NIIGATA, (JAPAN): Labor officials from the Group of Eight nations on Tuesday agreed on the need to create labor policies to support the so-called "working poor" and other socially vulnerable people as well as the need to promote environmentally friendly workplaces.

"I'm sure that our dialogues on the inequality issue will produce a comprehensive synergy effect when each country draws up its own labor policies," Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Masuzoe Yoichi said at a joint press conference after wrapping up a three-day G-8 labor meeting in Niigata city.

The G-8 officials issued a statement after the event, warning that globalization could "entail disparities and adjustment difficulties in labor markets" and called for introducing effective career consulting and skills development for the vulnerable who fail to benefit from globalization.

Vladimir Spidla, the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, told the press conference that the G-8 states should address the widening of the income gap by taking into account cultural backgrounds and industrial structures.

The G-8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. The Niigata meeting also drew labor officials from the European Union as well as the heads of the International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Thailand and Indonesia were invited to attend Tuesday's morning session. Uraiwan Thienthong, Thai minister of labor, said, "The working poor must access proper social protection."