Representatives from the Ministries of Labour and agencies responsible for promoting diversity from 13 countries met in Madrid to analyse inequalities in the world of work and to strengthen, through public institutions, policies aimed at ensuring gender equality and non-discrimination, while promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.
The training, coordinated and delivered by the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, also served as a platform for sharing experiences and good practices, as well as for developing roadmaps to be applied in their respective areas of action. The course was promoted and financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy of Spain.
In her opening remarks, the Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, recalled that "migration, gender equality and sexual freedom are not ancillary matters. They are human rights and, as the ILO always reminds us, they are indivisible and universal." The Vice-Prime Minister highlighted the tripartite agreement reached in Spain with trade unions and employers on measures for equality and non-discrimination of LGTBIQ+ persons in enterprises, underlining the important role of collective bargaining in this regard. She also highlighted the most recent legislative measures adopted at national level and recalled, as evidence of her commitment to non-discrimination at work, her participation in the presentation of the ILO Guide on the inclusion of LGTBIQ+ persons in the world of work.
For his part, the Director of the ILO Office for Spain, Félix Peinado, stressed at the opening session that "the inclusion of LGTBIQ+ persons in the world of work is an essential component to achieving equality, diversity and social cohesion, as well as more productive and sustainable enterprises." He further stressed that the ILO has a clear mandate to promote a world of work free from discrimination, harassment and violence, and that it provides normative instruments such as Convention No. 111 (Discrimination in Employment and Occupation) and Convention No. 190 (Violence and Harassment) to help make this possible. "The resolution of the International Labour Conference of 2021 on inequalities in the world of work states that discrimination remains a widespread and persistent reality, and constitutes one of the main causes of inequality, which is why this training is so necessary," he said.
The training activity brought together experts from Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Spain, Estonia, Iceland, Nepal, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Uruguay.
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