Labour and Employment ministers of BRICS countries adopted ministerial Declaration at the first meeting of Labour and Employment ministers under Russian G20 Presidency
26 January 2016

First meeting of Labour and Employment ministers in the BRICS history was held in Ufa on January 25-26, 2016 on the initiative of the Russian Federation.

Minister of Labour and Social Protection Maxim Topilin acted as a speaker and moderator of the first day of the meeting.

During the meeting the ministers discussed a broad range of issues, including quality and inclusive employment, formalization of the labour market, harmonization of labour market indicators and information exchange in labour and employment sphere between the BRICS countries to monitor the progress employment programmes implementation.

A special session was devoted to the consultations with the social partners. The discussion of this session focused on the role of business and trade unions in creating jobs and employment opportunities, in particular strengthening tripartite cooperation in the field of training and vocational education.

In addition to BRICS ministries representatives of the international organizations (International Labour Organization (ILO), International Social Security Association (ISSA) and World Bank), employers` associations (Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), China Entrepreneur Club (CEC), China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), All India Organization of Employers (AIOE) and Business Unity South Africa), and trade union organizations of the BRICS countries participated in the event.

In the ministerial Declaration the ministers decided to focus their efforts on improving the quality and inclusiveness of employment by enterprises modernization, developing professional standards and qualifications, increasing quality of professional
education, providing social security to all workers, and supporting the unemployed .

The participants approved Russia's initiative to develop an information resource devoted to social and labour issues of the BRICS countries.

Next BRICS meeting on employment issues will be held within the Indian presidency.