1st BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting

The first BRICS Employment Working Group was held virtually. It was hosted by India. India assumed BRICS Presidency in 2021.

Outcomes of the meet

• The member countries discussed about promoting social security agreements among BRICS Nations, participation of women in labour force, formalisation of labour markets.
• The members that participated in the meeting were BRICS countries and also members from International Labour Organisation and International Social Security Agency.

Social Security Agreement

The members agreed to conduct dialogues and discussions with each other to solve the issue of Social Security Agreement. Upon reaching into conclusions, they will take it forward to signing agreements. The ILO and the ISSA are to provide technical support.

The member countries also agreed to create a multilateral framework for the same.

Formalisation of Labour Market

The countries discussed on how COVID-19 has informalized the labour market.

Women in Labour Market

The counties agreed to promote women in productive and decent work. They also agreed to extend the social security cover to women workers in informal sector. They also discussed on the participation of women in labour force.

What is Social Security Agreement?

It is an agreement signed by a country to regulate the procedure of providing social security for its citizens who are permanently or temporarily residing in another country.

India’s Social Security Agreements

India till date has Social Security Agreements with South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Netherlands, Japan, Hungary, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Australia.

India signed Social Security Agreement with Brazil in 2018.

India has not yet signed SSA with US!

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021