Government Participates in the 16th Meeting of CPLP Ministers on Labor and Social Inclusion
The Vice Prime-Minister, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, in his capacity as Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, and the Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Verónica das Dores, took part in the 16th Meeting of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP Portuguese acronyms), which was convened on June 18th, 2025, at the organization's headquarters in Lisbon, under the slogan “Labour Dignity and Youth Employability”.
The meeting brought together representatives from the nine CPLP member states, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA), with the aim of strengthening cooperation between Portuguese-speaking countries in the field of work, employment and social protection.
In her speech, Minister Verónica das Dores stressed that “work, in conditions of dignity and freedom, will always be a factor of social cohesion, dignity and development”, reaffirming the 9th Constitutional Government's commitment to “strengthening the implementation of social support measures for young people, women, people with disabilities and people in situations of social exclusion, aimed at their integration into society, also enabling integration into the labor market”.
She also discussed the progress of the Timorese social security system, which “includes a contributory and a non-contributory system”, stressing that “in the contributory system, [Timor-Leste] now has 171,000 registered workers”, with data showing “that the pay-as-you-go system continues to create surpluses every year”, with “accumulated reserves (...) of 234 million US dollars”.
Minister Verónica das Dores also expressed the Executive's determination to “do more and better”, to “continue to extend the coverage of our system to more people, especially young people working in the informal sector”, as well as to “increase the range of eventualities covered and thus continue to contribute to promoting Decent Work for all!”
The meeting took stock of the implementation of the CPLP Strategic Cooperation Plan for Labor and Social Affairs (PECTAS 2024-2030), analyzed and approved the new rules of procedure and adopted the Final Declaration of the meeting, which reaffirms the “firm commitment to the eradication of child labor” and calls for the “full ratification as soon as possible” “of the CPLP Multilateral Convention on Social Security”.
In this context, the Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion called on her counterparts to ensure that all Member States “complete the necessary procedures so that the Convention (...) can enter into force”, because “this is also a way of protecting our workers, especially young people, within our Community!”.
In the days prior to the ministerial session, the national delegation also participated in the technical meetings of the CPLP Focal Points for Combating Child Labor, Labor Inspection and Social Affairs, contributing to the preparation of the documents approved at the ministerial session.
