James Kon
The 26th ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting (26th ALMM) and the 11th ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting Plus Three (11th ALMM+3) touched on experiences, ideas and initiatives to increase the competitiveness, resilience and agility of ASEAN workers in taking advantage of opportunities in the future and the ability to withstand the uncertainty of the new challenges in the world of work.
Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong attended the 26th ALMM and 11th ALMM+3 via video conferencing yesterday.
The 26th ALMM was hosted by Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia Ida Fauziyah and attended by Labour Ministers from ASEAN member states as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi. The theme of this year’s 26th ALMM is ‘Promoting ASEAN Workers for Competitiveness, Resilience, and Agility on the Future of Work’.
The meeting also recognised the importance of developing a human-centred approach in preparing ASEAN workers to adapt with the transformative changes, such as technological advances, demographic transition and the rise of green economy.
The documents adopted during the meeting are ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Work Programme 2021-2025, SLOM-WG Work Plan 2021-2025, ASEAN-OSHNET Work Plan 2021-2025, Updated Action Plan (2018-2025) of the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, ASEAN Guidelines on Gender Mainstreaming into Labour and Employment Policies towards Decent Work for All, ASEAN Roadmap for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2025, ASEAN Guidelines on Effective Return and Reintegration of Migrant Workers and ASEAN Guidelines on OSH Risk Management for Small and Medium Enterprises in ASEAN member states.
The 26th ALMM was followed by the 11th ALMM+3 in the afternoon, attended by the Labour Ministers / heads of delegations from the ASEAN member states as well as heads of delegations from the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General.
Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar in a speech shared information and exchanged views on the 26th ALMM’s theme.
The Brunei delegation included Permanent Secretary (Safety, Welfare and Law) at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) Mohd Amir Hairil bin Haji Mahmud, Acting Commissioner of Labour Muhammad Saufi bin Haji Ibrahim, and senior officials from the MoHA and Labour Department.
Prior to the 26th ALMM and 11th ALMM+3, Mohd Amir Hairil led the Brunei delegation in the 16th Senior Labour Officials’ Meeting (16th SLOM) and the 18th Senior Labour Officials’ Meeting Plus Three (18th SLOM+3) on October 26-27. The meetings were also attended by the Acting Commissioner of Labour and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Labour Department.
The meetings were held in preparation for the 26th ALMM and 11th ALMM+3 in which the Work Plan for the year 2021-2025 was discussed and reports on projects as well as initiatives implemented by the ASEAN member states and ASEAN+3 projects were discussed.