G20 in Brazil as an opportunity for trade unions

The location could not have been chosen better to literally meet in the middle: Fortaleza is almost closer to Europe than to many spots in Latin America. The northern Brazilian city served as the venue for this year's Labour 20 Summit (L20, 24-25 July), as well as the subsequent G20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting (LEMM, 26-27 July). The meeting point hence symbolises what Brazil has set out to achieve with its G20 presidency generally: To build a bridge between North and South to solve global problems.

Strong trade union perspective in the G20 process

L20 is one of many engagement groups in the G20 process and acts as the voice of the trade union organisations from the world's twenty largest economies. After trade unions only had a limited say under the Indian presidency last year, the opposite is now the case. Brazil's government, led by former trade unionist and co-founder of the Labour Party Lula da Silva, actively involves trade unions and offers the opportunity to give labour and employment issues more attention on the global stage again.

Although the L20 group only brings together trade unions from a few countries, different worlds gather in terms of development interests, organisational cultures and stances on geopolitical conflicts. However, the three thematic priorities of Brazil's G20 presidency – social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty, sustainable development and energy transition, and the reform of global institutions – draw the attention to common challenges rather than differences. These thematic priorities also enable the global trade union movement to place its core concerns in a politically prominent position.

Back in spring, the L20, led by the Unified Workers' Central of Brazil (CUT) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), succeeded in providing workers' perspectives on the entire G20 agenda under the motto "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet through a New Social Contract". In this declaration, the Brazilian proposal for a global minimum tax rate for billionaires is expressly welcomed, the creation of decent jobs with social security is placed at the centre in the fight against poverty, and the need for the participation of workers and trade unions for just ecological transformation processes is emphasised.

The L20 summit in July built on this declaration with policy recommendations, many of which were included in the declaration of the labour ministers' meeting. This ministerial meeting also opened with a leadership forum at which the L20 presented joint positions with the Business 20 (B20) employers' side on fair ecological and digital transformations. Thus, not only North and South, but also the social partners came together in Fortaleza, at least for a moment.

When is a transition a "just transition"?

Despite a broad range of topics, two questions were of paramount importance at the L20 summit: How can unavoidable global changes, such as the transition to a climate-neutral economy and the digitalisation of the world of work, be achieved in a socially just manner? And following this: Who pays for these transitions and to what extend?

In the case of climate protection measures, it became clear that upfront investments and a larger share of funding from industrialised countries are necessary for global mobilisation. Furthermore, there were demands for the creation of decent jobs with collective bargaining and co-determination of workers in the expansion of renewable energies, for example through industrial policy measures or public procurement conditions. From a labour perspective in particular, it is about changing the entire economic system, not just the energy supply, which needs to be shaped by workers as well.

The growing influence of algorithms and artificial intelligence is also bringing about vast changes in the workplace. Across countries, the experience was shared that state regulation is lagging behind. As a result, it is increasingly up to trade unions to ensure the responsible use of technology in companies. However, rapid new developments and a lack of control over data processing make this task immensely harder.

The agreements reached by the L20 trade unions on these transformation issues has shown in which areas global consensus is both necessary and possible. The G20 Social Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November, directly before the meeting of heads of state and government, is another opportunity to gain support for the workers' positions. Only at this moment will it become clear, how much consensus can be reached in fact with the help of Brazil's extraordinary hospitality.