G20 leaders meeting in Osaka, Japan, have issued a communiqué stressing the importance of an active ageing society that enables older workers to participate in the labour market.
Leaders of the G20 countries also expressed their commitment to an inclusive society that boosts the participation of women, youth and people with disabilities.
They asked labour ministers, who will meet in Matsuyama in September, to foster adequate policy responses to the challenges to decent work and social protection created by new forms of work, particularly those driven by technological innovation.
ILO director-general, Guy Ryder, said that, “the G20’s focus on achieving labour market inclusion during this time of rapid change within the world of work is encouraging, and sets the right course for policies that support equitable, sustainable policies that support decent work.”
He said that the leaders’ communiqué, “compliments the Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work, that was adopted by the ILO’s member states only a few days ago.”
While new forms of work create opportunities for job creation, the leaders asked their ministers to exchange good practices that will help generate policy options that support both decent work and social protection. The communiqué also restated the leaders’ commitment to promoting decent work and eradicating child labour, forced labour, human trafficking and modern slavery, including in global supply chains.
The countries stressed that gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are key drivers of sustainable and inclusive growth.
They noted the report of the ILO and OECD, Women at Work in G20 Countries, on progress made in reaching the Brisbane Goal to reduce the gender labour force participation gap by 25 per cent by 2025, and committed to accelerating their efforts and to evaluating progress on the basis of the annual ILO/OECD report.
The Leaders highlighted the burden of unpaid care work, borne disproportionately by women, and condemned violence, abuse and harassment against women at work.
Looking at policies to end the gender pay gap caused by occupational segregation, the Leaders reinforced the need to provide girls and women with improved access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and to take steps to close the digital gender divide.