The document points out that 2021 started with a complex labor outlook, aggravated by the new waves of contagions and the slow vaccination processes that make the prospects for recovery in labor matters more uncertain.

The search for a better normalcy requires ambitious actions to recover from the setbacks in the world of work, warned Vinicius Pinheiro, ILO Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, who is committed to generating decent work opportunities and an economic recovery with more and better jobs.

To achieve these objectives, Pinheiro thought it best to address the pre-existing labor conditions in the region, which explain the magnitude of the impact of the health contingency on Latin American employment, as many of the challenges prior to the pandemic are currently in force, although they are now more urgent.

The ILO director points out, among several factors, high informality, reduced fiscal spaces, persistent inequality, low productivity and little coverage of social protection, in addition to problems such as child and forced labor.

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