BRASILIA (ILO News) - The Sixteenth American Regional Meeting of the ILO concluded today with the announcement by governments, employers and workers of the start of a Decade of promoting decent work in the Americas.
"By committing ourselves now to a Decade of promoting decent work, we may hope for great progress in the region by 2015", ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said when concluding the meeting. He said that the conclusions were "extremely useful" in responding to a "time of major change in the Region".
Mr. Somavia presented the report Decent work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006-2015, with recommendations for policies designed to tackle the region's employment challenges, including the formal employment deficit affecting 126 million people in Latin America.
The closing session was also attended by Brazil's Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, who emphasized the importance of "the concept of decent work", which "enables people to feel that they are part of a collective effort", and of the real purpose of seeking to stimulate economic growth; he recalled that "growth is not an end in itself".
He added that "the ILO's agenda is Brazil's agenda".
The conclusions of the Brasilia meeting affirm that "As from this Meeting, a Decade of promoting decent work in the Americas will begin".
The conclusions also state that "The countries of the Region stress the importance of formulating and applying national public policies that incorporate social dialogue".
They go on to say that "These policies should stimulate national and foreign investment, inclusive economic growth and the generation of decent work with quality employment, social protection and the effective respect of labour rights".
Delegates agreed on the importance of Decent Work Country Programmes referred to in the "agenda for the hemisphere" report and on the need to adapt policies to the specific circumstances of each country, and considered that these Programmes could make an important contribution to promoting sustainable social and economic development.
In order to develop these Programmes, it was important to ensure "direct participation of the employers' and workers' organizations at national level". The conclusions also call on the ILO to support tripartite mechanisms for following up the results of the meeting.
Mr. Somavia said that "We leave here strengthened, with a very practical and concrete mandate".
The Sixteenth American Regional Meeting was officially opened on Wednesday, 3 May by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said that democracies must evolve in order to ensure that "the world of work can improve".
On 4 May, in parallel with the main meeting, the ILO's Global Report on child labour was presented at the Planalto Presidential Palace. According to the report, the number of child workers in the world has fallen by 11 per cent.
In the conclusions of the Regional Meeting, delegates reaffirmed their commitment to eradicating the worst forms of child labour.
The ILO's regional meetings are held every four years. The Brasilia meeting was attended by nearly 200 delegates from 23 countries in the Americas.
The meeting was chaired by the Brazilian Minister of Labour Luiz Marinho. The Employer Vice-Chairperson was Dagoberto Lima Godoy of Brazil, the Worker Vice-Chairperson Luiz Carlos Motta of Brazil, and the Government Vice-Chairperson Julio Faesler Carlisle of Mexico.
For more information on the Sixteenth American Regional Meeting and the Report "Decent work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006-2015", please refer to the following website: www.oitamericas2006.org