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OAS Report to Ministers of Labor Highlights the Importance of Employment as Economic Engine

The Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), Sherry Tross, said that "employment is the center of the strategies to create a strong, sustainable and balanced economy" in her presentation today at the XVIII Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) in Medellin, Colombia, of the report that summarizes the activities undertaken by the technical secretariat of the IACML to follow-up on the commitments adopted in previous editions of the Conference.

Addressing the ministers responsible for labor issues, Secretary Tross highlighted the progress made in the last two years on issues such as building fairer conditions at work, combating child labor, promoting employment as the center of strategies to create strong economies, and gender equality, among others. The IACML, she said, "is an important and relevant forum that has identified common challenges and exchanged hemispheric strategies for possible solutions, providing strong support for the initiatives undertaken at the national level."

Executive Secretary Tross recalled that recommendations and regional consensus have emerged from the Conference, and that it laid the basis for projects such as the Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL), created in 2005 to strengthen the institutional and human capacities of the labor authorities in the Hemisphere, through an integrating mechanism of knowledge and experiences.

The report submitted as part of the opening of the Ministerial meeting emphasizes the advances made and the strong support received from the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), in the efforts of labor ministries to strengthen a gender focus in their own policies and programs, thus contributing to greater equality in the labor market.

Executive Secretary Tross also emphasized how social dialogue has been strengthened in the Hemisphere with the participation of the Trade Union Technical Advisory Council (COSATE) and the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL) as well as other agencies and international think tanks in the OAS General Assemblies and the Summits of the Americas process.

She reiterated that, as part of the 50th Anniversary of this ministerial forum, the OAS General Secretariat “reiterates its absolute commitment to continue supporting the ministries of labor in all their efforts to adapt and respond to the emerging trends and new challenges and opportunities arising from a changing context at national, hemispheric and global levels."

The OAS official closed her speech applauding the commitment of the ministries of labor in the region to the search for consensus, policy dialogue and hemispheric cooperation on labor and employment. "Thanks to this effort, the IACML remains a vibrant and relevant space, and a sign of the dynamism of our democracies, that transcend borders to seek together better horizons for the millions of workers in the Americas," she said.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-427/13