G20 leaders at the Antalya Summit have
acknowledged that reducing inequality, creating jobs and ensuring inclusion are
essential to generate a stable economy.
The summit took place in the shadow of terrorism, the flight of refugees
from fear and the threat of further economic crisis.
For the first time in a Leaders’ statement, the G20
acknowledged that rising inequality is a major risk to “social cohesion --- and
our objective to lift growth” and called on “Finance Labour and Employment
Minsters to review growth strategies and employment plans to strengthen action
against inequality”. They committed to implementing the G20 Policy Priorities
on Labour Income Share and Inequalities that recognise the need to strengthen
labour market institutions, the role of minimum wages and collective
bargaining. However, this will mean
nothing unless there is national commitment to implement the priorities, warned
the Labour 20 (L20).
With global unemployment still 30 per cent above the
level before the crisis and the global jobs gap forecast to rise to 80 million
by 2018 and the risk of further recession, action is needed in the short term
to raise growth.
“The G20 is off
target to meet the 2.0 per cent extra growth target made last year in
Brisbane,” said John Evans, General Secretary of TUAC. “The leaders talked of
‘sound economic policies’ but what is
needed is a stimulus to public investment and wages of the bottom 40 per cent
of wage earners. The OECD, at the release of the most recent Economic Outlook
one week ahead of the G20 Summit, has called for ‘collective action to increase
public investment’ in Europe. But this has to be followed up by action by
governments. The price of failure to act is the risk of a further recession.”
The L20 welcomed the statement on refugees, as the world
faces the biggest refugee crisis since WWII, and the reference to climate.
“The crisis of refugees is recognised and there is a call
for humanitarian support, responsibility for providing safe haven and the
financial support for poorer economies, but there are no specific commitments
and the central issue of the right to work for refugees is missing,” said
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.
“The focus is now on leaders at the COP21 in two weeks to
negotiate an ambitious and legally binding agreement that keeps the world’s
temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius, delivers on the promise of
$100 billion in finance for developing countries by 2020, and has a mandatory
review mechanism,” said Burrow.
The L20 Summit in Antalya began the groundwork for the
labour and social input to the Chinese Presidency of the G20 in 2016.
“The world needs hope, and with control of 85 per cent of
the global economy and the majority of the world’s population, the G20 must act
with greater coordination and build on these commitments in China,” said Sharan
Burrow.
Media Information
Anna Byhovskaya, byhovskaya@tuac.org
Gemma Swart, Gemma.Swart@ituc-csi.org
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