NEW ZEALAND (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) today formally welcomed new member States Timor-Leste and Vanuatu into the fold during an opening ceremony for the first South-East Asia and Pacific Sub-Regional Tripartite Forum on Decent Work in Auckland.

Regional Director for ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Yasuyuki Nodera, said during an opening speech that the memberships of Timor-Leste and Vanuatu demonstrated growing strength in the Sub-Region in the efforts to achieve the goal of decent work.

"The ILO will provide all possible avenues to enable these countries to fully benefit from the services offered by membership," Nodera said. Vanuatu became the 176^th member of the ILO effective 22 May 2003, while Timor Leste became the 177^th, and latest member effective 19 August 2003.

Prior to formally gaining membership of the Organization, the ILO had been providing these countries with technical support and training in areas such as labour market information systems, entrepreneurship, vocational skills development and labour administration. In Timor-Leste, the ILO provided support in the development of the country’s labour code and the establishment of an effective labour relations system.

The ILO will continue its support in strengthening the capacity of government, employers’ and workers’ organizations in Timor-Leste and Vanuatu, as well as other countries in South-East Asia and the Pacific, to effectively address challenges in attaining the goal of decent work.

Representatives of government, employers’ and workers’ organizations from Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu are attending the ILO’s first ever South-East Asia and the Pacific Sub-Regional Tripartite Forum on Decent Work at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, Auckland this week (6-8 October).

The forum fulfills one of the recommendations of the Thirteenth ILO Asian Regional Meeting (ARM) in Bangkok in 2001, which urged countries in the Sub-Region to define, through a tripartite process, National Plans of Action for Decent Work. Outputs of the forum will be used as inputs for the next ARM in 2005.

The gathering will allow participants to share best practices and lessons learned, while identifying common issues and solutions for the development and implementation of National Plans of Action for Decent Work.

Media representatives are cordially invited to attend selected sessions, while interview slots can be pre-arranged through Barry Akers (contact details below).

For further details, please contact:

New Zealand
Barry Akers, Media Officer for the Decent Work Forum
Telephone: +(64 9) 3095656
Fax: +(64 9) 3095659
Email: akers@senescallakers.co.nz

The Philippines
Ms Thelma Gecolea, Collaborator for ILO, Decent Work Forum
Email: thelma_gecolea2002@yahoo.com

Thailand / Regional Enquiries
Steve Thompson, ILO Public Information Officer
Telephone + (662) 288-2482
Fax + (662) 288-3062
E-mail: thompsons@ilo.org