2nd day at G20 EWG meeting at Brasilia sees progress on commitments made under Indian Presidency 2023
Countries moving ahead on
developing an international reference classification of occupations and skills,
enabling skills based international mobility of labour
Second day of the G20 Employment Working Group (EWG) meeting started
with a special session dedicated to the follow up of
implementation of commitments made during India’s G20 presidency to develop an
international reference classification of occupations and skills.
The Secretary, Labour & Employment, Sumita Dawra, highlighted that
the first step towards realisation of the long awaited global skill
harmonisation has been taken with ILO and OECD having prepared the draft terms
of reference (ToR) of the feasibility study for international reference
classification. The feasibility study, spanning two years, will include a pilot
in select sectors, including IT, care and green sectors.
The Indian delegation highlighted the need for G20 countries to work
towards the G20 EWG commitment of Indian Presidency in 2023 for incorporation
of basic and extended indicators in respective national surveys for mapping
global skills gaps. This classification of
occupations and skills has the potential to benefit developed, developing and
least developed nations alike.
Joint Secretary Rupesh Thakur presented that upon completion, the global
framework will cater to the anticipated immediate, medium and long term skill
requirements of G20 countries and beyond. It
will open up a world of employment opportunities to the workers of G20
countries especially emerging economies like India and Brazil. It will
enable demand based employment mobility, fostering a more interconnected and
efficient global job market.
Further sessions were on critical issues of the impact of care policies
and equal pay in promotion of gender equality in the world of work were
deliberated upon at the forum. The EWG acknowledged
the challenges faced by women due to disproportionate caregiving
responsibilities and the necessity of supportive care policies.
India's pro-active approach and steps in this
direction were highlighted:
· A
Time Use Survey was conducted for the first time in the nation in 2019 to
understand the distribution of paid and unpaid activities among genders.
· The Palna Scheme
provides quality day care facilities for children of working women.
· The
Code on Social Security 2020 aims at extending social security benefits to gig
and platform workers including women.
· Increase in paid
maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and mandatory crèche facility in the
establishments having 50 or more employees.
· Provision in labour
laws for work from home for such period and on such conditions mutually agreed
by employer and workers, especially women.
Another key agenda taken up was the issue of pay disparity between
genders. The Indian delegation enunciated the Government's efforts which have
aided in the notable decrease in the gender pay gap in India.
· The newly enacted
Code on Wages, 2019 aims at eliminating discrimination in matters related to
conditions of work in addition to the matters of recruitment and pay, thereby,
building on the existing Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
· There are schemes
like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Stand-Up India, etc for providing women
access to collateral free subsidised credit and seed money to set up or scale
up their own enterprises.
· Skill India Mission
endeavours to equip women with market-relevant skills to bridge the
learning-to-livelihood gap and the gender pay gap. Several initiatives taken
aim to promote change and tackle societal barriers, which eventually encourages
pay parity at workplace.
· Today, over 78.6% of
women own bank accounts that they themselves use, which is an improvement by
25% over last 5 years.
· India has made
notable progress in closing the gender pay gap over time and in 2022, equal match fees
for both male and female centrally contracted Indian cricket team players was
implemented.
· MGNREGA
implementation is helping in reduction of the gender pay gap, both directly and
indirectly.
The meeting concluded with comprehensive discussions on equality in the
world of work. It was emphasized that equality is economic necessity not just a
moral obligation. On this issue, India's multifaceted approach to
enhancing female participation in the workforce on an equal footing was
highlighted. Legislative and schematic interventions, such as the
National Education Policy 2020, Skill India Mission, and schemes for women in
STEM fields, were elucidated. The Government of India's historic move to
reserve one-third of seats for women in the House of People (Lok Sabha) and
in the State Legislative Assemblies in 2023, and efforts to
increase women's representation in armed and police forces were well received
by the forum.
The meeting concluded with a strong reiteration of the collective
resolve of the G20 countries to continue working towards, advancing gender
equality, diversity at workplace and social security.