The trade union leaders’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), held in Beijing from May 15 to 16, decided to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges among SCO member countries, gave full play to the important role of trade unions within the SCO framework and explored ways to address challenges to the workforce brought by innovations such as artificial intelligence.

“The meeting highly appreciated the SCO’s adherence to the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit on common development in its internal affairs, as well as its principles of non-alignment, non-targeting of any third party, and openness in external relations,” a joint declaration adopted by the meeting said.

Participants also called for a greater voice for SCO trade unions in international governance, actively advocating for the development of international labour governance in a more just and equitable direction. “Participants also urged for enhanced representation of developing countries in global governance to support their better development,” the declaration said.

The meeting proposed that trade unions of SCO member states take proactive measures to safeguard the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment, and stressed the importance of studying the potential impacts of the wide application of artificial intelligence on labour rights. “Efforts must be made to share best practices so as to enhance the adaptability and capacity building of trade unions and to explore the development of joint training plans, in a bid to effectively address new challenges and better safeguard workers’ rights and interests,” the meeting demanded.

It decided to support SCO’s efforts in poverty reduction, food security, public health, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialisation, digital economy, and mutual connectivity. “It is the shared aspiration of workers in the region to build [an] SCO home featuring unity, mutual trust, peace, good-neighbourliness, prosperity and justice. The participants were committed to promoting harmonious labour relations and high-quality economic and social development, and called on all sectors of society to jointly build a better SCO home, and to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” the consensus document added.