Ms. Lais Abramo, Director of the ILO office in Brazil, emphasized that it is essential that the poverty eradication agenda include better decent work conditions that go beyond simple access to employment
Brasilia, November 20, 2014 – Out of the 1 billion poor people in the world who earn less than $ 1.25 / day, 375 million are currently working. This figure was presented on Wednesday (19) by the director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) office in Brazil, Lais Abramo. She participated in the panel “A policy agenda beyond extreme poverty” of the First International Seminar WWP – a World Without Poverty, in Brasilia. “This figure shows that the labor market can be a setting that is either very conducive to propagating poverty and inequality or key in achieving equality,” she stated.
Ms. Abramo underscored that it is not just any kind of work that will allow individuals to overcome poverty and extreme poverty. “It is essential that the poverty eradication agenda include decent work – a multidimensional notion that goes beyond the quality of employment,” she stressed. She pointed out that Brazil has made progress in this sense, and that the country’s current agenda sees work as one of the pillars in overcoming poverty. “In the future, the agenda will need to include a scalable policy to address inequalities. The key is productive inclusion.”
Minister of the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAE / PR), Marcelo Neri. Photo: IPC-IG
According to the Minister of the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAE / PR), Marcelo Neri, the increase in labor formalization in the country has been a positive aspect when designing the agenda. “One feature that sets Brazil and Latin America apart from regions such as South Africa is the drop in unemployment. This October, we had the lowest unemployment rate in history. In addition to that, the rate of formalization in the country has been rising by two percent every year. This shows that Brazil has taken the middle path, where growth and income distribution walk hand-in-hand. There is no shortage of obstacles, but I believe we are on the right path.”
He stated that early childhood development and youth training are among the challenges that lie ahead. “Early childhood is not just the beginning, but also a very complex – and crucial – stage of a person’s life. As in one’s youth, the time has come for Brazil to transition and adjust its policies to better address these issues.”
Along with the drop in extreme poverty, Mr. Neri also highlighted the importance of redesigning certain aspects of public policy. “Much like other cash transfer programs, in Bolsa Família experience dictates that mothers should be the transitional channel. When there is no mother in the family, however, the likelihood that children will participate in the program is lower. We need to understand this problem in order to improve public policy design. The end of extreme poverty is just the beginning.”
According to the director of Poverty Global Practice at the World Bank, Ms. Ana Revenga, the country’s growth this decade has led to increases in labor income and formalization; Brazil must now focus on the 40% who lie between the middle class and the poorest tier of the population.
“This entails raising the productivity level of these individuals and promoting sustainable job creation,” she stated. “Education and training influence one’s participation in the labor market. We must invest in human capital,” she added. According to Ms. Revenga, public policies should focus on the market, bringing more opportunities to the poor and reducing inequality.
Francisco Menezes, researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (IBASE), presented four major challenges that stand in the way of the country providing quality services to the population under more favorable conditions: identifying the development project, including growth and social inclusion; identifying the dichotomies of the public and private spheres; seeking an understanding about the federative structure and its different functions; and including social participation in the new agenda. “We need more investments in infrastructure to ensure access to quality services – a challenge riddled with difficulties that we must face. Now – more than ever – addressing poverty means addressing inequality.”
At the end of the seminar, Ms. Tereza Campello, Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, stressed that citizens must be afforded these rights and that the State should be active in this endeavor. “We want to provide them with opportunities, inclusion and better jobs,” he stated. “We leave here today with a work agenda and a mission: to help build a fairer and poverty-free world.”
The First International Seminar WWP – A World Without Poverty is promoted by the Brazilian Learning Initiative for a World Without Poverty (www.wwp.org.br). The World Bank, Brazil’s Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS), the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAE/PR) and the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are all partners in this initiative. The seminar also has the support of Centro RIO+.
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