G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting

Introduction

We, the Labour and Employment Ministers of the G20 members and invited countries, convened in Fortaleza on July 25-26, 2024, to discuss recent global labour market trends, review progress on our commitments, and address upcoming employment and social challenges.

We recognize that creating formal jobs and promoting decent work are amongst the most effective social tools for achieving a fairer and more equitable income distribution. As governments, we must develop and support active inclusion policies aimed at fostering strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive economic growth, enhancing purchasing power, and increasing the share of labour income in national wealth. For these reasons, we are committed to the G20 Policy Priorities to Reduce Inequalities in the World of Work (Annex 01) and to regularly reviewing relevant trends, policies, and programs.

We understand that these policies must also be guided by the imperative of a just transition and sustainable development. This may involve measures to formalize jobs, to appropriately respond to platform work, to promote adequate levels of wage floors, to provide access to adequate social protection and the promotion of social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Creating quality employment and promoting decent work to ensure social inclusion, eliminate poverty and combat hunger

We understand that poverty has a multidimensional nature that can also reflect different contextual factors. Poverty is often associated with informality and a lack of decent employment. Therefore, our shared responsibility is to ensure that every individual, regardless of employment status, has access to decent work.

We need to strengthen our efforts to foster social inclusion, eradicate multidimensional poverty and address working poverty with a focus on the promotion of quality jobs and decent work, recognizing that the social and solidarity economy [1] could play an important role in generating quality employment, promoting fair working conditions and environmental sustainability with job creation in just transition processes.

We stress the importance of strategies to create and promote decent work and deliver effective labour market policies, such as skills development, access to training and lifelong learning and job matching, aligned with the skills needs and demands of the economy and in consultation with social partners. Similarly, we will promote policies that foster the social and solidarity economy.

We strongly support the ILO’s Decent work agenda which encompasses inter alia job creation, fair wages and income, the respect for labour rights, safe and healthy working conditions, social protection and social dialogue, with gender equality and non-discrimination as cross-cutting issues. We take note of the Global Coalition for Social Justice and its aims to accelerate progress in reducing inequalities and promoting decent work. We also welcome the ILO Report of the Meeting of Experts on wage policies, including living wages.

Collective bargaining allows for employers or employers’ organizations and workers’ organizations to negotiate terms and conditions of employment and contributes to the equitable distribution of resources and the reduction of disparities in the world of work. We agree that effective social dialogue, collective bargaining, and respect for freedom of association have an important role to play in promoting the Decent Work Agenda.

Reaffirming the Durban Call to Action, which demands immediate and intensified efforts to eliminate child labour and forced labour, we remain committed to achieving Target 8.7 of the SDGs to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms. It is imperative to implement and enforce relevant laws, have strong labour inspection systems, invest in quality education and training, and ensure social protection systems to provide adequate support to families. In this regard, we acknowledge the value of the Alliance 8.7. We agree to continue our efforts to promote decent work along global value chains and we encourage constructive engagement in relevant discussions at the UN System and ILO.

We underline that social protection systems are the foundation of a more inclusive, stable, fair and equal society. They promote the well-being of workers, their families and people in vulnerable situations and provide security to workers to undertake upskilling and reskilling thereby reducing inequalities, combatting poverty and reaching the Sustainable Development Goal 1. We recognize the need for G20 countries to continue improving or strengthening their social protection systems providing social security mechanisms, in light of the ongoing transformations in the world of work, making them accessible to all and in particular to those in need as well as effective and sustainable, fostering social and economic inclusion and development.

Climate change and the challenge of a just transition in the world of work

We acknowledge that the current energy transitions have the potential to increase labour market participation, mitigate the impact of climate change and improve living standards, while creating opportunities for workers. However, they also affect workers’ rights, cause structural changes in the labour market, lead to disruptions in multiple industries and may exacerbate many existing inequalities and negatively impact women, girls and people in vulnerable situations.

We recognize that, the concept of a just transition, which encompasses environmental sustainability, decent work, quality jobs for all, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty, has become more critical. This includes enabling workers to participate in shaping and benefiting from a just transition to this new world of work. We take note of the outcome of the first Global Stocktake under Paris Agreement which highlights the imperative of a just, orderly, and equitable transition that leaves no one behind.

