10th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment Starts in Sochi

The 10th Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Labour and Employment began in Sochi on 9 September 2024. The ministerial meeting is being held in an expanded format for the first time with the participation of new BRICS members.

The theme of the meeting is ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security’.

The meeting was also attended by International Social Security Association (ISSA) President Mohammed Azman, ISSA Secretary General Marcelo Caetano, and Director of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Mikhail Pushkin. ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo joined the meeting via videoconference.

Opening the meeting, Russian Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov pointed out that the anniversary meeting is being held in an expanded format and welcomed the new members.

Anton Kotyakov also noted that “cooperation in labour and employment affairs is key to achieving the goal of just development and security.”

The meeting participants are expected to adopt a declaration that will be prepared based on the results of the meetings of four working groups that are focusing on the following themes:

• ‘Development of a Career Guidance and Continuous Professional Education System for the Entire Population’
• ‘The Role of Platform Employment in the Labor Market and Problems with Regulating the Labour of Platform Workers’
• ‘Ensuring the Safe Work and Social Protection of Workers’
• ‘Development of Social Support for BRICS Citizens. Modern Tools of Social Policy’

“Each BRICS country has its own unique experience resolving issues concerning the development of the labour market. Sharing this experience and creating a unified strategic approach to the development of BRICS labour markets on its basis will be useful for the world community as a whole. We will listen with great interest to the speeches of the member countries on each of the issues raised and will be able to develop common principles and approaches that will enable us to work effectively in the future for the benefit of our countries,” Anton Kotyakov said.

In the run-up to the ministerial meeting, representatives of the ISSA and the ILO visited the Russian Social Fund’s customer service office in Sochi, where Anton Kotyakov and Russian Social Fund Chairman Sergey Chirkov told representatives of the international organizations about the fund’s work, its support measures, and the social treasury.

“Yesterday I was fortunate enough to visit the Social Fund of the Russian Federation in Sochi, and I am very impressed by the efforts that have been made to develop this area, how it is being updated, and how it is being digitalized in Russia,” Mohammed Azman said in his opening remarks. “We have literally already seen the future here thanks to the modernization and digitalization of the processes of providing social services. It’s not only about technology, but also about the confidence that each citizen has access to social security. And such digitalization sets a new tone and bar for the quality of service in social security. It ensures efficiency and confidence that everyone who needs help, especially in times of crisis, will be able to receive it.”

The ministerial meeting will conclude on 10 September 2024. Following the event, the foreign delegations are expected to attend the opening of the 9th Russian Labour Safety Week, which is taking place on 10–13 September at Sirius Federal Territory.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship.