The U.S. Department of Labor Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee joined representatives from Argentina's Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Buenos Aires for the U.S.-Argentina Labor Dialogue.
The annual event focused on discussing shared labor and employment priorities, including economic recovery, combating child labor and trafficking and strengthening dialogue among workers, employers and governments, according to a May 12 U.S. Department of Labor news release.
“Although the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights originated in the U.S., it now belongs to all its partners,” Lee said in the release.
Lee commended Argentina as "a country with a long history of strong democratic unions," the release reported.
The dialogue also addressed Argentina's implementation of its M-POWER commitment, involving key labor unions and workers' groups, according to the release. Argentina served as a founding member of M-POWER when the initiative first launched in December of 2022.
"Argentina will be an invaluable and active partner in the partnership's work, especially in those countries where workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively are at risk," Lee said in the release.
M-POWER works to ensure works organizing, unionization and collective bargaining are promoted, workers shape public policy and workers have access to ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, according to the website. There are four pillars of the M-POWER action plan: global issue campaigns supporting local action on worker priorities; country-level coordination to advance worker rights; urgent action to protect labor activists and organizations facing threats; and strategic communications to elevate worker voice and priorities.
The U.S.-Argentina Labor Dialogue serves as a pivotal platform for engaging in open and productive discussions about the challenges and opportunities of advancing shared labor and employment priorities, the release reported.
The meetings ended with a joint U.S. and Argentina statement on labor cooperation, according to the release.