We understand that socioeconomic, technological and environmental changes often disproportionately affect vulnerable groups and people in vulnerable situations. By aiming to increase access to education and providing targeted support, including reskilling, upskilling, and lifelong learning programs, and ensuring access to adequate social protection for all, a just transition based on effective social dialogue ensures that vulnerable groups and people in vulnerable situations can benefit from new opportunities and participate in all sectors of the economy.

We commend the work undertaken by the G20 OSH Network in the past year and in the preparation of G20 Approaches on Safety and Health at Work (Annex 02), which informs efforts by G20 members to address workplace heat stress and injuries. We recognize that heat stress significantly impacts workers, especially those in agriculture, construction, and outdoor labour. We understand that vulnerable workers, often lacking adequate protection and access to health services and income security, are disproportionately affected. We must implement robust and risk-based policies on occupational safety and health appropriate to adapt to the effects of climate change on workers. We recognize the importance of public awareness campaigns, social dialogue, and research on climate-resilient practices.

Drawing on the ILO Guidelines for a Just Transition, we will focus our efforts and policies on guaranteeing a just transition in all sectors. This includes the transformation of non-sustainable processes in conventional sectors such as energy, construction, transport, manufacturing or agriculture through the promotion of skills development, labour market services and social dialogue, amongst others.

Furthermore, we will adopt a broad perspective, considering the entirety of the working life and possible labour market transitions, to ensure that no one is left behind in G20 members’ pursuit of sustainable development goals. We understand that to overcome the challenges, the future of work must be human-centered and should consider aspects such as sustainable development, social and solidarity economy, care for people and the planet, equality and equity, transparency, income security and social services and the achievement of decent work and dignified livelihoods.

Gender equality and the promotion of diversity in the world of work.

We recognize the benefits of diversity in the workplace, including creativity, the increase in productivity, the exchange of different perspectives and innovation.

We acknowledge the challenges women and girls face, including the disproportionate burdens of poverty, climate change impacts, and health emergencies. These are exacerbated by pervasive structural barriers such as discrimination and gender stereotypes, limited access to quality education and training, quality jobs and decent work, occupational segregation, disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, lack of adequate care policies and services, in particular childcare, and gender pay gaps.

To address these inequalities, we are committed to developing and implementing comprehensive policies that dismantle discriminatory social and cultural norms as well as legal barriers to ensure women’s equal, full and meaningful participation in our economies. We will promote programmes and policies such as pay transparency schemes that support equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value in line with ILO Convention 100, and help tackle gender pay gaps.

We call on countries to join the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC). We encourage cross-sectoral collaboration to reduce gender-based occupational segregation and to promote fair and equal job opportunities for all.

We will increase the access to quality education, training and life-long learning for all women and girls, including technical and vocational education and training, particularly in underrepresented and high-demand fields of study such as, but not limited to, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

We will enforce policies and standards that ensure the safety and health of all workers, with particular attention to the needs of women, including pregnant women and mothers. Additionally, we are committed to combating all forms of violence and harassment at work, in line with ILO Convention C190, and promoting equality in opportunity and treatment, and eliminating all forms of discrimination, in line with the ILO Centenary declaration for the Future of Work, by fostering robust mechanisms for reporting and addressing complaints related to discrimination and violence, including when gender-based. Secure workplaces free from all forms of violence and harassment will improve women’s workforce participation and economic empowerment and promote sustainable and inclusive growth for all economies.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to achieving the Brisbane Target, established in 2014, which aims to reduce the gender gap in labour market participation rates by 25% by 2025. This target is expected to bring 100 million women into the labour market and is essential for improving the quality of jobs and career prospects for all women and girls globally. We will continue our efforts to implement the G20 roadmap towards and beyond the Brisbane Target. We call upon the OECD and the ILO to enhance their reporting mechanisms, providing detailed, disaggregated data by gender to allow for effective tracking and accountability of progress toward this target.

