Labour and Employment
BRICS Ministers Meetings
2021 India meeting: Documents
BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers meetings Index
Declaration of the Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment, July 15, 2021
Introduction
- We, the Ministers of Lobour and Employment from the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa, met virtually under the Indian Presidency on July 2021, for the Seventh BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers Meetings to exchange views on the recent global labour market issues shaped by COVID-19 pandemic situation, enhance information sharing, discuss and agree upon specific areas of cooperation in our endeavor to address labour and employment challenges commonly faced by BRICS Members States.
- We note with utmost concern that the world endures an unprecedented time countering adverse effects of COVID-19, which has profoundly impacted lives, livehoods and economic activities. The world of work has witness long lasting impacts raging from working hour and income losses, rising unemployment and closure of business to disruptions in economic activities, especially in labour intensive ones with adverse effects on working engaged in the informal economy, women workers as well as young people, being the most affected.
- We note with great concern that the fallout created by the pandemic has negatively impacted the efforts that had been made to addressing unemployment, decent work deficits and inequality. We express support for the global call to action for human-centered recovery from the COVID-19 crisis that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient as adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2021.
- Employment Working Group Meetings, including during difficult times of COVID-15 pandemic in 2020 under Russian’s Presidency and in 2021 under India’s Presidency demonstrate the level of commitment, trust and confidence which the Member States have posed in each other to improve labour, employment and social security policies while learning from each other’s experience in evolving appropriate policy responses. it illustrates the strong determination of BRICS Member States to recover with stronger national economies, inclusive labour markers and social protection systems. In pursuance of this objective, the Indian Presidency focused on four key pillars of labour and employment policies: Promoting Social Agreements among BRICS nations; Formalisation of Labour Markets; participation of Women in the Labour Force; and Gig and Platform Workers: Role in the Labour Market.
- Globalization, paired with varied economic growth and differences in the demography of the countries all over the world have propelled international labour migration, which makes it challenging and more important than ever to guarantee the social rights of migrant workers. This has led to a growing number of countries signing bilateral/multilateral social security agreements to ensure social security rights and access to social protection of the migrant workers.
- In order to achieve progress in concluding social security agreements, we take into account the international labour Organisation’s (ILO) labour standards which provide guidance on decent labour migration conditions. We acknowledge the contribution of the Virtual Liaison Office jointly hosted by the ILO and the international Social Security Association (ISSA) to support the BRICS countries in their efforts to maintain a continued strong cooperation in matters of social security.
- Building on previous Declarations of BRICS Summits and Labour and Employment Ministers Meetings (LEMM), the Conclusions of the Recurrent Discussion on Social Protection (Social Security) adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2021 and with the support of ILO and ISSA, we are committed to deepening social security cooperation among our countries. We resolve to carry out exchange of information among BRICS countries on employment and social security for creoss-border labour flows and initiate social security agreements between BRICS nations within a reasonable time frame.
- Labour market informality continues to pose a major challenge to all the BRICS member states. The pandemic has aggravated the formalisation risk. Reiterating our commitment made in the 2016 BRICS LEMM Declaration, we strive to enhance the transition from informality to formality as a means towards improving living and working conditions, productivity and job growth and strengthening efforts to reduce poverty through access to quality employment and social protection. We welcome various innovative approaches and policy interventions that have been implemented in the BRICS Member States aimed at reducing informality and facilitating the transition to the formal economy. We will further strengthen our policies, regulations and measures to facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal economy, taking in to account, the ILO Recommendation 2014 and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- The use of technology has high potential to facilitate faster transition to formality – for aspects such as providing access to social protection, simplifying registration, allowing digital wage payment, enhancing access to finance, increasing productivity, supporting labour inspection and compliance with laws. We ask the BRICS Network of Labour Research institutes to undertake an in-depth research on “E-formality practices, i.e., the use of technology for formalization in the BRICS countries” to assess their scalability and transferability.
- We recognize that gender gaps and the low participation of women in the labour market remain a formidable challenge in some of the BRICS nations. The sustained participation of women in the labour market and strategies for the promotion of women participation in remunerative, productive and decent work are top priorities in our policy agenda.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has further affected women workers in multiple ways, exacerbating gender inequalities in the labour market. We reiterate our commitment to gender-responsive employment and social protection policies for medium and long term recovery, including macroeconomic policies, sectoral policies and active labour market policies.Investment in the care economy for decent jobs remains a critical aspect of such a policy agenda.
- Digital labour platforms are distinctive part of the digital economy. These platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for business, society and workers, but as the same times, presented challenges relating to working conditions, social protection, the regularity of work and incomes.
- We reaffirm our commitment to support the development of the digital economy, including digital delivery of services, while acknowledging the role of digital platforms in providing resilience to national economies in the face of the crisis such as COVID-19.
- We acknowledge the positive impact of digital platforms in facilitation of job creation, entrepreneurship and development of micro and small businesses, and in providing livehood opportunities for disadvantaged groups, including women, and persons with disabilities.
- We will stive to leverage the opportunities and overcome the challenges emerging from the rise of digital labour platforms, to ensure sustainable enterprise development and decent work for all, and to work towards achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Goals.
- We will represent this Declaration to the BRICS Summit for our Leaders consideration as they strive to deepen cooperation for achieving a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable development trajectory.
- We welcome the research support provided by the BRICS Network of Labour Research Institutes for the BRICS Ministerial and Employment Working discussions. We note that as per the directions of the Sixth Ministerial Meetings in 2020 under the Russian Presidency, the Network is currently engaged in a research study on the theme “Support of Employment and Income in the Context of COVID-19 Crisis”.
- The Ministerial Meeting and EWG discussions have significantly benefited from the technical support provided by the ILO and ISSA. We appreciate their expertise and will continue working closely with these international organizations.
- We express our sincerest appriciation to the Indian Presidency for organizing the EWG meetings and the Seventh BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers Meetings. We look forward to our next meeting under the Presidency of the People’s Republic of China in 2022.
brics | ICP
Information
and Cooperation
Platform
The Information and Cooperation platform IN4U is a digital hub for BRICS members to collaborate, share information, and promote cooperative initiatives. Stay connected and engaged with the latest developments.
BRICS | CFB
The cooperative
Framework
of BRICS
The Cooperative Framework of BRICS by IN4U platform is a dedicated digital space for fostering collaboration and cooperation among inter BRICS government entities and international organizations.