The director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Brazil, Armand Pereira, affirmed that the country should place job creation at the center of the economic agenda, assigning priority to investments in such sectors as family farming, that can absorb the labor of the poorest segments of the population.
On December 10, Pereira participated in the seminar, “General Employment Policy – Needs, Options, and Priorities,” organized by the ILO in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Brazilian government.
The meeting also counted on the support from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the Social Service of Industry (SESI), and the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA).
In Pereira’s opinion, Brazil still lacks a jobs policy. The ILO director explained that the purpose of the event was precisely to mobilize policymakers and representatives of employers and workers to construct a policy for this area.
“We now have opportunities to create more jobs, because there is an awareness of the need for this and because the economy is improving,” he emphasized.
He pointed out that it is necessary to invest, most of all, in the quality of jobs.
“It is essential for work to be a vehicle of social inclusion; that is, it must possess a minimum quality of remuneration allowing workers not to continue impoverished,” he said.
Agência Brasil
Translator: David Silberstein