ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean DECENT WORK AND YOUTH Latin America

In your opinion, what is the main fear among young people today? 100 TOTAL Weighted total interviews Not specified Cancer Sexual violence Unwanted pregnancy Violence AIDS Unemployment D/ECA/BFemaleMale SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELSEX Total %ANSWERS

In your opinion, what is the main difficulty facing young people as they enter adult life? Weighted total interviews 100 Total % Not specified Inadequate technical training Low wages Difficulties in gaining independence from family Job instability Lack of job opportunities Low levels of education D/ECA/B 45 and older 30 to to 29 SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELAge Group Total %ANSWERS

422232Not specified Weighted total interviews Program to encourage political participation by young people Program to encourage artistic and sporting gifts of young people Program to control drug use and provide rehabilitation Education program on sexual and reproductive health Program to prevent gang activities and youth violence Youth employment program D/ECA/BFemaleMale SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELSEX Total %ANSWERS Which of the following programs should receive government priority to improve the situation of young people? (multiple answers possible)

From the following list, which do you think is the best definition of “succeeding in life”?

Youth in Latin America and the Caribbean Studying: 49 million Not precarious: 17 million Precarious: 31 million Unemployed: 10 million Inactive: 48 million

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. Size and nature of the challenge 1.1. Young people who work: where and under what conditions? 1.2. Young people who neither work nor study 2. Paths toward decent work 2.1. Challenges 3. Proposals: adequate institutionality 3.1. Better connections with the productive world 3.2. Adequate regulatory framework: combining protection and promotion 3.3. More and better social protection 3.4. Education and job training 3.5. Business training and development 3.6. Promoting inclusion 3.7. An effective institutional framework 3.8. The contribution of workers’ and employers’ organizations CONCLUSION

9 DECENT WORK? Productive work that is justly remunerated and done in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and respect for human dignity (1999). An attempt to combine, in a reasonable and coherent fashion, the different aspects that make up a good job: creation of quality work (demand of the population, political mandate) that respects the basic rights of workers (historical mandate of the ILO), with appropriate levels of social protection (ethical mandate) and the right of representation and participation in the social dialogue (democratic mandate). “Not a destination, but a journey.”

10 DECENT WORK: Declarations by the Latin American Heads of State and Government 2003 Consensus of Mar del Plata. Argentina and Brazil. XIII Ibero-American Summit Act of Copacabana. Argentina and Brazil. Declaration of Nuevo León. Special Summit of the Americas. Declaration of Guadalajara. III Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union. XIV Ibero-American Summit. San José. III South American Summit. Cuzco Global Summit. New York XV Ibero-American Summit. Salamanca. Fourth Summit of the Americas 2006 IV Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union.

11 Decade for Decent Work in the Americas, 2006 – 2015 The Declaration and Plan of Action of Mar del Plata informed the report of the Director General at the Sixteenth American Regional Meeting: “Decent Work in the Americas: An Agenda for the Hemisphere, 2006–2015”

12 Decade for Decent Work in the Americas, Areas for intervention: 1. International labor standards. 2. Gender equality. 3. Youth employment: Goal: To provide young people with more training and a better insertion into the job market. Target: To reduce the proportion of young people aged over 15 who neither study nor work by one-half over the next 10 years. 4. Small businesses and microenterprises 5. Informal economy 6. Rural sector and local development 7. Professional training 8. Employment services 9. Wages and earnings 10. Health and safety in the workplace 11. Migrant workers

+ ComEmprego and studies + Social protection, + Integrated / Not poor + Family and friends Elementary education / Positive social and family reference points / Family support Transition to post-secondary education / Professional training / Social networks Effective transition into the workplace Aspirations and expectations / Family decisions - Unemployed or underemployed – no education or incomplete studies – Poor and at-risk family School dropouts / Reference points in crisis / Child labor / Interrupted education / Inadequate professional training / Early pregnancy / Precarious jobs / Precarious social networks / Crime / Racial and gender discrimination Policies * Better ties with the productive world. * Adequate regulatory framework. * More and better social protection. * Greater emphasis on equality of opportunities. * Education and job training. * Business creation and development. * Social inclusion. * Efficient institutional framework.