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G-8 Labor Ministers Meeting

The G-8 Labor Ministers Meeting is a unique forum for labor ministers from developed countries to discuss and compare approaches to common employment and training challenges that G-8 countries must address in order to strengthen their labor markets and promote economic growth. The meeting, held annually, brings together labor ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union's Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs also attend. Representatives from the OECD's Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) and Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) also are invited to make presentations to ministers. The meeting affords an opportunity to have input at the highest level, and the agreed Chair's Conclusions from this conference are forwarded for consideration to the annual G-8 Heads of State Meeting. Italy hosted the 2009 Meeting and Canada will host the meeting in 2010.  Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis led the U.S. delegation to the 2009 Meeting in Rome.

Recent G8 Labor Ministers Meetings

In March 2009, the G8 Labor Ministers Meeting, also called the "Social Summit," was held in Rome, Italy.  The theme of the Summit was "People First" and the Italian presidency invited labor and social affairs ministers from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, and South Africa to participate.  Ministers discussed various approaches for overcoming the economic crisis including:

  • Mutually reinforcing economic, employment, and social policies;
  • Promoting job creation;
  • Supporting social protection systems;
  • Strengthening education and training policies and enhancing skills development; and
  • Enabling labor market to respond to structural changes.

In May 2008, the G8 Labor Ministers Meeting was held in Niigata, Japan in 2008.  At that meeting, labor ministers discussed issues related to:

  • Creating an appropriate "work-life balance;"
  • Addressing the needs of vulnerable workers and economically depressed geographical regions through targeted measures; and
  • Strengthening our commitment to green jobs.

In May of 2007, the G8 Labor Ministers Meeting was held in Dresden.  The theme of that meeting was "Strengthening the Social Dimension of Globalization."   Labor ministers discussed:

  • Strategies for more and better employment in industrialized countries;
  • How to broaden and strengthen social protection in developing countries and emerging economies; and
  • Corporate social responsibility.

For an historical listing of past G8 labor ministers meetings and to view past Chair’s Conclusions, please visit the University of Toronto’s G8 Information Center’s Web site.