The BRICS 7th Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting held on July 15, 2021 just reiterated the great aspirations, and it cannot be taken at its face value because of the prior experience of the performance of the governments in past several years. The Adoption of a declaration is however significant because it recognized exacerbation of already prevailing large scale unemployment, decent work deficits, and inequality during the COVID-19 crisis. COVID-19 has turned our world, and the world of work upside down, and has derailed progress in reducing poverty around the world, and made achieving decent work for all even more of a challenge. The member countries did express their ‘strong determination’ to recover with stronger markets and social protection systems for the workforce, but not as the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, emphasized on recovery plans which need to be human-centred, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.

Repairing the damage caused accordingly will require great efforts and considerable resources, however, the ‘strong determination’ of the governments implies other than the things that they have been talking in words. The declaration adopted do address critically important challenges – informality, gender equality, social protection, and the growth of the digital economy – but the real challenge of unemployment and unemployability looms large.

The severe impact of the crisis on informal workers highlighted the need to accelerate progress on the shift from the informality to formality, because hundreds of millions of people earn their living in the informal economy – six out of every ten workers in the world. Then there is gender disparity. Women lost more jobs than men, and more of them comparatively withdrawn for the labour market. Gender inequality got worse in the care work dominated by women. If we are to address these issues effectively, we need concrete, targeted policies and actions, not merely ‘strong commitments’ merely in words.

We have been witnessing such ‘strong commitments’ without proper actions in India, as the Union government have been trying to push the controversial labour reform, which central trade unions, bank employees unions, insurance employees unions, and many more call anti-labour and pro-corporate. However, India’s Union Minister of Labour has talked about the controversial labour reforms boastfully, and called those the ‘path breaking reforms’ brought by the government through amalgamation, simplification and codification of its labour laws into four labour codes, namely “the Code of Wages 2019, the Code on Social Security 2020, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020.” India’s stance in the BRICS meeting clearly shows that the government is bent upon implementing the proposed reforms in near future despite still opposition of the labour unions of the country.

The Union Minister of Labour said that the new labour codes provide integrated pathways towards robust formalization of the labour market, increasing participation of women in labour force and enhancing the role of gig and platform workers in the labour market. In the backdrop of very dismal performance of the Modi government is all the areas of aspirations expressed, the stress on enhancing intra-BRICS solidarity and promoting sustained, inclusive, full and productive employment and decent work for all, is nothing but hoodwinking of workers in India, and trying to get international support for its controversial labour reform.

The need of signing of Social Security agreements among BRICS nation was emphasized, but it was not for domestic workers within the country, but for the international migrant workers.

“Formalisation of Labour Markets” is has now been seen as an important tool for eradication of miseries of informal workforce in every country. Enhancing the transition from informality to formality as a means towards improving living and working conditions, productivity, and job growth will need access to quality employment and social protection. It has been reiterated for quite some time but near to nothing has been done. It is yet again reiterated and the Ministers expressed their commitments. Promoting sustained participation of women in the labour market, in remunerative, productive and decent work was agreed upon by all as top priorities in the national policy agenda. Enhancing the role of gig and platform workers in labour market is also agreed upon. But an expressed commitment has no value if not followed by appropriate actions.

Apart from the ‘labour and market reforms’, emphasis was also given on development of the digital economy, including digital delivery of services, which is of course technology centred, not human-centred as the ILO wants it should be, to overcome the workers tribulations. Though digital technologies can boost labour productivity, increase flexibility, encourage greater inclusion, and create new jobs for higher skilled workers, it can undermine fundamental principles and right at work, if not properly regulated. We need legal framework for protecting the gig and platform works, ensure decent work for all, bring strong and inclusive social protection systems. (IPA Service)