Ministry of Labor and Social Prevision, El Salvador
August 2018
"We thank and appreciate the efforts made by the RIAL/OAS and the disposition of the USDOL to make this cooperation a reality. We return home with more knowledge, more ideas and more than anything, with the conviction that it is possible to create and implement policies and programs that guarantee job opportunities for our youth"
Shernel James
Labour Commissioner (ag)
Ministry of Nevis Affairs, Labour, Social Security and Ecclesiastical Affairs
“The RIAL helps to protect rights at work and promote employment in the Americas, by facilitating solutions through dialogue among workers, employers, and governments in the region.
Through its support of the work of the region’s Ministries of Labor, the RIAL serves as a great example of results-based cooperation geared toward inclusion. The OAS is proud to coordinate this prestigious initiative and to celebrate its 10th anniversary.”
Luis Almagro
Secretary General
Organization of American States
“The creation of the RIAL in Mexico in 2005 is, without a doubt, one of the IACML’s most important developments. Over the course of these 10 years, the RIAL has proved to be an effective tool to strengthen each country’s labor policies and programs, as well as to improve our Ministries’ human and institutional capacity. Moreover, the RIAL has fostered the creation of cooperation networks among technical specialists, enabling each country to identify the experiences that may help develop solutions to similar problems. We have a great challenge before us: to make even more progress and to build solid, concrete, effective, comprehensive, and complete results for our entire hemisphere. To do that, it is essential for the RIAL to be strengthened.”
José Luis Stein Velasco
Head of the Unit for International Affairs
Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare of Mexico
“The RIAL allows us to lay out our specific needs and manage cooperation at a very technical level. It is the Labor Ministries’ offices themselves that present their projects, which ensures that the cooperation activities are more effective. There is also follow-up to the commitments so that it is not just talk. The cooperation activities are concrete and directly address the units’ needs. That is why we value the RIAL.”
Ana Lucía Blanco
Advisor on International Affairs
Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Costa Rica
“A decade later, we can see that the RIAL has strengthened the capacities of governments and social partners throughout the hemisphere, by sponsoring and coordinating projects, dialogue and research. Initiatives like the RIAL serve as models for the future since they demonstrate the OAS actual and potential role in the Americas.”
John Craig
Counselor of the Canadian Employers Council
Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Matters (CEATAL)
“No other institution has contributed to the development of labour administration to the extent that RIAL has. I think my department has benefited tremendously for the various workshops, seminars, and training organized by RIAL. Hope that the excellent work continues.”
George Melchoir
Labour Commissioner
Ministry of Labor of St. Lucia
“We celebrate the anniversary of the RIAL and note that its creation has strengthened coordination among different countries to facilitate the program agenda within our Inter-American Conference. In the case of COSATE, the RIAL has strengthened us because it has created spaces for participation not only within the IACML but also at the national level. As all networks do, it has grown and has strengthened ties, but most of all it has produced results with measurable impacts in the various regions, and has evolved to become a strong, efficient network, one for which we have great hopes.”
Marta Pujadas
Vice President of the Trade Union Technical Advisory Council
COSATE
“In Paraguay, we used to have a Ministry of Justice and Labor; now we have a Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security. In the RIAL we have a tremendous ally when it comes to looking for best practices. By looking back at the road travelled, we can see the major difficulties faced and avoid the biggest mistakes, but we can also point to successes.”
Enrique López Arce
Director General of Planning and Cooperation
Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security of Paraguay
“The RIAL has been very important for Colombia, because the Ministry of Labor was created in 2011 and with the RIAL’s support we were able to see how the workplace inspection process operated in Brazil and take that model into account. It has also helped us because we have been able to share good practices of ours that are being recognized internationally. It has also enabled us to strengthen social dialogue.”
Gloria Gaviria
Head of Cooperation and International Relations
Ministry of Labor of Colombia
