.

Ryder also highlighted the need to improve the quality of women’s employment. This would be vital if the G20 is to achieve the ‘Brisbane Goal’ of reducing the labour force participation gap by 25 per cent by 2025, he said.

Ryder also told the ministers that women are twice as likely as men to be in low-paid jobs, and are more likely to be in informal employment and on temporary contracts. At the same time, women bear the brunt of unpaid work, largely due to care responsibilities.

“A transformative agenda for gender equality needs greater investment in the care economy, employment policies that focus on women, universal access to comprehensive and adequate social protection, and equal pay for work of equal value,” Ryder stressed.

He urged countries to ratify the ILO’s Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), noting that the problem had worsened during the pandemic. The ILO DG also underlined the need to link education, employment and social policies.

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