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OAS Ministers of Labor Agreed on Measures to Build a More Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable, and Human-centered Future of Work

With a unanimous call to build a more resilient world of work and a sustainable, just and human-centered recovery, the XXI Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the Organization of American States (OAS) ended today with the approval of the Declaration of Buenos Aires. 

Under the Declaration member states made firm commitments to, among other things:

• Redouble efforts to promote both employment and business recovery; fight informality, poverty, and inequality in all its dimensions
  
• Intensify efforts for an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient recovery, the promotion of enabling environments for entrepreneurship, and the creation and development of sustainable enterprises,
  
• Deepen regional cooperation and coordination among Ministries of Labor, the actors of the world of work and civil society organizations, to answer the challenges brought about by the crisis and achieve recovery with full and productive employment
  
• Address work on digital platforms, telework and work from home, and  
  
• Promote policies that aim to achieve gender equality through women's labor force participation, achieving non-discrimination and the elimination of violence and harassment. 

Under the leadership of the Government of Argentina, delegates, representatives from the labor unions and employers, and international organizations discussed approaches on the importance of the world of work to COVID19 recovery; the need for institutionalized social dialogue to recover from the crisis and secure a future of work with social justice and sustainable development; how to improve coordination of economic, education, health and labor policies; and ways of strengthening ministries of labor so that they are able to address emerging changes in the world of work. 

At the opening session, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, said that “today more than ever we need to redouble our efforts to energize our vision of building a more resilient world of work with sustainable development, decent work, productive employment and social inclusion.  Amid this crisis, our region and the world are presented with a unique opportunity to rethink the social contract and go beyond resilience moving towards a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable development model.”

In closing the meeting, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security of Argentina, Claudio Moroni, as the Chair of the meeting, referred to the commitments made by member states and affirmed that the Declaration adopted today “allows us to move forward towards an integrated and economically just social contract, which is respectful of human rights.”

Ministers also agreed that the Government of Colombia will host the XXII Inter-American Conference in 2024.

Reference: E-085/21