In collaboration withL20 STATEMENT
TO THE G20 SUMMIT
HANGZHOU, 4-5 SEPTEMBER 2016

The Hangzhou Summit takes place at a moment of contracted growth and a persistent social crisis. G20 Leaders need to take action to raise growth and jobs throughexpansionary demand-side policies. They need to commit to a refocused structural
policy agenda that rebuilds strong labour market institutions to create quality jobs andto reduce income inequality.
The G20’s pledge to ensure inclusive growth requires firm commitments to address
youth unemployment, gender inequality, integration of refugees and migrants, while
taking action for the upcoming digital transformation and the need for a Just Transition
to a low-carbon economy. It requires a trade and investment system that works for all,not just international investors, and that raises the bar by ensuring that sustainability anddecent work standards are met in global supply chains.

Coordinated action for growth through increased wages
and public investment

For more informationand interviews
with the Labour 20contact
Anna Byhovskaya
byhovskaya@tuac.org
Gemma Swart
gemma.swart@ituc-csi.org

The G20 Leaders’ Summit (Hangzhou, 4-5 September 2016) takes place against thebackground of a global economy that is stuck in a low growth trap and confronted byheightened financial and political uncertainties. 2016 is proving to be the most dangerous
year economically since 2009. The current policy stance of loose but ineffective monetary
policy combined with contractionary fiscal policy and a structural weakening of collective bargaining institutions is not working. The outcome of the “Brexit” vote shows once
again that the time of business as usual is long behind us and that trickle down strategies
do not work. 65 to 70% of households in advanced economies, up to 580 million people,
have experienced falling or flat real income growth.
Continuing on this path will not result in a long-lasting and robust economic recovery andwill instead contribute to the risk of deflation. The high unemployment could become
structural because of scarring effects. The gap – with pre-crisis job levels – is persistent.
While unemployment rates have started to decrease in some countries, it has come at
the cost of a significant increase in labour market insecurity.

When adjusting growth strategies, Leaders need to commit to urgent demand-side
measures – including a coordinated public investment boost, as advocated by the June
OECD Economic Outlook1, put an end to austerity and prioritise policies leading toeconomic stability and wage growth.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Commit explicitly to fast and comprehensive measures to boost aggregate demandin the 2016 growth strategies, including a coordinated increase in public investment;
mm Endorse the Sustainable Wage Policy Principles (as agreed by G20 EmploymentMinisters) and support stronger labour market institutions in securing higher wage
growth as a way to boost demand and jobs and avoid zero inflation or deflation frombecoming entrenched through very weak wage agreements.

A new structural policy agenda to tackle rising inequalities
In 2015, G20 Leaders committed to revise structural policies to achieve more inclusive
growth and decrease inequality. The G20 Policy Priorities on Labour Income Share andInequalities, adopted in Antalya in 20152, recognised the link between raising wages
and reducing inequalities. These priorities and the 2016 G20 Labour and Employment
Minsters’ Sustainable Wage Policy Principles3 need to be implemented as a central partof revised structural policies.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Ensure that the G20 “enhanced structural reform agenda” and related principles arein line with current G20 commitments on wage policies and quality jobs, including
the 2016 Sustainable Wage Policy Principles and the 2015 Policy Priorities on Labour
Income Share and Inequalities;
mm Shape, through social dialogue, a new structural reform agenda that follows up on
the 2016 Employment Ministerial commitment to “deepen cooperation across G20bodies”4 on reducing inequality.

Action on youth employment, migrant integration andgender gaps
Building on past commitments, the G20 should take a firm stance to address the issuesof youth un- and underemployment, by following up on the G20 Youth Target5, and ofgender inequality, including through the “25 by 25” Target6 to reduce gender gaps inlabour market participation. Both targets need to be implemented but are not sufficient
to tackle underlying problems. In view of the unprecedented global refugee crisis, theG20 also has the responsibility to introduce new commitments on the integration ofmigrants in the labour market and in education and training systems.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Accelerate implementation of measures to meet the Youth Target before 2025,including through a G20 Youth Jobs Pact, and take action, in cooperation with socialpartners, on quality apprenticeship, on-the-job training and Vocational Educationand Training;
mm Support development of the care economy which is essential to increase both women’sand men’s participation in the labour market and take measures to effectively meetingthe “25 by 25” target while reducing the gender pay gap, also by strengthening therights of part-time workers and reducing occupational segmentation;
mm Take coordinated action to support the integration of migrants and refugees inreceiving countries including their right to work, education, training and socialprotection, prevent human trafficking and forced labour, and introduce targeted
programmes for unaccompanied minors and young adults.

WWW.LABOUR20.ORG | PAGE 2

Decisive action to meet climate ambition and achievesocially acceptable technological change
The Paris agreement on climate change needs prompt and decisive implementation.
But it requires that each country takes its fair share of measures and contributions to staywithin a +2°C global temperature increase and aim at a +1.5°C increase. It requires aclear strategy for employment and sustainable industrial transformation and a Just Transition for workers and communities.
As the G20 is setting out a “Blueprint for Innovative Growth” and intends to increase thepotential of the digital economy, there needs to be a strong commitment on regulatory
standards and quality jobs. Only then, can the “Next Production Revolution” be considered sustainable.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Undertake a broad review of countries’ contributions in meeting the objectives of theParis agreement;
mm Realise the Paris commitment to ensuring a “Just Transition” for workers andcommunities;
mm Address the regulatory challenges posed by the digitalisation of the economy
resulting from new business models, and ensure workers are not the one paying theprice of the “Next Production Revolution”.

