L20 Tracking Report: Half of G20 policies rated as ineffective

The TUAC and ITUC are releasing the results of the L20 Questionnaire that tracked G20 commitments from 2013 at the L20 Summit in Brisbane that starts on November 12. The survey of Labour 20 members representing working people in G20 economies has found that 56% of G20 policies are considered ineffective in improving outcomes for working people.

The purpose of the survey was to a) track the implementation of G20 national commitments; b) assess their impact on the social and economic situation at country-level; c) evaluate the effects of G20 general commitments on working families; d) identify priority areas for future policy actions; and e) select the best options for institutional collaboration to achieve policy coherence and compliance at the G20 level. L20 affiliates were asked to rate 76 country policy commitments from the Saint Petersburg Action along scales on their progress of implementation and effectiveness on the economic and social situation in a country.

“More than half of G20 policies have failed to have a positive impact on working people with weak action on issues that could have had an impact on workers lives such as jobs, decent wages and social protection”, said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation on the eve of the annual Labour 20 (L20) Summit in Brisbane, Australia.

More than 200 million people were unemployed in 2013, an increase of 5 million compared with the year before according to the International Labour Organisation.

“Governments are prioritising policies which support the interests of big business and not tackling the inequality of wages and rising unemployment,” said Ms Burrow.

“In Brisbane, the G20 needs to agree on a plan for jobs and growth, putting in place comprehensive measures to support aggregate demand, reduce inequality and spur investments. This must be backed up by national job creation targets, and followed up in consultation with social partners,” said John Evans, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).

L20 Policy Tracking 2013 -14 Surveying the Impacts of g20 Commitments on Working Families (English)

Other Reports and Recommendations for the Brisbane Summit:

L20 recommendations to the G20 Summit (English, French, Spanish)

L20 statement to G20 leaders (English, French, Spanish)

Economic modelling prepared for the L20 by Professor Ozlem Onaran, University of Greenwich (English)

L20 Info-graphic The World Needs a Pay-rise

Read the findings of the ITUC Global Poll 2014
(English, French, Spanish)