Special Meeting of the Economic and Social Council, 'The future of work: towards a productive, inclusive and sustainable global society'

Tēnā koutou katoa, greetings everyone, marri marri.

At the outset, New Zealand wishes to thank Chile for hosting an innovative meeting on a subject that concerns us all. We commend Chile for injecting energy into ECOSOC, and for reminding us that the work we do must have impact on the communities that we serve.

New Zealand recognises that the future of work is being shaped by global megatrends, including technological changes, demographic change, globalisation and climate change. These trends affect what kind of work is done, who does it, where, and how it is done..

These trends present opportunities to create more and better jobs, to increase productivity, raise living standards and wellbeing, and achieve greater equity and economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Decisions that we take in this space will impact our economic trajectory and shape the resilience of our labour market for the coming years.

There are also challenges, as the skills required to keep pace shift rapidly, tasks become increasingly automated, and modes of workplace organisation change. These trends have the potential to impact income inequality and employment standards. Digitisation brings with it many opportunities, but also presents heightened risks to personal and professional privacy rights.

In New Zealand, the Government is focused on lifting productivity and economic growth, to increase living standards and bring more people into the labour force. Key to this work will be creating suitable conditions for businesses to innovate and respond to the sorts of trends we have heard about today. For New Zealand, this will include improving labour market flexibility to adapt to rapid changes and absorb shocks, and supporting people into decent and sustainable employment.

For young people in particular, the Government plans to use community providers to: support young job seekers with a job coach; develop a plan to address young people’s barriers to employment; and undertake proper needs assessments to help them find suitable work.

We will also, as always, work with our friends in the Pacific, recognising the impact our policies can have beyond our own borders, and the far-reaching impact of global megatrends

Y para terminar, una vez más domos las gracias a Chile por anfitriona esta excelente iniciativa.

Thank you.