Building a responsible international trade and investment
system
G20 Trade Ministers endorsed the “G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking”7, at their meeting in Shanghai on 10 July 2016 covering, inter alia, investor
protection (including dispute settlement), responsible business conduct and corporate
governance. Ministers also agreed to “enhance capacity building to promote inclusiveand coordinated global value chains”, focusing in particular on providing support fordeveloping countries (especially Low Income Countries) and SMEs to participate in, andmove up, Global Value Chains (GVCs).
It is essential that G20 action on international trade and investment contributes topromote sustainable development and is in line with the G20 Employment Ministers’
the commitment of July 2016 to realise labour rights and decent work in global supplychains.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Commit to enforceable provisions on labour rights and investors’ responsibilities inagreements, and ensure the stated G20 Principle of “fair, open and transparent”
alternative dispute settlement measures offers access to all constituencies and covers
the rights of all stakeholders;
mm Enact domestic legislation that makes it mandatory for companies to conduct humanrights due diligence in global supply chains and work with the ILO to identify ways topromote all aspects of the decent work agenda based on the June 20168 outcomes ofthe ILC discussion on global supply chains;
mm Draw up a coordinated G20 strategy to ensure responsible business conduct,
including by developing National Action Plans to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and strengthening G20 National Contact Pointsof the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

WWW.LABOUR20.ORG | PAGE 3

Ensuring policy coherence and social dialogue across G20work streams
The G20 Leaders’ Summit builds on preceding Finance, Agriculture, Trade and Employment Ministerial Meetings. The outcomes of these meetings should be recognised in acoherent way by the Leaders. In the absence of a strong policy coherence mechanism,
such as a joint Labour and Finance Ministers Meeting, there is a risk of contradictory
outcomes between the G20 employment and finance track deliverables – in particularregarding the priority areas for structural reforms. This is recognised in the Employment
Ministerial Declaration where ministers “commit to enhancing coherence [and] cooperation with other G20 tracks” in order to prevent “negative spill-overs”9.
It is important to sustain and enhance stakeholder consultations, and in particular
engagement with social partners, including the L20, the voice of trade unions at theG20. The ITUC, TUAC and their employer counterparts, IOE and BIAC, issued a jointstatement “A Common Message for Innovation, Growth, Jobs and Decent Work” aheadof the G20 Employment Ministerial10.
G20 Leaders should:
mm Increase the cooperation between the Employment Working Group and the FinanceTrack to establish coordinated policy packages towards achieving the +2.1% growthtarget;mm Institutionalise policy coherence by committing to a Joint Labour and Finance Ministers Meeting in early 2017;mm Recognise the role of trade unions and social dialogue, support the L20-B20 jointstatement and ensure social partners are effectively consulted and can participate
across all G20 tracks.

1OECD (2016), OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2016 Issue 1, OECD Publishing, Paris.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eco_outlookv2016-1-en

2

G20 Labour and Employment Ministers Declaration, 2015, §6-7 & Annex 1

3

G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting Declaration, 2016, §16 & Annex 4 http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/howthe-ilo-works/multilateral-system/g20/WCMS_499403/lang--en/index.htm

4G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting Declaration, 2016, §225

G20 Labour and Employment Ministers Declaration, 2015, §13-14 & Annex 3

6G20 (2014), G20 Leaders’Communiqué, Brisbane Summit, November 2014, https://g20.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/
brisbane_g20_leaders_summit_communique1.pdf

7Guiding Principle III of the G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policymaking. http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/Upload/Documents/Annex%20III%20G20%20Guiding%20Principles%20for%20Global%20Investment%20Policymaking.pdf

8Reports of the Committee on Decent Work in Global Supply Chains: Resolution and conclusions submitted for adoption by theConference, 10 June 2016 http://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/105/reports/provisional-records/WCMS_489115/lang--en/index.htm

9G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting Declaration, 2016, §6

10 The statement raises key common priorities calling on the G20 to: Develop a policy framework for better technology diffusion andwithin the digital economy; Determinedly tackle youth unemployment; Pursue macro-economic policies that promote employment;
Make a reality of the 2014 Brisbane target of reducing by 25% the gender gap in employment by 2025; Promote formality andimplement the recommendation on informality adopted by the 2015 International Labour Conference: http://www.ituc-csi.org/ioebiac-ituc-tuac-statement-to

WWW.LABOUR20.ORG | PAGE 4

Global Unions
www.global-unions.org

BWI
www.bwint.org

L20 STATEMENT
TO THE G20 SUMMIT
HANGZHOU, 4-5 SEPTEMBER 2016

EI
www.ei-ie.org

IAEA
www.iaea-globalunion.org

IFJ
www.ifj.org

IndustriALL
www.industriall-union.org

ITF
www.itf.org.uk

ITUC
www.ituc-csi.org

IUF
www.iuf.org

PSI
www.world-psi.org

TUAC
www.tuac.org

UNI
www.uniglobalunion.org

Education International
Internationale de l'Education
Internacional de la Educación
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