Regional Symposium 30 Years Labor Overview
Rodrigo Arim: "The current challenges lie in achieving sustainable changes that allow the creation of quality employment for the entire society"
In an interview with ILO, the rector of the University of the Republic of Uruguay also pointed out that he sees worrying signs in the way in which global changes linked to technological transformation and the incorporation of artificial intelligence are being faced at the political level.
11 November 2023
Santiago de Chile.- Faced with the multiple challenges posed by a world of work in constant and rapid transformation, rector of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, Rodrigo Arim, highlights the importance of achieving sustainable changes over time, which allow job creation quality accessible to all of society.
Rodrigo Arim, who will participate as a speaker at the Symposium that the ILO will hold in Santiago this November 15 and 16 on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Regional Labor Panorama Report, spoke in an interview with the ILO about the performance of the world of work in Latin America and the Caribbean, the main dilemmas and gaps in terms of social protection and the challenges posed by the transformations that the world of work is currently experiencing.
What stands out in particular about the last three decades of performance in the world of work in Latin America and the Caribbean?
From a long perspective or perspective it is clear that, with heterogeneities and some few exceptions, the quantity and quality of employment has improved in Latin America, particularly during the first 15 years of this century. There is more employment and informality - a characteristic feature of the functioning of our economic systems - tended to reduce during these periods. Inequality in the labor market also decreased, in a region where this dimension presents almost disturbing characteristics. However, the loss of economic dynamism, the pandemic and the weak signs of recovery show that these achievements do not necessarily presuppose a change in the historical trend and many economies in the region are once again showing worrying results both in the rate of job creation employment as well as its quality. To a large extent, the present challenges are associated with achieving sustainable changes over time that allow the creation of quality employment accessible to the entire society.
What, in your opinion, are the main dilemmas and gaps in terms of social protection?
Social protection in Latin America is heterogeneous in its scope and instruments. However, a relevant dilemma - which was revealed very clearly during the pandemic - is the persistence of the right to access social protection based on belonging to the formal segment of the labor market. Although innovations have been developed in this area, the quality of social protection in the event of contingent events such as illness or the sudden loss of a job rests disproportionately on contributory contribution schemes whose access, in most countries, is far from universal while it rests on the degree of labor formality.
“There are worrying signs: a clear prioritization of incorporating new instruments and reviewing existing policy arrangements in light of global changes such as the emergence of new technologies is not detected in the political discussion agenda.
Rodrigo Arim, Rector of the University of the Republic
What do you think are the prospects for employment performance and labor protection in the context of technological change and the rapid incorporation of artificial intelligence in production and services?
Technological change seems to be causing relevant and possibly persistent movements in the characteristics of labor demand. These trends may be less noticeable in Latin America and the Caribbean, hidden behind the sharper movements of the short-term economic cycle. However, both from a fiscal point of view - where tax structures punish the creation of formal employment and encourage the substitution of labor for capital - and at the level of policies that affect labor supply (educational systems, active employment policies employment aimed at training for the labor market, etc.) there are worrying signs: a clear prioritization on incorporating new instruments and reviewing existing policy arrangements in light of these global changes is not detected in the political discussion agenda.
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Rodrigo Arim has been rector of the University of the Republic, in Uruguay, since October 2018. He graduated in economics from this same institution and completed postgraduate studies at the Torcuato Di Tella University (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Prior to being elected rector, he had a long participation in the university co-government, being a member of the Council of the Faculty of Economics and Administration in several periods. First as a student, then as a teacher and finally as dean of the Faculty, a position he held between 2010 and 2018. He was responsible for the Social Policies area of the Planning and Budget Office of the Presidency of the Republic in the period 2007 to 2009. position from which he actively participated in the design of changes in the social protection matrix of Uruguay. Previously he was research coordinator at the Cuesta Duarte Institute, an institute belonging to the PIT-CNT and a consultant on various occasions in international organizations.