We remain committed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a specific focus on SDG 5 on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls and SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth. We reaffirm our shared commitment towards accelerating progress on gender equality and to encourage women-led development as spelt out in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration in 2023. To this end, we promote the integration of the principle of fair and equal treatment at all stages of policy-making with regard to employment and occupation and undertake effective measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination. Ensuring that employment policies are inclusive, equitable and reflect gender-responsive approaches, particularly for women and girls in vulnerable situations. Furthermore, we encourage member countries to consider gender-disaggregated indicators in policymaking, fostering a global environment of accountability and progress. As all G20 members shall combat discrimination, in all forms, without a distinction.

Recognizing the underrepresentation of women in leadership and decision-making roles across many sectors, we commit to adopting policies that foster transparent and equitable career progression processes and women-led development, to retain and promote women in the workforce.

We recognize policies should promote measures to avoid structural and systematic discrimination against women along their career paths and also address gender-biases in the world of work, including at all stages of recruitment, employment and in all forms of work. We will promote the implementation of mentoring and sponsorship programs tailored to advance women’s leadership within both the public and private sectors. Additionally, we will take measures to promote women's entrepreneurship, including in the digital economy, by eliminating barriers to access digital services, financial services, venture capital, and other resources.

We recognize the importance of ensuring access to affordable and quality childcare as a contributor to gender equality. The unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities significantly impacts women’s labour market participation, wages and ability to access decent work opportunities and career progression. We encourage more equal sharing of parenting and household responsibilities, regardless of gender. Also, we encourage policies for the equal sharing of parental leave and care leave, including child and older persons’ care. Such measures are crucial for promoting shared caregiving responsibilities and achieving a gender balanced approach both in the workplace and at home. Additionally, we acknowledge the efforts of the Global Alliance for Care.

We recognize that women and girls carry out a disproportionate share of paid and unpaid care work. Against this background, we will tackle gender inequalities in care work to ensure equal, full and meaningful participation of women in our economy as well as to achieve gender equality. To this end, we will identify effective key policies for improvement, and ask ILO and the OECD, to continue providing an overview of respective policies and services in G20 countries in the Women@Work Report. To advance internationally comparable data collection on paid and unpaid care work, we will request ILO and OECD to give recommendations on how data comparability between G20 countries and beyond could be achieved. Furthermore, we will support the ILO’s 5R Framework for Decent care and the Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy, adopted at the International Labor Conference in 2024.

We pledge to ensure women's access to comprehensive social protection benefits, including unemployment benefits, paid sick leave, and pensions, in alignment with relevant international labour standards, particularly the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202).

The use of technologies as a means of improving everyone's quality of life

In the digital era changes in working patterns, business organisation and production processes are accelerating, creating both new opportunities and challenges in the world of work. In recent years, especially after the COVID 19 pandemic, the fast growth of the digital economy has led to an increase in work activities carried out through digital platforms.

We acknowledge that the development, deployment and use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can provide many opportunities to workers, but also poses ethical concerns and risks for their rights and well-being. The benefits include the potential to empower workers and increase efficiency, productivity, and innovation across industries, as well as improve occupational safety and health in the workplace and working conditions, and access to adequate social protection. Nevertheless, the technologies can also pose risks and concerns over working conditions, such as workers’ agency and privacy, work intensity, as well as threats to their human rights, fundamental freedoms and workers’ dignity.

We reiterate our commitment to respect, promote and realize the fundamental principles and rights at work and access to adequate social protection. As AI and other technologies continue to evolve, it is also necessary to bridge digital divides, including the gender digital divide, prioritize the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations in the labour market, as well as ensure fairness, data protection, privacy, and security. We note AI’s potential for enormous benefits while also recognizing the risk of exclusion for persons with disabilities.

We understand that technology-driven innovations can lead to productivity gains in many industries and increased demand for skilled labour. Automation and digitalization are creating new industries and new forms of work, which require a diverse set of skills to design, develop and maintain these tools and applications.

We should foster investment in comprehensive digital inclusion, initiatives and policies and technology-assisted governance that can facilitate a safe access to services, employment, and income opportunities as well as strengthening the quality of public services.

