Ambassador Marks Urges Deeper Cooperation Among Region’s Labour Ministers For Economic Recovery

Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Audrey Marks, is calling for greater cooperation among the Labour Ministers in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to achieve productive employment and economic recovery throughout the region.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the 21^st  Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) at the OAS headquarters in Washington DC on September 24,  Ambassador Marks urged the Ministers to embrace the Declaration of Buenos Aires, which was adopted by the conference “as our clarion call to urgent action”.

Among the measures adopted by the Labour Ministers  are a commitment to promote employment and business recovery and to fight informality, poverty, and inequality in all its dimensions; redoubling efforts for an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient recovery; promoting enabling environments for entrepreneurship, and the creation and development of sustainable enterprises, with special attention to the promotion of micro and small enterprises, cooperatives and social economy enterprises.

The Ministers also agreed to deepen regional cooperation and coordination with the world of work and civil society organisations, to answer the challenges brought about by the crisis and to achieve recovery with full and productive employment and decent work for all.

There was also a determination to place special emphasis on promoting policies to achieve gender equality through women’s labour force participation, achieving non-discrimination and the elimination of violence and harassment; a commitment to promoting co-responsibility and equitable and fair distribution of household tasks; and developing and formalising the care economy, while working to achieve pay equity, and promoting equal opportunities in all labour spheres.

Ambassador Marks, who is also Chair of the OAS’  Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), told the Labour Ministers and heads of delegation in attendance that these commitments are specific and could truly be “a game changer for our region, if they are converted into concrete action”.

She noted that the objectives are “beyond the capacity of any one country, entity, or organisation acting alone, and, therefore, re-emphasises the need for cooperation, collaboration, partnerships and the combined efforts of the multisectoral actors”.

“I am deeply encouraged by the recurring call of Ministers for joint responses, not only to the crisis but for improving the lives and livelihoods of the workers of our region,” she said.

“Encouraging, too, was witnessing for the first time, the social dialogue within the context of the Ministerial, with workers and employers at the table.  These are reassuring signs that the state our Inter-American Conference of Labor is strong,” Ambassador Marks noted.

The 21^st IACML was held virtually from September 22 to 24 under the theme ‘Building a more resilient world of work with sustainable development, decent work, productive employment, and social inclusion’.

The event brought together Ministers to discuss and propose hemispheric actions to address the devastating effects of COVID-19 on employment, build a new and better world of work, and develop more resilient, just and equitable societies.

Among areas examined were the future of work; the articulation between labour, economic, education and health policies; the expansion of social protection; the centrality of institutionalised social dialogue to overcome the crisis; and the strengthening of the Ministries of Labour to address emerging changes in the world of work, such as telework and the platform economy.