Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Rameshwar Teli called upon the G20 countries to move deliberations for EWG’s three priority areas. Addressing Global Skill Gaps, Gig and Platform Economy and Sustainable Financing of Social Security further and translate them into clear strategies.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 2nd Employment Working Group(EWG) meeting in Guwahati, Assam today he commended the remarkable progress achieved during the 1st EWG meet held in Jodhpur this February.
He said the collective efforts of the G20 delegates, knowledge partners and guests have laid a solid foundation for EWG’s three priority areas and inputs towards these priority areas as seen in the first meeting are a testament to commitment towards building a better world for all.
Shri Teli said deliberations will be taken forward by the respective ministries in their countries post the formulation of the ministerial communique. He said the communique is key to defining the future direction of the global economy through its eventual implementation in the G20 nations.
He said moving towards tangible outcomes on the key priority areas need collective and constructive dialogue. He said G20 nations must carry these discussions with utmost care and responsibility, globally, public policy needs to be designed in a way so that it reaches the vulnerable, the most disadvantaged and the poor first, so that they can be brought into the main stream within reasonable timeframes.
Minister of Environment & Forest, Act East Policy Affairs, and Welfare of Minorities, Assam Government Shri Chandra Mohan Patowary also addressed the gathering. A compilation of essays by students on addressing labour issues as a part of Jan Bhagidari in G20 was also unveiled at the event.
The first day of the meeting comprised of sessions focused on different priority areas such as by the Sustainable Finance Working Group, Digital Economy Working Group, Education Working Group, G20 Entrepreneurship Research Centre and the L20, B20 Chairs.
The Sustainable Finance Working Group led the first presentation, and EWG’s collaboration with the G20 Finance Track pertains to the third key priority area i.e. Sustainable Finance of Social Security. Key issues dealt with by the Finance Track include monitoring global economic risks, sustainable finance, financing for future health emergencies, preparedness and response, reforms for a more stable and resilient global financial architecture.
The Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG), established in 2021, made the next presentation. There are various cross cutting areas between the two working groups and hence the EWG’s collaboration with the DEWG.The Education Working Group (EdWG) gave the third presentation.
The EdWG aims to strengthen learning outcomes and equitable access through technological tools, digitalization, universal quality education, and more. The key areas of deliberation in the education theme intersect with the first priority area under the Indian Presidency of EWG which is Addressing Global Skill Gaps.
The fourth presentation was led by the G20 Entrepreneurship Research Centre (ERC). The implementation of the G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan is being led by ERC, Tsinghua University from China along with the Entrepreneurial Research Centre, which aims to be an institution with academic and policy influence and entrepreneurial and employment results.
A session on the update on activities and accomplishments of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 economies took place.These sessions were followed by presentations by L20 Chair (Labour 20) and B20 Chair (Business 20) on outcomes of their inception meetings.
The L20 convenes trade union leaders from the G20 countries, in representation of millions of workers worldwide. It contributes to the work of the G20 with analysis and policy recommendations aimed at improving labour-related issues. The B20 is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community. The sessions were marked by Yoga Stretch break which was appreciated by all the members.
Earlier in the day Secretary ,Ministry of Labour and Employment Mrs Arti Ahuja briefed the press about overall deliberations of The Employment Working Group (EWG) under the G20 Indian Presidency in its second meeting from 3rd – 5th April 2023 in Guwahati.
She said the EWG has a mandate of addressing priority labour, employment and social issues for strong, sustainable, balanced, and job-rich growth for all. She informed 74 Delegates from over 19 G20 member countries, 7 guest countries and 5 International Organisations i.e. International Labour Organisation(ILO), Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and International Social Security Association (ISSA), Asian Development Bank (ADB) & World bank (WB)) are present at the ongoing meetings.