On September 10^th, the 7^th lecture on “2020 Labor Relations under Global Work Resumption During the Pandemic” was held online by our university and co-organized by the Labor Relations Branch of Human Resources Development of China. Professor Anselmo Lius dos Santos from State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) Institute of Economics, Brazil, was invited to give an online lecture entitled “Major Policies to Relieve Pressure on the Labor Market and Alleviate Poverty under the Current Health, Political and Economic Crisis in Brazil". The lecture was hosted by Yang Dongmei, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of our university and Dean of the School of Marxism. Nearly 50 experts, scholars, teachers and students inside and outside the campus attended online.

In her concluding speech, Ms. Yang Dongmei expressed her appreciation for Professor Santos’s wonderful lecture and meticulous preparation. She pointed out that the lecture had enabled everyone to better understand the status quo of the Brazilian labor market and the country’s policy responses under the pandemic. Hopefully in the future, Ms. Yang stated, the two parties could keep in closer contact, further strengthen academic exchanges and cooperation, and share more research results and experiences.

Professor Santos is not only experienced in scientific research and teaching, but also enthusiastic about academics. By probing into the current health, political and economic crisis in Brazil, he interpreted the status quo of Brazilian labor market and the government’s major public policies concerning how to reduce the impacts of Covid-19 on employment and poverty alleviation. During the lecture, rich and detailed data was used to analyze the changing trends and influencing factors of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the ratio of domestic absorption to GDP, investment and saving rates, employment in various industries, total employment, overall unemployment rate and total labor income. These analyses further shed light on the impacts of the pandemic on small and micro enterprises, informal employment and poverty alleviation in the country.

According to Professor Santos, the Brazilian government has carried out a series of response measures to lessen the huge impact of Covid-19 on the labor market, including one emergency plan to maintain employment and income by reducing working hours, wages and staff, another to support entrepreneurs, commercial enterprises and cooperatives in credit business, and an emergency assistance plan to ensure the income of informal employees and laid-off workers. Professor Santos indicated that, Brazil’s ability to respond to Covid-19 has been largely undermined by global economic weakness and high domestic political uncertainties. These factors added to Brazil’s vulnerability in the face of the pandemic.

During the discussion, Qiao Jian, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of our university, suggested that since the Brazilian economy had not gotten out of the crisis yet, the unemployment condition in the country had continued to deteriorate due to the pandemic. In response to the crisis, the Brazilian government and legislature have adopted measures to promote the flexibilities of labor market regulations, but that is not enough. The future emphasis and research directions should include how to ensure safer and more flexible labor relations, how to maintain the basic rights and interests of employees to guarantee social stability, and how to reach a balance between flexibility and safety.

During the Q&A session, Professor Xie Yuhua from Business School of Hunan University discussed with Professor Santos on a series of issues in-depth, including the human resource policies for large and medium-sized enterprises in response to the economic downturn caused by Covid-19, the collective bargaining agreements reached by large enterprises, and the government's requirements for large and medium-sized enterprises.

Anselmo Lius dos Santos is an economics PhD graduated from the Institute of Economics of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. He is a professor in the Institute of Economics of UNICAMP, a researcher and former assistant director and former director at CESIT/UNICAMP. He is also the coordinator of the Global Labor University (GLU) International Masters Programmes at the Institute of Economics of UNICAMP. His researches and publications mainly cover the labor market, labor costs, work in small businesses, industry 4.0 and the future of work, minimum wage, informal work and poverty.

(Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges (Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs))