G20 working group Bad Neuenahr instead of Berlin
Bad Neuenahr · The G20 Employment Working Group is meeting in the Ahr valley. They are preparing for the G20 Summit which will take place in Hamburg in July.
Activists gave a taste of what is to come when the G20 Summit takes place in Hamburg in July. On Thursday, they paddled in boats and displayed their banners on the Alster Lake in the heart of Hamburg, a prelude for demonstrations to come. The G20 Summit is scheduled for July 7-8, 2017. In contrast, no demonstrations were to be found in the Ahr valley on Thursday. Until Friday midday, a G20 Employment Working Group is meeting there in preparation for the summit.
German Federal Minister of Labor Andrea Nahles was visibly pleased to welcome the group to the area of her home constituency. “It doesn’t always have to be Berlin,” she called out to her colleagues.
“In light of globalization and digitalization, many people are asking if they can keep pace with a rapidly changing working world,” said Nahles. She added, “We take these concerns very seriously and want to do something about it.” The minister named four areas of action that could be taken - “in order to achieve prosperity and growth for all the people of the world.” Continual improvement of education and training were key to make sure people did not fall through the cracks.
Another area of focus is supporting the gainful employment of women, with better jobs and equal pay. “We have done too little in the past years to make advances in this area,” she said. The pay difference for men and women in the G20 remains at around 23 percent. She also said that one could learn from countries which offer women a guaranteed return to a full-time job after raising children. Nahles emphasized that integration of immigrants into the work market would also be key for their integration into society.
The German Labor Minister said it was also hoped to strengthen corporate responsibility within the global supply chain. It’s about adequate wages, better job protection and sending a clear signal against child and slave labor.
Participants at the G20 meeting in Bad Neuenahr
Representatives from the following countries and organizations took part in the meetings in Bad Neuenahr: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, France, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi-Arabia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, USA, European Union, African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Asian-Pacific Economic Community, International Labour Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Monetary Fund, World Bank. (Orig. text: Bernd Eyermann)
