His Excellency Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong, the Minister of Home Affairs attended the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting virtually on the 23rd June 2021 at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bandar Seri Begawan, Negara Brunei Darussalam.
The session was officiated by His Excellency Mr. Andrea Orlando, Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies. Brunei Darussalam was invited as the ASEAN Chair for 2021 and had the opportunity to share some of the progressive and meaningful work that the ASEAN Member States have initiated as deliverables for this year in respect of the priorities proposed by the chair of the G20 2021.
As the chair of ASEAN, during the meeting, His Excellency the Minister of Home Affairs Brunei Darussalam shared that the ASEAN Member States aim to mainstream the principles of gender equality in labour and employment policies and practices in line with international standards towards gender equality in the world of work and decent work for all. ASEAN Labour Ministers had adopted a statement on the Future of Work, which emphasizes a collective intention to improve education and training standards to harness technology; to increase the labour force participation of women and vulnerable social groups; to promote fiscally sustainable public and private national social protection initiatives; and to support efforts for collective representation and social dialogue.
Representatives from international organisations contributed to exchange of ideas, policies and good practices on the impact of the pandemic on the world of work; the OECD, ILO and World Bank Group presented their most recent studies on remote work, the impact of artificial intelligence on employment and the skills that will be most in-demand in the labour market in the light of the on-going transitions in the world of work.
The exchange of views among the representatives of the various Governments and organisations focused on the G20 labour and employment priorities i.e. more, better and equally paid jobs for women: stepping up efforts towards the Brisbane target, social protection systems in a changing world of work and working patterns, business organization and productions process in the era of digitalization.
The Meeting was also attended by Yang Mulia Awang Md Amir Hairil bin Haji Mahmud, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; Yang Mulia Awang Muhammad Saufi bin Haji Ibrahim, Commissioner of Labour and senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as from the Labour Department.
