The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) is a regional integration process, initially established by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Chile, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Ecuador are associated states. Since its creation, the main objective of MERCOSUR has been to promote a common space that generates business and investment opportunities through the integration of national economies into the international market.
MERCOSUR’s core mandate on labour and social matters is drawn from the MERCOSUR Socio-Labor Declaration (revised in 2015). Tripartite commissions, working groups and subgroups involving social partners from Member States have also been created to assist the MERCOSUR decision-making bodies when it comes to discussing labour market, employment and social protection questions.
Cross-border social dialogue takes place among its permanent organs at the Economic and Social Consultative Forum (FCES), in which social partners from the Member States are represented. Of the nine national delegates, four represent trade unions, four represent employer organizations, and the remaining seat is attributed to civil society.
The FCES acts as a platform for exchanging views on negotiation agendas and for providing non-binding recommendations.