around the table and design the measures with those who would potentially bene t from them. NMS: In September, the Indian parliament passed the Industrial Relations Code which gives importance to individual settlements against the collective bargaining of trade unions and also restricts the workers right to strike. The parliament also passed the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code which allows the government to exempt new establishments from labour laws. How do you look at these developments? CV: For the ILO, from the very rst day of the development of labour legislation, be it at national or international level, there has been an acknowledgement of the fact that the employment relations between workers and employers are unequal. The very purpose of freedom of association and the e ective recognition of the right to collective bargaining is to place employers and workers on an equal footing in the labour market—precisely by protecting the rights of workers for freedom of association. This provides a remedy for the inequality of the bargaining power which is inherent in this employer-employee relationship. One of the e ects of the pandemic that we observe is that increased attention is being paid by trading partners and also consumers on the responsible business conduct and social responsibility. So, caring about people. The pandemic has made us all far more attentive to dignity and equal treatment. As trade goes on, certainly, we can expect an increased attention being paid to responsible business conduct. Another important outcome of collective bargaining and freedom of association, according to the International Monetary Fund and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development studies, is that there is a strong correlation between bargaining power and the rise or decrease of inequality. The more decline in the bargaining power is, the higher the increase in inequality being observed. If you want to be promoting a more equal society, collective bargaining and freedom of association have demonstrated to be powerful and e ective tools in delivering that.