The declaration also called for investments in continuous upskilling, reskilling, and public-private-union tripartite partnerships, and for the establishment of governance models to ensure that technology and AI assist workers rather than replace them.
The 15th BRICS Trade Union Forum (TUF), which met here on July 14-16, has asked the BRICS member governments to expand universal and sustainable Social Protection systems that cover all workers, including those in the unorganised sector, the self-employed, migrant workers, platform workers, and agricultural workers.
The Hyderabad Declaration, which was unanimously adopted during the conference, establishes a collaborative global framework for a “fair, inclusive, and worker-centric future”, according to Sunkari Mallesham, Chairman of the All-India President of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).
“The historic declaration reflects the collective commitment of the BRICS nations to construct resilient, future-ready labour markets by mutual cooperation,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“It focussed on eliminating gender pay gaps, driving inclusion, and strengthening female labour force participation and expanding robust social safety nets to protect every individual, with a focus on cross-border portability of social security benefits for migrant workers,” the statement said.
The declaration also called for investments in continuous upskilling, reskilling, and public-private-union tripartite partnerships, and for the establishment of governance models to ensure that technology and AI assist workers rather than replace them.
Institutional mechanism
The declaration officially calls for establishing a permanent institutional mechanism to engage with trade unions within the broader BRICS framework, ensuring ongoing global policy advocacy.
The declaration urges BRICS nations to quickly align national laws to guarantee collective bargaining and social protections for platform workers.
Hosted by the BMS under India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency, the three-day summit brought together 53 delegates representing national trade unions from 13 member and partner countries.
More than 60 prominent trade union leaders, human resources experts, industry representatives, and academic and policy experts also joined the deliberations.
Published on July 19, 2026