We recognize the risks that technological innovations can be used for surveillance of workers and negatively impact on their workload. Algorithms and automated systems can create or reinforce discriminatory practices and bias including in hiring, allocation of work, earnings and promotions. We recognize the importance of the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations among AI developers, including those in leadership and decision-making positions, promoting development, deployment and use of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI in the world of work. Lack of transparency, privacy, fairness, human oversight and review of algorithmic management pose increasing challenges to decent work, which should be addressed in the framework of social dialogue.

We recognize that technologies' integration in the workplace is most successful when it incorporates the observations and feedback of workers and thus encourage enterprises to engage in social dialogue and other forms of consultation when integrating digital technologies at work.

To help fully harness the potential of emerging technologies, while safeguarding workers' rights in an increasingly digitalized world, we will collaborate on policy approaches to address these new forms of employment, such as work performed remotely or through digital platforms having regard to ILO’s upcoming standard-setting discussion on Decent Work in the Platform Economy. We will also establish guidelines on the use of safe, secure and trustworthy AI and automation in the workplace, with a focus on preventing algorithmic discrimination and bias, and in accordance with the G20 AI Principles, drawn from the OECD Recommendation on AI, as well as UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

We recognize the need for every country to be involved in the discussions on AI and other digital technologies and believe the G20 could build on the North-South bridge created by the Global Partnership on AI.

We acknowledge that, since platform work is often carried out across national borders, we need to strengthen our international cooperation and work towards a concerted response to ensure decent work and safeguard the rights of workers in the platform economy and the AI supply chains, particularly those who curate data inputs used to train AI systems.

By carefully managing these technologies, we can leverage their benefits to improve the quality of life and protect the rights of all workers. We will continue to support the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work taking into account the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work.

Way Forward

We reaffirm the commitments made and goals agreed to under the previous presidencies, including promotion of well-managed, regular and skill-based migration pathways to address global skill gaps for sustainable and inclusive global growth. In this direction, we underline the importance of, as appropriate, the development of the international referencing classification of occupations, adoption of comparable basic indicators in respective national surveys and extension of the coverage of the ILO and OECD’s Skills for Jobs Database portal to G20 countries. We call upon the ILO and the OECD to complete the feasibility study on development of international referencing classification including pilots in key sectors, in 2026.

We affirm the pressing need for internationally agreed statistical standards to enable the production of comprehensive, comparable, and timely data on care work, and call on member states and international organisations to support the development process. In advance of the conclusion of the standard-setting process, member states and international organisations should promote the collection and dissemination of data on care work, aligned to current international statistical standards and best practices, to inform evidence-based policy-making and monitoring.

We reaffirm our commitment to provide access to adequate and sustainable social protection to all workers including gig and platform workers. We also urge the ILO and other international organizations to consider in their reports and databases, additional measures for social security adopted by our countries.

We also encourage widespread adherence to international conventions to ensure the protection of workers and safeguard existing rights and those that need to be established or reinforced.

We welcome the continued dialogue with L20 and B20 and consultation with the engagement groups and reaffirm our commitment to promote social dialogue among governments, employers’ organisations and trade unions in G20 countries and internationally to develop a shared agenda that benefits all.

We appreciate the expertise provided by the ILO, OECD, ISSA, IDB, the World Bank and UNESCO and take note of their reports and urge them and other international organizations, as needed, to continue helping the EWG group.

We thank the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 economies for its continuous efforts to promote the implementation of the G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan (Beijing, 2016) and contributions on gender equality to 2024 G20 EWG work. We look forward to the outcomes of the 2024 G20 Entrepreneurship Roundtable to be held in October.

We will seek to further enhance cooperation and coordination among different G20 tracks to promote and ensure decent and inclusive work. We will present this Declaration to the G20 Rio de Janeiro Summit for our Leaders’ consideration.

We thank the Brazilian Presidency for hosting the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting and its leadership throughout 2024. We look forward to our meeting in 2025 under the Presidency of South Africa.

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This page was last updated September 28, 2024 .

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