Mandate:      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 (OECD) of 14 December 1960;

HAVING REGARD to the Rules of Procedure of the Organisation;

HAVING REGARD to the Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV2/FINAL];

HAVING REGARD to paragraph 35 of the Report of the Preparatory Committee concerning the creation of the Manpower Committee on 30 September 1961, renamed Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee in 1991 [C(91)59], whose mandate was last revised in 2020 [C(2020)79];

HAVING REGARD to the results of the second cycle of In-depth Evaluation of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee [C(2018)76];

HAVING REGARD to the proposed revision of the mandate of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee [C(2024)74];

DECIDES:

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

I. Objectives

The overarching objective of the 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;

The mid-level objectives of the Committee are to:

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 and access to social protection, reduce inequality and poverty, improve the position of vulnerable groups, and promote equality of opportunities for all;

Identify, within the framework of the OECD Jobs Strategy and in line with the 2022 Policy Statement on Moving Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis to a Better Labour Market that Works for All, cost-effective policy options to promote the creation of more and better jobs and strengthen labour markets’ inclusiveness and resilience through the transformations linked to demographic change, the green transition and the adoption of digital technologies including Artificial Intelligence. In particular, the Committee will:

help Members and partners 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;.

support Members and partners in their efforts to maintain or promote and sustainably finance universal access to social protection, including for non-standard workers;

assist Members and partners in identifying and implementing good practices to promote an efficient allocation of labour towards more productive and rewarding uses while also promoting equality of job opportunity for all, equal pay for work of equal value, 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;

feature gender related issues horizontally and specifically in its.

Assist Members and partners to establish responsive, cost-effective and transparent migration and integration policies with a view to enable them 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;

Inform and identify social policies that promote an efficient economy that makes everyone better off. In particular, 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 promote opportunities for young people, policies to foster social inclusion, such as employment-oriented social policies and measures to combat poverty, policies to combat discrimination as well as other relevant issues designated as priorities by periodic meetings of Social Policy ministers and outlined in the Committee’s work programme.

II. Working Methods

To achieve its objectives, the Committee will:

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

Maintain and develop comparable sets of data and indicators, and exploit new data sources (e.g. big data, administrative data and company-level data) as a basis for research and analyses in these areas;

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

Develop as needed and support the implementation of OECD standards in the area of employment, labour and social affairs;

Provide a forum for Members and partners 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;

exchange information on national policies and practices related to employment and training, international migration and social policies; and

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.

III. Coordination arrangements

In order to efficiently implement its objectives, the Committee will:

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;

Maintain, as appropriate, relations with other entities, particularly the ILO, 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;

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 and G7 process;

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

IV. Composition

The Committee is composed of delegates nominated by Members and other participants who are responsible for the monitoring of labour market performance and policies.

B. The mandate of the Committee will remain in force until 31 December 2029.