INTERNATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTING FOR PROMOTING DECENT WORK IN THE CARIBBEAN POLITICAL CONTEXT: THE DECENT WORK AGENDA FOR THE AMERICAS

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean INTERNATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTING FOR PROMOTING DECENT WORK IN THE CARIBBEAN POLITICAL CONTEXT: THE DECENT WORK AGENDA FOR THE AMERICAS Virgilio Levaggi ILO Deputy Regional Director for the Americas

2 THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT We have to accept that the opportunity which globalization presents to Barbados and the Caribbean is that, in this new Information Age, we can with greater certainty than in the past rest a larger proportion of our national and regional development effort on the quality of our social capital. Our chief strategic focus therefore must be to build and boost the quality of the social capital ( ) Our development must also proceed, based on increasing reliance on our tradition of good governance, and by tapping into the rich vein of political maturity and stability that have been exemplified in the Post-Independence experience of the Caribbean. ( ) The Caribbean has much to bring to the exercise of creating a new global governance and can lead to a more just global society ( ). The RT. Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister 2003

3 PROMOTING DECENT WORK FOR A FAIR GLOBALIZATION INTERNATIONAL ITINERARY Year Activity Place Jan Apr May Sep Nov Dec 2003 XIII Inter- American Conference of Ministers of Labour XIII Ibero- American Summit of Head of States and Head of Governments Salvador de Bahia- Brazil Santa Cruz de la Sierra- Bolivia Special Summit of the Americas Monterrey- Mexico 13 III Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Guadalajar a- Mexico Tripartite Conference on Employment - MERCOSUR Buenos Aires- Argentina XIV Ibero- American Summit: Education Matter San Jose- Costa Rica Tripartite Conference on Employment - ANDEAN Lima- Peru South American Summit Cuzco / Ayacucho- Peru 8-9

4 PROMOTING DECENT WORK FOR A FAIR GLOBALIZATION INTERNATIONAL ITINERARY Year Activity Place May Jun Jul Sep Oct Nov Tripartite Forum on Employment Central America and Dominican Republic Tegucigalpa - Honduras World Summit New York- U.S.A XIV Inter- Amercian Conference of Ministers of Labour Mexico City- Mexico XV Ibero- American Summit Salamanca- Spain IV Summit of the Americas Mar del Plata- Argentina 4-5 XVI ILO American Regional Meeting Brasilia - Brasil IV Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Vienna- Austria UN Meetings of the Economic and Social Council, Substantive session of 2006 Geneva 5

5 2005 WORLD SUMMIT OUTCOME We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all, including for women and young people, a central objective of our relevant national and international policies as well as our national development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as part of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. These measures should also encompass the elimination of the worst forms of child labour,, as defined in International Labour Organization Convention No. 182, and forced labour. We also resolve to ensure full respect for the fundamental principles and rights at work. (47)

6 A. A Decent Work Agenda for the Hemisphere 1. Economic growth as a generator of employment. 2. Effective application of fundamental principles and rights at work. 3. Enhancing social security cover and effectiveness. 4. Effective social dialogue. B. Policies in specific intervention areas 1. International labour standards. 2. Effective application of fundamental principles and rights at work. 3. Youth employment. 4. Micro and small enterprises. 5. The informal economy. 6. The rural sector and local development. 7. Vocational training. 8. Employment services. 9. Wages and remuneration. 10. Occupational safety and health. 11. Migrant workers.

7 DECENT WORK COUNTRY PROGRAMS DWCPs are therefore the ideal, preferred mechanism for ILO involvement in international cooperation for development in each country. They are a tool that informs and allows full ILO cooperation in the coherent development assistance initiatives currently being introduced within the reform process of the United Nations system. DWCPs are the framework linking, in a complementary and convergent manner, the various ILO support initiatives in each country, funded both from the ILO regular budget and, in particular, from extra-budgetary technical cooperation resources. To this end, DWCPs are the preferred mean for attracting and channeling extra-budgetary funds from various sources, both from the country itself and from external donors or other international organizations and agencies, which will be added to the seed funding obtained from the regular ILO budget. Extra-budgetary resources to support DWCPs will be mobilized at both local and central levels.

8 CONCLUSION The ILO has succeeded in capturing, in a concrete concept, answers to one of the foremost people s demands in the current stage of globalization: decent work. It has obtained political support from top political leaders worldwide. Moreover, an Agenda on how to promote it has been developed. In addition, this Agenda is recognized as a Development Agenda. For the Americas said Agenda has concrete policies with targets and objectives to be reached by 2005, supported by governments officials and social actors leaders. Additionally, a concrete tool to promote this Agenda has been developed: the Decent Work Country programs. Furthermore, representatives of the tripartite constituency of the ILO are committed to a Decade of Promoting Decent Work in the Americas.