30 April, 2009
The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean has been located in Montevideo, Uruguay, since March 2008. It represents trade unions in many Latin American countries in the metalworking, mining, automotive, steel, electrical and electronics, aerospace, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering sectors.
The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean represents affiliates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Curaçao, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The regional office team provides advice and education services on trade union issues and organises sector activities and meetings for members of affiliated unions in the metalworking and related industries with a view to contributing to the development of international trade union policy and international solidarity, promoting the involvement of unions in trade agreements and analysing trade union structures in order to improve them so they are able to meet the challenges they face today.
In addition, the office channel's international experience on labour and trade union rights to trade union leaders during disputes with multinational companies and governments.
The regional office also implements projects and activities in cooperation with trade unions, especially in the automotive, mining and metalworking sectors.
The regional office has staff for financial administration, education and projects, the organisation of conferences and meetings and communications and press. The regional office has been previously located in Caracas, Venezuela; San Jose, Costa Rica; Mexico City and Santiago, Chile.
The Regional Officer is Jorge Almeida, an Argentinean national, a trade union leader in the automotive industry from a young age and specialist in the area of trade union education.
The regional office has a quarterly publication called Mundo Metal, which reports on the activities, programmes and projects of the IMF and its affiliates and discusses issues of regional importance.