Current Affairs Date: 20 August 2023

⇒ The 1st Labour 20 (L20) meeting was held from 19th to 20th March 2023 in Amritsar, Punjab.

» Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), India’s largest Trade Union have been appointed chair to host the L20.

• • Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) is the lead national trade union centre for organising the L20 inception meeting under India G20 presidency.

» This Inception Event of L20 was attended by trade union delegates, experts and labour leaders from 20 countries, as well as by trade union leaders and labour experts from India.

BMS National President, Shri Hiranmay Pandya, as the chair of the L-20, presided over the meeting. Briefing the media about the agenda of the meeting, he had said that the Inception meeting plans to discuss key subjects related to sustainable livelihood and employment, including:

• • Universalization of Social Security;
  • International Migration of Labour;
  • Portability of Social Security Funds;
  • Social Protection for Informal Workers; and
  • Skill Training and Skill Upgradation: Role and Responsibilities of Employers, Employees and Governments.

The meeting also had five parallel technical sessions on:

• • International Migration of Labour and Portability of Social Security Funds;
  • Social Protection for Informal Workers;
  • Skill Training and Skill Upgradation and Role and Responsibilities of Employers, Employees and Governments;
  • Changing World of Work and New Employment Opportunities in G20 Countries;
  • Promoting Sustainable Decent Work.

Priority Issues: L20 adopts two Joint Statements on the Universalisation of Social Security and Women & the Future of Work

The L20 group adopted two Joint Statements as the 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 the other for plugging the gender gap in the global workforce.

Joint Statement on Universalisation of Social Security:

The Joint Statement 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.

Joint Statement on Women and the Future of Work:

The Joint Statement called for upskilling of the 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 family-raising roles, contribute to the global economy and asked for valuing that contribution.

» Before the 2-day meeting ended, representatives from Russia, India, Australia, Nepal and Bangladesh shared their national experiences on wages and their various dimensions, particularly the impact on livelihoods

About L20:

• • L20 is one of the engagement groups under G20. Labour 20 (L20) Summit first took place formally during the French Presidency in 2011.
  • It comprises leaders and representatives of trade union centers of G20 countries who provide analyses and policy recommendations aimed at addressing labor-related issues.
  • The forum tries to bring together trade unionists from the G-20 countries representing 66% of the population and around 75% of the global GDP to discuss issues concerning the working people and population in general that transcend borders.