Ministerial and Other Meetings > G7/8 Labour and Employment Ministers

G7 Charlevoix Summit

Annex A:
2018 G7 Employment Outcomes

G7 Labour Ministers
Montreal, Canada, March 28, 2018
[Français]

To support our efforts to prepare for the jobs of the future, it is proposed that the G7 Employment Ministers implement an integrated strategy that:

Positions G7 countries to respond to the opportunities and challenges of the future of work;
Launches a digital tool to support effective collaboration among G7 countries;
Promotes women's economic empowerment;
Sustains the dialogue into the future; and
Demonstrates leadership to prepare the next generation of workers.

1. Positioning the G7 for the future of work

G7 Employment Ministers established a time-limited G7 Employment Task Force to undertake targeted research, analyses, and make recommendations on priority issues for G7 countries related to the future of work

The Task Force will be composed of G7 government members, and as appropriate, will include participation from international organizations, labour organizations, business and subject-matter experts, including in the area of gender equality, who will be invited to contribute to advancing dialogue, developing a body of knowledge and formulating policy recommendations. The Task Force will report on its findings to the Presidency as appropriate, and could make use of the G7 Future of Work Forum to share information.

The Task Force's deliverables would be to:

Advance a dialogue on the impacts of changing forms of work, and especially on women and underrepresented populations, and opportunities in specific sectors;
Exchange data collection methods and discuss definitions and measures related to changing forms of work to allow a better understanding of trends and challenges, forecast in-demand skills, and identify targeted actions, including to address disruption and innovation;
Share best practices and identify possible policy approaches on how to modernise labour standards and social protection systems, including to provide workers in different forms of employment with supports that are appropriate for the new world of work;
Modernise labour standards and social protection systems, including to provide workers in different forms of employment with supports that are appropriate for the new world of work;
Share best practices and identify policy approaches to assist individuals in making the transition and adapting to changes in the labour market.
Assess and analyze government-produced data, including identifying data gaps, as well as identify engagement opportunities with the private sector to extract data on issues such as:

- work in the platform economy
- education and skills development of women and girls, particularly in relation to STEM; and
- gender pay gap and work life balance.

Exchange ideas on how forms of collective representation respond to the changing nature of work.

The Task Force would begin its work under the Canadian Presidency with a meeting in the fall 2018.

2. Launching a digital tool to support collaboration

Public launch of the G7 Future of Work Forum

Building on the outcome of the 2017 G7 Italian presidency, Employment Ministers publicly launched the G7 Future of Work Forum. The Forum is hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development with the input and support from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Forum:

is a key tool that supports the work of the G7 Employment Task Force and fosters evidence-based decisions and concrete actions.
allows G7 countries to present the latest information on policies and programs focused on preparing for the jobs of the future.
includes a community page for countries to engage in internal discussion and communicate in real-time.
includes a public facing page highlighting key policy and program tools. For example, it could include labour market information to assist workers to transition to jobs of the future.

3. Promoting women’s economic empowerment

Promote domestic and international tools to address the issue of violence and harassment in the workplace

There is mounting international awareness of, and calls for action to address, violence and harassment in the world of work. Recent movements have highlighted the prevalence of harassment and violence in the workplace, especially against women and gender minorities. There is a critical need for policies to prevent violence and harassment, to respond effectively, and to support victims, survivors and employers; recognizing that the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages all of us to eliminate violence against women and girls.

The ILO is leading efforts internationally to address the issue, including through the development of an international standard addressing violence and harassment in the workplace. The OECD also issued a progress report on the implementation of the Gender Recommendation and the focus on policies to combat violence against women. G7 countries welcome these discussions and encourage governments to work with labour organizations, businesses, civil society, and experts on gender equality to develop and promote policies that prevent violence and harassment, respond effectively, and support those affected. To examine how different groups of people may experience violence and harassment, policies could take into consideration areas of discrimination, for example gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age and disability.

Engaging in this analysis and outreach will advance discussions on tools available to governments and the private sector to address violence and harassment in the workplace, and could contribute to best practices in the G7 Future of Work Forum. This dialogue and development of policy tools will be an important step towards realizing economic empowerment of women.

4. Sustaining the dialogue

To ensure that the dialogue on preparing for jobs of the future continues, Canada proposes to host a conference with domestic partners on the future of work

Canada's focus on preparing for the jobs of the future will culminate in a conference with Canadian stakeholders (employers, educational institutions, unions, provinces and territories) to build on the outcomes of the G7 Employment Ministers' discussions. This will allow continuing the dialogue at the domestic level to better position Canadians to be prepared for the opportunities and challenges that come with the future of work. The conference will engage the Gender Equality Advisory Council to enrich conversations on efforts to close the wage gap. In the spirit of our commitment to Open and Transparent Government, Canada will demonstrate leadership and encourage other G7 countries to continue to engage their domestic partners in similar discussions.

5. Demonstrating leadership

To prepare the next generation of workers

Over the next three years, the Government of Canada will invest $3M to support the creation of up to 500 new student work placements in the field of AI. This initiative will promote gender equity in emerging and increasingly important fields like AI by offering employers enhanced wage subsidies of up to 70% of wages (up to a maximum for $7,000) for student work placements created for women and other underrepresented groups. This initiative will build on existing partnerships with information technology organizations such as the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and/or the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), the leading organizations in AI across Canada.

Canada will explore future opportunities for collaboration with other G7 countries to share expertise and experience in developing and implementing work-integrated learning strategies and programs. Canada will explore possibilities to have a reciprocal exchange among G7 countries in the fields that are critical for preparing for jobs of the future.

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Source: Official website of the 2018 Canadian G7 Presidency

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