International Labour Office Workers' Activities Bureau ACTRAV

Trade Unions and Decent Work in the Context of Globalization in Latin America

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL ISSUES

 

Proyect RLA/01/M10/SPA

 

Short Description of the Programme

This programme's seeks to promote Decent Work in order to strengthen the role of the trade union movement in the construction of democratic labour relations. It also seeks to enable trade unions to play their role effectively in protecting workers rights and interests and in providing quality services to its members at national and international levels. Decent work means productive work in which workers rights are protected as well as work which generates adequate income with adequate social protection. It also means freedom, equity, human security and dignity and sufficient work so that all workers have full access to income-earning opportunities. In short, this programme should contribute to a process of economic and social development in which employment, income and social protection can be achieved without compromising workers' rights and social standards.

This programme will provide (to and with the trade union organizations of the Mercosur countries and Chile, the countries of the Andes, and Venezuela Colombia and Peru), technical assistance and training to trade union leaders, technical and middle cadres in subjects that are at the core of ILO´s strategic goals: a) the promotion of the fundamental rights of labour; b) employment; c) social protection; d) equal opportunity. This technical assistance and training should enable the creation and consolidation of technical teams capable of providing proactive proposals regarding economic and social policies, in such a way as to contribute to an adequate framework for the implementation of decent-work strategies in their countries.

Furthermore, this programme seeks to develop a comparative diagnosis of the labour situation among the selected countries within each region and between the different regions. Such comparative analysis will focus on the subjects that are central to the actions of technical assistance and training, promoting at the same time supranational trade union structures and organizational forms (the Andean Labour Consulting Council and the Southern Cone Trade Union Co-ordination System)(1) . The products coming out of these comparisons shall be analysed in different working groups and should stimulate conclusions geared at the levelling and positive synergy among countries. Through these processes it is also expected that bonds and ties will be strengthened with the Spanish trade union movement (UGT and CCOO), as well as with Universities, research oriented NGO´s and other scientific organizations. This in turn will help improve trade union responses in order to promote the democratisation of globalisation.
Based on these studies and previous research carried out by ILO in past programmes a regional observatory will be created. This Regional Observatory will monitor the quality of employment analysing the different factors that account for the creation of decent work in all the regions. In order to do this, the Regional Observatory will start with the data of the countries included in this programme and will incorporate the data from the rest of the countries of Latin America later.

Workshops and Seminars of a national character will be carried out with trade union leaders of the organizations included in the programme. Furthermore regional workshops and seminars will also be organised in order to exchange information and results of the national and regional meetings.

Further information:

http://www.oit.org.pe/spanish/260ameri/oitreg/activid/proyectos/actrav/proyectos/indexc.html

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(1) Original names are Consejo Consultivo Laboral Andino (CCLA) and Coordinadora de Centrales Sindicales del Cono Sur (CCSCS)

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