G20 Brazil: Leaders’ Declaration includes welcome focus on labour and social justice to fight poverty and inequalities

Trade unions welcome key elements of the G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders' Declaration but call for concrete actions on urgent global challenges.

The Declaration includes commitments to multilateralism, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the fight against inequalities but falls short in addressing the critical topic of climate finance.

Key points from the Declaration include:

• Social inclusion and poverty eradication: The launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty is a positive step forward, focusing on mobilising resources and knowledge-sharing to reduce poverty, including through social protection.
• Labour and decent work: unions welcome the focus on gender equality and reducing the gender pay gap, as well as reaffirmed commitments to creating quality jobs, eradicating forced labour and child labour, and ensuring occupational safety and social protection. These should be complemented with concrete actions to increase the labour income share through strengthened collective bargaining and the adoption of living wages.
• Tax reform: The Declaration supports progressive taxation and advances the importance of taxing ultra-high-net-worth individuals, but decisive action, and other critical measures, like a financial transaction tax, are missing.
• Digitalisation and AI: Acknowledging AI's impact on workers, the G20 committed to inclusive labour market practices and safe, trustworthy AI use, guided by social dialogue.
• Climate action: The endorsement of just and inclusive energy transition principles is welcome, but the absence of concrete commitments on climate finance is a significant concern.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle commented: "The G20's recognition of the importance of tackling inequalities and advancing quality jobs and workers' rights is encouraging. The G20 needs to respond to current geopolitical challenges through actionable measures that put social justice at the centre."

"Under the Brazilian leadership, the G20 has put the reduction of poverty and inequality at the centre of its work, in line with many of the L20 calls. Leaders must now deliver on their commitments and make sure their countries do what it takes to advance a Just Transition and put the respect for workers' rights globally at the centre of their policies," added Veronica Nilsson, TUAC General Secretary.

Unions also noted the G20's emphasis on reforming global governance and amplifying the voice of developing countries in multilateral fora, while urging leaders to take bolder steps towards a just and sustainable global economy.

Luc Triangle concluded: "As the world faces escalating inequality and a deepening climate crisis, the ITUC calls on G20 leaders to transform commitments into concrete actions that deliver for workers and the planet."

The G20 Leaders' Summit was preceded by the G20 Social Summit, which brought together representatives from all the G20 countries, the L20, social movements and other groups engaged with the G20. The G20 Social Summit adopted a declaration that reflects the central significance of decent work in the fight against poverty and inequality, the need to implement labour rights and the importance of a Just Transition.

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