The Organization of American States (OAS) is the world’s oldest regional organization. Today, the OAS brings together all 35 states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere.
OAS uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes, based on the primary pillars of democracy, human rights, security and development.
Cross-border social dialogue takes place at the Inter-American Conference of Ministries of Labor (IACML), which is one of the oldest sectoral conferences of the OAS. The Trade Union Technical Advisory Council (COSATE) and the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL) are permanent consultative bodies of the IACML. Each body has single representatives for each of the national organizations of member countries.
During the XXI Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML) in September 2021, the first-ever tripartite session was organized. The session focused on “institutionalised social dialogue to recover from the crisis and secure a future of work with social justice and sustainable development”. Participants also came out with the Plan of Action of Buenos Aires aimed at building a more resilient world of work with sustainable development, decent work, productive employment and social inclusion.
One year later (October 23-24, 2024), the XXII Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labour took place in the presence of employers’ and workers' organizations. Both organizations agreed on a joint declaration (Declaration of Bogota), which stressed the importance of “institutionalized tripartite social dialogue with the effective participation of governments, employers, and workers” to address the challenges faced in this region. This declaration and other material related to this meeting can be found here.