第二十一届东盟劳工部长会议联合公报（英文版）

Joint Communiqué of the 21st ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Ha Noi, 24 May 2010

1. The 21st ASEAN Labour Ministerial Meeting (ALMM) was convened in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, on 24 May 2010. It was preceded by a Preparatory Senior Labour Officials Meeting on 20 – 21 May 2010. The 21st ALMM adopted the theme “Human Resources for Economic Recovery and Development”.

2. The Opening Ceremony of the 21st ALMM was officiated by H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. In his Keynote Speech, His Excellency Prime Minister highlighted the importance of effective labour cooperation among ASEAN Member States in building the ASEAN Community. The Prime Minister noted the adverse effect of the global economic crisis on Member States and expressed appreciation for ALMM’s focus on measures to upgrade the workforce, promote decent jobs, social protection and social safety net, ensure social equality and protect the rights of migrant workers.

3. The 21st ALMM was attended by the ASEAN Labour Ministers from all ASEAN Member States or their representatives. The Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN was also in attendance. The list of the Ministers is attached.

Mitigating the impact of global economic and financial crisis on labour markets in ASEAN

4. The Ministers expressed their support to the ASEAN Leaders’ call to sustain the ASEAN’s recovery in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and economic downturn. In this regard, the Ministers renewed their commitment to step up their collective efforts to address the adverse impact on labour markets with a view to increasing productivity and creating employment opportunities.

5. Understanding that human resource development has played a central role in improving the productivity which is an important source of improved growth and living standard, the Ministers noted the need for strengthened education, technical and vocational training and lifelong learning, especially in time of depressed job market. In this regard, they stressed the importance of medium- and long-term measures to upgrade the quality of the workforce through improving the relevance and quality of education and skills development. They also emphasised the great importance in developing a workforce responsive to the job market.

6. The Ministers commended Viet Nam’s initiative to host the 2nd ASEAN Human Resources Conference to be held on 25 May 2010 and looked forward to the Conference’s views and recommendations on how to improve the ASEAN’s workforce with the skills and competencies that are responsive to the needs of the labour market, in support of ASEAN’s collective efforts to sustain the economic growth.

Accelerating Labour Cooperation within the ASEAN Community

7. The Ministers were pleased to note the significant achievements in the implementation of the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Work Programme for the period 2001 – 2010 addressing the priority areas under the Work Programme. In this regard, the Ministers lauded the initiatives and commitment of Member States to lead the implementation of various programmes and activities.

8. Under the ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network (ASEAN OSHNET) programme, ASEAN continues to facilitate exchange of relevant OSH information, the sharing of training expertise, promotion of the development and harmonization of the OSH standards and guidelines. Recognising that OSH will continue to be the integral part of a country’s development, Ministers agreed that for the next 10 years, the ASEAN OSHNET would take a more action-oriented approach to raise OSH standards in ASEAN.

9. In an effort to further ASEAN’s endeavour to promote industrial relations, the Ministers adopted the ASEAN Guidelines on Good Industrial Relations Practices which was developed through tripartite consultations involving labour officials, workers and employers associations. The adoption of such Guidelines would further strengthen ASEAN’s continuing quest for harmonious and productive industrial relations based on social justice, as a cornerstone of quality workplaces and economic success.

10. The Ministers lauded the various activities under the Industrial Relations programme aiming at assisting and facilitating ASEAN’s efforts in promoting harmonious industrial relations. The Ministers noted the successful completion of a number of activities such as the Workshop on ASEAN Economic Integration and Its Impact on Trade Union and Workers, Regional Seminars on Industrial Relations and Regional Social Dialogue for Growth, Employment and Sound Industrial Relations in the Services Sector. The Ministers looked forward to future opportunities for more fruitful tripartite dialogues. The Ministers called for greater commitment to promote HRD, stronger tripartite cooperation, education and skills development among the constituents.

11. The Ministers agreed to continue the ALM Work Programme leading to skills development. They also agreed to create an environment attractive to the development of a skilled workforce; develop national frameworks for skills recognition  in preparation for discussing a regional skills recognition framework, improve access to high quality education and training; promote the use of appropriate pedagogy in HRD; high quality training syllabus, curricula and text books relevant to the job market.

12. Recognising that ASEAN needs to improve its capacity in the areas of labour market information and analysis (LMIA), the Ministers also lauded the initiative of the Senior Labour Officials in moving forward to strengthen LMIA at national and regional levels. The Ministers further tasked the Senior Labour Officials to implement the following recommendations of the Workshop, namely (i) the establishment of knowledge sharing networks to provide platforms for interactive discussion for strengthening LMIA between and among Member States, and (ii) development of a handbook on Labour Market Analysis to facilitate capacity building and promote analysis and wider use of labour market information.