According to Chair of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FNPR) of Russia, Chair of the Labour 20 Mikhail Shmakov, the collaboration between business community and labour unions covered the issues, which are in line with the Russian G20 Presidency priorities. The discussion was mainly focused on the issues of tackling unemployment and creating decent jobs.
President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) and Chair of the Business 20 Alexander Shokhin spoke on the work of the B20 Task Force on Job Creation, Employment and Investment in Human Capital. This work resulted in formulation of the corresponding part of the White book - the final version of the Business 20 recommendations for the G20 Leaders. "Our basic idea is that new, inclusive model of growth should, above all, take into account the role of employment and job creation," Alexander Shokhin noted. He added that another priority is investment in human capital and job skills development.
The RSPP President described the three key elements of the Business 20 recommendations with respect to employment, namely, expanding employment opportunities, providing enabling environment for entrepreneurship and job creation, and responding to the demographic challenges. "We expect that the Labour 20 will make their contribution to the development of particular measures and tools, in particular as far as enabling environment for business and entrepreneurship is concerned," Alexander Shokhin said.
Likewise, within the session official presentation of the Joint B20-L20 Statement "Key Elements of Quality Apprenticeships" was held. In the Statement common approaches of the Business 20 and Labour 20 to the issue are formulated. Particular attention is paid to vocational training of youth, as well as to upgrading the skills of the already educated workers.
According to the Executive Vice-President of the International Organization of Employers (IOE) Daniel Funes de Rioja, this year the G20 process gave workers and employers an opportunity to contribute efficiently to the work of the forum. "Taking into account the nature of the current crisis we are convinced that private sector has a role to play in its resolution. To this end, we need collaboration between employers and trade unions. Certainty, our primary stances are different, but we are trying to build up the dialogue to reach consensus. And our efforts yield results, one of which is our Joint Statement on Quality Apprenticeships. In our opinion, the issue of professional education should be put in the core of the strategy aimed at improving the quality of jobs and the quality of living standards," Daniel Funes de Rioja stressed.
During the Summit the Labour 20 recommendations on sound, sustainable, fair and green growth for the G20 Ministers and Leaders were also presented. Emphasizing the role of the cooperation with the social partners within the framework of the Russian G20 Presidency, Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Sharon Barrow mentioned: "The global economy is no more stable today than it was six years ago, when the first G20 Summit was held. Today we must restructure our economies. The results of our poll show that people feel abandoned by their governments, so the decision by the Russian Presidency to put job creation on the agenda is vital."
"We need a real plan, a plan which governments will put into practice. It is vital to turn from words to actions. We need to be assured that the G20 countries are fulfilling their commitments, and to attain this goal business community and trade unions are committed to work jointly with governments," Sharon Barrow concluded.
