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Labor Ministers of the Hemisphere Agree on Measures to Promote Gender Equality, Training, and Decent and Fair Work Conditions

-The authorities on labor met with their counterparts in Women's Policy at the first ministerial dialogue of a hemispheric meeting.

Ministers of Labor and high-level authorities and sector representatives from 27 countries of the region met on October 31 and November 1st in San Salvador at the XVII Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) of the Organization of American States (OAS) under the theme “Advancing economic and social recovery with suitable development, decent work and social inclusion.”

In the framework of the Conference, the first dialogue between the Ministers of Labor and the Ministers for Women of the Americas was held to share perspectives and make recommendations for advancing in the achievement of greater equality between men and women in the job market. The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, stressed that "despite their increased participation in the labor force, women continue to face higher unemployment rates, are overrepresented in the informal sector, receive lower wages and have a disproportionate burden of family responsibilities."

The conclusions of the Ministers’ dialogue pointed out that intersectoral work is needed to overcome the great challenges in this area, and expressed their commitment to equality and gender non-discrimination in the workplace.

During the event, which was attended by representatives of workers, employers and international organizations like the International Labour Organization (ILO), ministers adopted a series of commitments to strengthen the State’s role to reverse the trend of increasing economic and social inequality; strengthen assistance programs for the establishment and development of productive and competitive micro, small and medium-size enterprises; ensure the observance of our national labor laws and the effective exercise of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; promote the right to work in decent and fair conditions as an inherent value ​​of a democratic society; and move toward economic, social and cultural shifts to overcome the child labor phenomenon.

The result of the two-day ministerial meeting was the adoption of the Declaration and Plan of Action of San Salvador, which contains points of consensus that advocate for placing the issue of employment at the core of strategies for creating strong, sustainable and balanced, economies; the construction of fairer labor conditions at work and the eradication of child labor, among others.

In his speech, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare of El Salvador and President of the meeting, Humberto Centeno, said that the issues discussed during the conference "are consistent with the need to articulate socio-economic strategies for our peoples, understanding that sustainable development, decent work and social inclusion are the cornerstones of public policies to maintain and increase the quality of employment and strengthening the proactive and protective role of the state and in the promotion and protection of labor rights."

At the XVII IACML, ministers also adopted a resolution entitled "Solidarity with the Peoples and Governments of El Salvador and Central America due to the recent natural disasters," in which participating countries expressed their willingness to offer support and cooperation to the countries of the region to facilitate the prompt return to normalcy of those families affected by such disasters.

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

Reference: E-934/11