IN a landmark event, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in collaboration with the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and the ILO Office for the South Cone of Latin America, will convene a Regional Symposium titled “Three Decades of Labour Performance in Latin America and the Caribbean: Advances and Prospects.” The symposium, scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2023, in Santiago, Chile, will bring together over 20 speakers from various countries in the region to engage in a technical dialogue on pivotal themes shaping the present and future of work.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of its flagship annual publication, Labour Overview, the ILO aims to reflect on the significant changes witnessed in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past three decades. The Labour Overview report has meticulously documented shifts in demographic, economic, and social landscapes, revealing persisting challenges such as high informality, insufficient productivity, and distinct economic cycles impacting businesses, labour conditions, and the well-being of workers and their families.
Against this backdrop, the symposium intends to explore the primary challenges presented by the future of work in the region. Discussions will focus on the necessary adaptations in labour institutions and policies to address transformations brought about by digitalisation, automation, the gig economy, and just transitions.
The inaugural session of the event will feature high-profile participants, including Claudia Coenjaerts, Regional Director of the ILO for Latin America and the Caribbean; Ricardo Lagos Escobar, former President of the Republic of Chile; and Jeannete Jara, Minister of Labour and Social Welfare of Chile.

Keynote addresses on the first day will be delivered by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, who will delve into new productive paradigms and technological changes in the region. Manuela Tomei, Deputy Director-General of the ILO, Governance, Rights, and Dialogue Cluster in Geneva, will address the promotion of decent work and social justice in a global context marked by various crises.

A panel discussion featuring David Acuña, President of the Central Workers’ Union (CUT) of Chile, and Fernando Alvear, General Manager of the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC), will further enrich the discourse on the symposium’s first day.|

Over the two-day symposium, more than 20 speakers from diverse regional backgrounds will contribute to four discussion panels. Topics include economic, productive, and social opportunities in a transforming world of work; labour protection in the context of technological changes; the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on the world of work; and the transformation from an informal to a formal economy. The symposium will also address the challenges of measuring employment and its implications for the adaptation of labour institutions and policies in this context.

The Regional Symposium presents a unique opportunity to analyse the challenges of the labour world and foster dialogue among key actors in the Latin American and Caribbean region.