ILO and Canada to Strengthen Occupational Safety and Health in Peru's Agricultural Sector

LIMA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Government of Canada announced today the launch of the project “Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety in the Agricultural Sector in Peru”, an initiative that will strengthen the promotion, management, and enforcement capacities in occupational health and safety in a sector that accounts for nearly 30% of national employment.

Funded by Canada's Ministry of Employment and Social Development, the project aims to build the capacities of Peru's Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE), the National Labor Inspection Superintendence (SUNAFIL), and the Regional Labor and Employment Promotion Office of La Libertad. These efforts will improve occupational risk prevention systems and foster a culture of occupational risk prevention in this key sector for Peru's economic and social development. The project will specifically intervene in the value chains of blueberries and grapes in the La Libertad region, which generate thousands of direct jobs and reinforce Peru's global leadership in the export of these products.

“Everyone has the right to earn a living in a safe and healthy environment. This is a basic right which Canadians and Peruvians both strive to achieve. Our government supports its trading partners around the world to ensure we foster better workplaces that put workers’ safety first”, said Canadian Minister of Labour and Seniors, Steven MacKinnon.

"This project aligns with Canada's commitment to ensuring that free trade agreements contribute to improving labour conditions, so that trade and its benefits reach everyone," emphasized Louis Marcotte, Canada's ambassador to Peru and Bolivia.

The project will be implemented in close collaboration with the National Occupational Safety and Health Council (CONSSAT) and the Regional Occupational Safety and Health Council of La Libertad. These tripartite social dialogue platforms include participation from businesses and workers' organizations.

Peru's Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Daniel Maurate Romero, stressed that this project is essential to improve policies, regulations and institutional capacities, ensuring safe and healthy working environments in the agricultural sector, which plays a crucial role in the national economy. “One of our big problems is informality. We say that we are lagging behind and, consequently, our challenges are greater,” he said. He also emphasized that “the development of humanity is based on improving productivity so that, from there, people can be included in employment and removed from poverty”.

The ILO will also promote the ratification of Conventions No. 155 and 187 on occupational health and safety, aligning with Peru's commitment to ensuring the fundamental right to a safe and healthy working environment for all.

"The experience and development of the agribusiness sector in La Libertad will allow us to identify the challenges it currently faces, document its good practices in occupational risk management, and contribute to replicating these good practices across the agricultural sector as a whole," stated Italo Cardona, Director of the ILO Office for the Andean Countries, during the launch event held in Lima.

The official launch of the project was also attended by the Deputy Director for the Americas of the Office of Trade and Labour Affairs of Canada's Ministry of Employment and Social Development, José-Carlos Bazán, and Canada's Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia, Louis Marcotte.