Seminar on Inter-sectoral Public Policies: Social Protection and Employment

Topics: 
LABOR
Informality and non-registered work
EMPLOYMENT
Employment policies and programs
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social security programs and policies
Prevention and reduction of social contingencies
Event date: 
11/30/2010 to 12/01/2010
Place: 
Rio de Janeiro
Host Country: 
Brazil
Objectives: 

The Seminar brought together representatives of the Ministries of Labor and Social Development of the Americas and was an opportunity to analyze innovations and progress of an inter-sectoral approach to social protection and employment generation. 

Organizers: 

The Organization of American States (OAS) in collaboration with the Ministries of Employment and Social Development and Fight against Hunger of Brazil held the Seminar on Inter-sectoral Public Policies: Social Protection, Labor and Employment, to take place November 30-December 1 of 2010 in Brazil.
 
It was a joint activity of  the Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN) and the Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL).

Presentations: 

Opening Session – Opening remarks

Mauricio Cortes Costa, Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS
Norberto Ciaravino, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Labor of Argentina and Chair of the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML)
Marcia Lopes, Minister of Social Development and Hunger Fight of Brazil and Chair of the Inter-American Committee on Social Development (CIDES)
Mario Barbosa, Special Advisor on International Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Employment of Brazil

Panel 1 – Framework conferences: Scopes and challenges of articulating social protection, labor and employment

Joint OAS-ILO-ECLAC document on Social Protection and Employment: analysis of experiences from co-responsability transfer programs. Francisco Pilotti, Director, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS
Joint document commentary. Vinicius Pinheiro, Senior Social Protection Advisor, Office of the Director-General, ILO and Simone Cecchini, Social Affairs Officer, Division of Social Development of ECLAC
Study on Precarious work, income volatility, and Bolsa Familia program coverage. Lucia Modesto, National Secretariat for Citizens Income, Brazil

Panel 2 – National Experiences I

Experience of Brazil – Inter-sectoral relations in social protection strengthening. Romulo Paes, Executive Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Fight and Ana Paula da Silva, Director of Professional Training, Ministry of Labor and Employment
Experience of the United States – Employment strategies for the most vulnerable populations. Frank Fuentes, Senior Advisor, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services and Chantenia Gay, Area Advisor for Western Hemisphere, U.S. Department of Labor.
Experience of Argentina – Comprehensive social protection and employment policies, transition from the Unemployed Heads of Household Program to the Universal Children Stipend. Norberto Ciaravino, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Labor
Experience of Chile – Social protection system with emphasis on the employment pillar. Francisca Agliati Molina, Head of the Programmatic Development and Institutional Strengthening Unit, Social Protection Executive Secretariat, Ministry of Planning and Francisco Agüero, Head of the Employment Department, National Training and Employment Service (SENCE)

Special Session

ECLAC presentation on a new publication: Inclusive Social Protection in Latin America: an integral view, a rights-based approach. A database on non-contributive social protection programs will also be presented. Rodrigo Martinez, Regional Advisor, Division of Social Development of ECLAC, and Simone Cecchini, Social Affairs Officer, Division of Social Development of ECLAC.

Panel 3 – National Experiences II

Experience of Peru – Policy articulation and intersectoral actions on social protection and employment. Cristian León, Executive Coordinator, Revalora Perú, Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion and Wilfredo Hermenegildo, Social Policy Coordinator, Ministry of Women and Social Development
Experience of Mexico – Opportunities Program, and income generation and employment policies/programs. Blanca Lilia García, Director of International Coordination and Linkages, Ministry of Social Development
Experience of Colombia – Claudia Alejandra Gélvez Ramírez, Coordinator, Special Projects Group, National Planning Department
Experience of Jamaica – The Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH). Colette Roberts Risden, Director of Social Security, Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Experience of El Salvador – Integral strategies on social protection and employment. Martha Evelyn González, Chief of the Universal Social Protection System’s Employment and Productive Development Unit, Presidential Technical Secretariat and Miguel Angel Robles, Chile of the National Department of Social Organizations, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare

Panel 4 – Experiences of partnerships among the private sector, trade unions, and government on social protection and employment

Presentation by the Trade Union Technical Advisory Council (COSATE), including the experience of workers in the preparation and implementation of programs. Jadir Baptista de Araújo, COSATE’s representative and Director Coordinator of the Naval Sector of the Unitarian Workers Confederation (CUT) of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro
Presentation by the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL) and public/private partnerships. Julio Cesar Barrenechea, CEATAL’s representative and member of the National Confederation of Private Enterprises (CONFIEP) of Peru
Public-private partnership experience (private firm). Paulo Henrique Quaresma, Responsible for the Area of Populations and Organizations of the Infrastructure Vice-Presidency, Odebrecht
Public-private partnership experience (civil society). Ademir Figueiredo, Coordinator of Studies and Development, Inter-Union Department of Socio-economic Statistics and Studies (DIEESE)

Panel 5 – Challenges of social protection and employment program evaluations

Challenges of evaluations of employment programs for vulnerable populations, James Riccio, Director Low-Wage Workers and Communities Policy Area, MDRC, New York
Social Protection Policy Monitoring and Evaluation System in Brazil. Júnia Quiroga, Director of Evaluation at the Secretariat for Evaluation and Information Management, Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Fight

Closing Session

Meeting report, final discussion, and steps to be taken for inter-American cooperation within the RIPSO and RIAL framework, presented panel moderators and the OAS