DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL RENEWING AND REVISING THE MANDATE OF THE EMPLOYMENT, LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

THE COUNCIL,

HAVING REGARD to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14 December 1960; 

HAVING REGARD to the Rules of Procedure of the Organisation;

HAVING REGARD to the Revised Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV1/FINAL];

HAVING REGARD to the following Council Decisions concerning the Manpower Committee:

• Paragraph 35 of the Report of the Preparatory Committee;

• Minutes of the 543rd Meeting of the Council [C/M(81)15(Final)];

• Minutes of the 761st Meeting of the Council [C/M(91)14, Item 130 b)], renaming the Committee “The Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee”;

HAVING REGARD to Council Decision regarding a Sunset Clause for all Committees [C/M(2004)5, Item 75] entered into force on 22 April 2004 [C/M(2004)10, Item 143, IV, c)];

HAVING REGARD to the Council Decision on the extension of the mandate of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee [C(2008)199 and C/M(2008)21, Item 303], which was last renewed and revised in 2014 [C(2014)87 and C/M(2014)9, Item 126] and extended in 2019 [C(2019)141];

HAVING REGARD to the recommendations of the In-depth Evaluation [C(2018)76];

HAVING REGARD to the proposed revision of the mandate of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee [C(2020)79];

DECIDES:

A. The Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee (the “Committee”) is renewed with the following revised mandate:

1.   The Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee has the following objectives:

i)The overarching objective of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee is to foster comprehensive, cost-effective and innovative employment and social policies to promote strong, sustainable economic growth, high employment rates and enhance social inclusion;

ii)This shall be accomplished by the provision of Output Results that assist policymakers in designing, adapting and implementing policies that promote growth and generate good jobs, develop skills, assist Members to manage better international migration, enhance social cohesion, reduce inequality and poverty, improve the position of vulnerable groups on the labour market, and promote equality of opportunities for all;

iii)Within the framework of the new OECD Jobs Strategy and following the orientations for future work set out by the OECD Employment and Labour Ministerial in January 2016, identify cost-effective policy options to promote the creation of more and better jobs. The Committee will help Members identify policy measures to reduce unemployment and strengthen labour supply e.g. by improving active labour market measures and skill building based on identified needs. The Committee will support Members in their efforts to maintain or promote universal access to social protection. Moreover, the outputs of the Committee will assist Members to identify and implement good practices to promote an efficient allocation of labour towards more productive and rewarding uses while also promoting equality of job opportunity for all and addressing key concerns associated with workers’ well-being, including low pay and segmentation of the workforce between jobs with different working conditions and career prospects. Gender related issues will feature horizontally and specifically the work of the Committee;

iv)Assist Members to establish responsive, cost-effective and transparent migration and integration policies with a view to enable Members to better manage labour migration to support economic growth and to improve integration of immigrants and their families into the labour market within the parameters of domestic regulation;

v)Inform and identify social policies that promote an efficient economy that makes everyone better off. The outputs of the Committee will serve to identify and promote good practices in the areas of family and child policies, with special attention to work-life balance measures aimed to tackle gender gaps, pensions and care policies, policies to foster social inclusion, such as employment-oriented social policies and measures to combat poverty, as well as other issues designated as priorities by periodic meetings of Social Policy ministers and outlined in the Committee’s work programme.

2.   In this context, the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee will:

i)Perform and support research and analysis on emerging issues within the given constraints of the Committee’s resource capacity;

ii)Maintain and develop comparable sets of data and indicators, as a basis for research and analyses in these areas;

iii)Disseminate results through publication of studies and participation in conferences and meetings with policy-makers and stakeholders;

iv)Provide a forum for Members and, as appropriate, non-Members to share views and experience on current and emerging issues and challenges in generating sustainable employment-oriented economic growth arising from ageing, changing labour and product markets and family structures, and their social consequences; in this it will be pro-active, responding to changing circumstances and the priorities of the Organisation;

v)Serve as a forum for Members and, as appropriate, non-Members to exchange information on national policies and practices related to employment and training, international migration and social policies; and

vi)Promote the sharing of information and experiences in the development of labour market, social and international migration policies with non-Members, particularly in the emerging G20 framework and other relevant fora, and share policy dialogue with them to increase their awareness of, and contribution to, the work of the Committee.

3.   In order to efficiently implement the aforementioned activities, the Committee shall:

i)Maintain close working relationships with other relevant bodies of the Organisation, seeking to (a) be actively engaged in, and where appropriate lead, joint work and ensure that it is undertaken in a co-ordinated manner; (b) complement and support work that other bodies are leading; and (c) ensure that other work of the OECD considers the impacts on labour, social and international migration policies;

ii)Maintain, as appropriate, and in conformity with the OECD Convention and Rules of Procedures, relations with other entities, particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other observers, seeking to achieve co-ordinated and complementary work programmes in areas of shared interest and mutual benefit, conducting joint projects where appropriate and ensuring that the experience and expertise of other bodies is appropriately incorporated into the Committee’s work;

iii)Expand its co-operation with the ILO, European Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other relevant international organisations in support of the G20 process;

iv)Ensure that the views and expertise of non-government institutions are drawn upon in the conduct of the Committee’s work, utilising, inter alia, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (Business at OECD), the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and contacts with relevant non-governmental organisations.

B. The mandate of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee will remain in force until 31 December 2024.