BRICS Nations to have Social Security Agreements promoting worker mobility

At the BRICS Labour Ministerial Meeting that preceded the 8th BRICS Summit hosted by India this year, the BRICS nations, (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) took a significant step by reaching a consensus on a proposal to enter into bilateral social security agreements with each other. The objective is to promote and increase labour mobility between these nations, by supporting short-term migrant workers in terms of appropriate social security benefits. The process of making relevant arrangements will soon commence although it may take more than two years for the countries to come to an agreement on all the terms and provisions.
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Although currently the BRICS nations do not experience a great deal of intra-BRICS labour mobility, leaders expect this will increase as the BRICS community comprises emerging economies, with 45 % of the entire world’s workforce. Putting social security agreements in place will encourage workers to travel and work within the zone.

Common Ground. The Ministerial Declaration published at the close of the Labour Ministerial Meeting clearly states that trade among the BRICS nations is destined to in

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