Los líderes del B7 y del L7 hacen un llamamiento conjunto a los Ministros de Trabajo y Empleo del G7
En vísperas de la reunión ministerial del G7, empresarios y trabajadores publican una declaración conjunta (en inglés).
Business 7 (B7) and Labour 7 (L7) strongly condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. We call on G7 Leaders to contribute to resolving this conflict in line with the United Nations Charter and the success of peace talks. We reiterate our support to the UNHCR appeal to protect the civilian population and open humanitarian corridors.
In times of great uncertainty, the B7 and L7 join voices and call for a recovery based on job-rich economic growth conducive to inclusion, resilience, and sustainability. We work together to adopt effective strategies and appropriate policy responses to address the multifaceted challenges and transformations the world of work is going through.
Climate scientists have rung the alarm, and climate action should be scaled up in response. The G7 should accelerate global climate and environmental protection through close collaboration among the G7 countries and cooperation with wider international partners. This should focus on new investments in infrastructure, active labour market policies for affected workers and support measures for companies. The G7 should conduct further employment impact assessments to anticipate and plan for change. We call on the G7 to work towards a just transition for the world of work by also including strategies relating to employment, business support, skills development and social protection in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement and to fully involve social partners in design and implementation on these matters.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the lack of income and labour protection for millions of workers facing disruption. To address decent work deficits in supply chains, we need to address the root causes – informality, weak governance and administration, corruption, insufficient labour inspection, lacking social protection floors and insufficient judicial systems as well as legislation which is not in line with the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the internationally recognized Human Rights. The G7 should support partner countries in building capacity to effectively implement and enforce national legislation. The state's duty to protect human rights and the enterprises’ responsibility to respect human rights are key in achieving decent work, quality employment and equal opportunities.
The B7 and L7 commit to Responsible Business Conduct in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines and the ILO MNE Declaration. Human Rights due diligence and remedy, including effective operational-level grievance mechanisms in line with the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights, are fundamental parts of Corporate Responsibility to respect human rights.
We ask G7 governments to accept responsibility for law and practice, including support for companies to meet their responsibility to respect human rights in line with the UNGP.
The B7-L7 call on G7 countries to also strengthen innovative approaches for collective action, such as the Vision Zero Fund and the Alliance 8.7. These innovative approaches provide valuable contributions for achieving effective change.
We support the G7 work on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and the discussion on climate-related threats to workers and businesses. We need better implementation of OSH at the workplace including through better training, to reduce workplace-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses. The establishment and promotion of joint workplace safety committees in line with national law and regulation can be an important means to increase safety. The G7 social partners commit to collaborate and engage constructively in the ILO discussion on OSH.
Declining population growth rates unabated by migration policy could pose challenges for the future of the world of work. Against the backdrop of demographic pressures, the G7 countries should guarantee skills and labour availability. We note that implementing G7’s past commitments would address the challenges arising from ageing societies.
The G7 governments have committed to increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the labour market. We call on doubling efforts to make labour markets accessible to more persons, focusing on developing skills, making workplaces accessible to all, and ensuring quality care services. Investing in the care economy has considerable potential for job creation, both direct and indirect, by removing barriers to the labour market participation of those who need to care for family members.
We call for inclusive and well-functioning labour markets and enhancing job quality in G7 countries and adapting labour market policies and institutions to ensure that they are conducive to job creation, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as to ensure decent work for all.
Further to this, we call for action to address informality and facilitate the transition to the formal economy through appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks, a conducive business and investment environment, and the respect for, promotion and realization of the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The G7 should support the ILO and partner countries to develop and implement formalisation strategies including technical capacity building, sharing of best practices, and financial assistance.
We call on the G7 to adopt policies that would prepare and assist employers and workers to succeed in the transition to and benefit from the digital economy. To this end, it is crucial to strengthen policies for upskilling and reskilling, digital education and vocational training and to strengthen investment in public digital infrastructure, so that opportunities in the labour market are created and the digital divide can be bridged.
We look forward to G7 action to ensure an inclusive transition to a digital economy, which opens job opportunities and creates benefits for all, including decent work for platform workers and successful transitions for SMEs. The ILO Expert Meeting in October on the platform economy and decent work will give important guidance in this regard.
Sixty per cent of low-income countries and 50 per cent of lower-middle-income countries are now at high risk of or already in debt distress. We urge the G7 to address this issue in a way that fully takes into account the need to promote employment, and entrepreneurship in order to contribute to poverty reduction, health care, education and climate action.
The G7 Summit takes place at a crucial moment to fully implement past commitments and achieve these goals that promote peace, climate action sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
