Union Labour Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates the three-day 15th BRICS Trade Union Forum Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, citing India’s social protection coverage crossing one billion people and calling for human-centric AI governance and universal social security.
Union Minister for Labour and Employment Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 15th BRICS Trade Union Forum (TUF) Summit 2026 in Hyderabad on July 14, 2026, calling for a worker-centric global order where technological advancement is guided by social justice, responsible innovation and human dignity.
The summit, organised by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), brought together more than 50 international delegates and around 70 representatives of Indian trade unions, labour experts and academicians. Mandaviya highlighted that the Four Labour Codes have consolidated 29 labour laws into a simplified framework providing for universal minimum wages, appointment letters, improved occupational safety and health, digital compliance systems and formal recognition of gig and platform workers for the first time. He said the e-Shram portal has registered more than 317 million unorganised workers, while the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), with over 80 million active members and 8 million pensioners, is among the world’s largest social security organisations. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) provides healthcare and social security benefits to over 150 million insured persons and their dependants. India’s social protection coverage has increased from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025, covering nearly 940 million people, with preliminary estimates for 2026 indicating coverage has crossed one billion citizens. Nearly 170 million employment opportunities have been created in the last decade and the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana aims to create 35 million formal sector jobs over the next two years through employment-linked incentives.
The summit was chaired by Sunkari Mallesham, BMS National President, with B. Surendran, Organising Secretary and Chief Coordinator of the BRICS Trade Union Forum, welcoming delegates. Participants from BRICS countries included Carlos Augusto Muller from Brazil, Sergei Chernogaev, Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), Huxiang Zhu from China and Masale Godfrey Selematsela from South Africa. Yuki Otsuji, Workers’ Specialist at ILO-New Delhi, also participated. Deliberations over the following two days focused on four thematic areas: universal social security and portability of benefits, human-centric technology and responsible AI, skill development for the future of work and women in the changing world of work. Mandaviya expressed confidence that recommendations from the forum would contribute to the forthcoming BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting, noting that BRICS countries together represent nearly half of humanity and one of the world’s largest labour forces.
Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB)
