Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment, Santosh Gangwar delivered the Ministerial Address on ‘Declaration and Employment Working Group Priorities’ at G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting 2021, which was held in Hybrid mode from Catania, Italy. The meeting was hosted by Italy (2021 G20 Presidency).
- Labour and Employment Ministers from all G20 & invited countries participated in the meeting. They adopted the Joint Ministerial Declaration at the end of the meeting.
- They discussed current labour market trends across the world, employment and social challenges, women employment, social security and remote working.
- The Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting 2021 is one of the ministerial meetings organized as part of the G20 Leaders Summit 2021, set to be hosted by Italy in October 2021.
Key Points from the Minister’s Address
Santosh Gangwar highlighted initiatives taken by India to address the issues of women, self-employed & people working in the unorganised sector.
For Women
The new Code on Wages, 2019 will reduce gender gaps in labour force participation. It will reduce gender-based discrimination in wages, recruitment and conditions of employment.
- The duration of the paid maternity leave has been increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
- Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) provides financial support to women entrepreneurs to start small enterprises.
- Collateral free loans worth INR 9,000 billion have been disbursed under this scheme. 70% of the accounts are held by women under this scheme.
For Self-employed
The new Code on Social Security 2020 brings self-employed and all other classes of workforce under social security coverage.
For Unorganised Sector
The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), a voluntary and contributory pension scheme introduced in 2019 for the unorganised sector workers provides a minimum assured pension after the age of 60 years.
Efforts taken by G20 to reduce Gender Gap
In 2014, G20 Leaders took a pledge in Brisbane, Australia to reduce the gap in labour force participation rates between men and women by 25% by 2025, with an aim of bringing 100 million women into the labour market.
- The process of reducing gender inequalities has slowed down due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
About G20
Members – 20 (19 countries + European Union)
2021 Presidency – Italy
Established – 1999
