05/05/2011

OECD Social Policy Ministers meeting in Paris 2-3 May 2011 emphasised the need to “create more and better jobs in the recovery and beyond for more inclusive labour markets” and to reduce income inequality. Ministers agreed that re-distributive together with measures to support the growth of quality employment must lie at the heart of strategies to promote employment, equality and social cohesion.

They discussed the vital role played by social protection systems in providing a buffer against the effects of the global crisis and underlined their commitment “to combating poverty and social exclusion and providing adequate and financially sustainable social protection”.

Ministers also recognised the key role played by dialogue between governments and the social partners in the crisis in adapting labour market and social policies to the crisis and stabilizing employment in many OECD countries. They agreed to promote “a continued social dialogue to identify the most suitable social policy packages for the recovery and beyond.”

Delegations from TUAC and BIAC attended the first session of the Ministerial, which was chaired by Frances O’Grady, Deputy General Secretary of the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC). Frances O’Grady urged Ministers to prioritise jobs and invest in quality public services.

Commenting on the outcome, TUAC General Secretary John Evans said “we welcome the priority given to job creation, reducing inequality and investing in social protection. Trade unions are encouraged that Social Policy Ministers, in the face of persistent high unemployment, have not joined the stampede to welfare retrenchment. But with many OECD governments embarking on fiscal contraction, it is essential that Social Policy Ministers make sure that Finance Ministers meeting later this month at the OECD, have got the message”.

links:

• www.oecd.org/social/ministerial
• Read the Ministers’ conclusions
• Read Professor Richard Freeman’s presentation at the Ministers’ policy Forum on inequality