BETTER PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE

 

 

 

Commit to expanding the definition of economic inequalities and supplement traditional measures of wealth and income inequalities with wellbeing indicators, using metrics such as the OECD Better Life Index, Human Development Indicator, and the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI).

Supplement all current and upcoming trade agreements with additional non-commercial, environmental and social clauses including measurable actions to reduce global inequalities.

Strengthen the transparency of trade agreement negotiations by involving civil society and by including diverse youth representatives in the process.

Ensure accessibility of information on trade agreement outcomes once they are negotiated by writing information that is easily understandable and by using video formats.

Commit to developing international trade with African and other emerging countries through balanced and transparent commercial agreements that recognize their specific needs, especially their need to diversify growth sources.

Push for an agreement on common financing standards with bilateral and multilateral creditors of African and other emerging countries, with the aim of financing sustainable growth, promoting local economic development, respecting national sovereignty, and valuing workers’ rights.

Re-commit to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the inclusive use of trade policy as a means of reducing inequality and safeguarding international stability.

Utilise the international leadership of G7 nations and partners to implement the above-mentioned principles at the level of the WTO.

Demand that corporations: (1) ensure the social and economic rights of employees through liveable income; (2) report on their sustainability and social impact; (3) ensure that their supply chains are ethical and sustainable.

Introduce a common tax base for the taxation of multinational companies, notably digital companies; building on the work of finance ministers in the G20 in Japan.

Call for extraterritorial legislation giving G7 States the right to scrutinize tax reporting and activities of multinational companies abroad.

Set a G7 common administrative, financial, and commercial sanction system targeting countries that do not disclose their tax information.

Disrupt wealth concentration, through a more progressive: (1) income and wealth tax system; (2) inheritance tax centered on the aggregated amount received throughout the individuals life.

Improve social fairness by reducing VAT or sales tax on environmentally clean staple products.

Ensure systematic and fair compensation to vulnerable households for taxes aimed at greening the economy.

Strengthen the working class, youth, and other vulnerable populations' access to financial products, such as higher yield savings accounts, to accumulate wealth.

Promote equality of opportunity for all regardless of one’s socioeconomic background, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, and disability.

Guarantee: (1) a livable minimum income, across all ages, in G7 countries based on the regional cost of living; (2) wage transparency to demand equal pay.

Curb the abuse of short-term contracts through legal frameworks and incentivize companies to do so by directly relating social contributions to contract length.

Foster stronger upward social mobility by: (1) having state-supported apprenticeships; (2) financing mentoring programmes; (3) ensuring that internships are decently paid.

Strengthen the resilience of the labor market by providing SMEs and non-profits access to state-sponsored advisory services, which can help them better adapt to cyclical downturns.

Promote active labor market policies with: (1) investments to facilitate a quick return to the job market; (2) conditions for unemployment allowance to follow trainings and professional orientation workshops.

Provide social protection; including universal health coverage, parental leave and sick leave to each citizen, irrespective of employment contract type.

Commit to promoting young people’s wellbeing by investing in community youth services, particularly those that support young people’s mental health, following the ethos of the Global Coalition on Youth Mental Health.

Ease the access to quality housing for youth and vulnerable populations by: (1) encouraging the development and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing; (2) protecting the rights of tenants as outlined in the UN Habitat, “The Right to Adequate Housing”; (3) prohibiting discrimination against renters based on socioeconomic background.

Widen the reach of public service delivery by increasing awareness among and local assistance to vulnerable populations.

Equip local initiatives fighting inequalities with a simpler legal framework and better access to funding, including zero interest rate loans for public utility organizations complementing public services.

Prioritize public space for all by: (1) providing NGOs six months to purchase public space prior to the private sector; (2) promoting the integrity of public spaces to local governments.

Expand and act upon the definition of education as a Human Right to include access to early childhood education such as daycare or preschool to all children.

Promote fair educational opportunities in: (1) primary and secondary education by ensuring better wages, career progression and adequate training for teaching staff working in underprivileged communities; (2) higher education by focusing on financial measures, such as a cap on student loans and increased scholarships, to increase the representation of youth and vulnerable populations.

Prepare all of our citizens for the changing future of work by: (1) prioritizing soft skills development (problem-solving, self-efficacy, creativity, resilience, leadership, etc.) in school curriculums through blended and transdisciplinary learning; (2) providing lifelong learning opportunities that allow retraining.

Empower vulnerable populations by increasing their engagement with, and accessibility to, politics by: (1) investing in civic education; (2) providing easily understandable political information; (3) reviving local political activity; (4) encouraging the establishment of Youth Parliaments.

Eliminate obstacles to political participation by: (1) lowering financial barriers to entry for political candidacy and by lowering the eligibility age to 18; (2) launching online voting systems in national elections; (3) introducing early voting or paid leaves on election day; (4) lowering the voting age to 16.

Introduce legislation that requires the disclosure of how resources from lobbies are used in G7 countries.