VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1769 2491523
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061523Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9157
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001769 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LABOR FOR CHURCH 
COMMERCE FOR PEACHER AND BASTIEN 
STATE FOR MITTLEHAUSER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON ELAB AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: KIRCHNER PRESIDES OVER SIGNING OF CSR 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN GOA AND PRIVATE SECTOR 
 
REF: BUENOS AIRES 1459 
 
¶1.  On September 4, Ambassador Wayne attended the signing 
ceremony of the "Formal Employment and Corporate Social 
Responsibility Commitment Agreement" between the Ministry of 
Labor and approximately 100 leading firms in Argentina.  The 
ceremony took place at the Casa Rosada and featured 
President Nestor Kirchner and Labor Minister Carlos Tomada. 
(The U.S., Spain, and France were the only Embassies included 
in the ceremony.) 
 
¶2.  The agreement was sponsored by the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin 
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and obliges participating 
companies to ensure dignified labor conditions for their 
workers.  The scope of the agreement encompasses the creation 
of a forum of private sector experts to counter informal work 
and 
child labor, and to promote productivity and competitiveness, 
job creation, youth employment, improvement of health care, 
education and on-the-job training, labor law, and social 
inclusion. 
 
¶3.  U.S. corporate presence at the event was strong, with 
local executives from approximately 25 U.S. companies in 
attendance.  At the signing ceremony, Ford was the first 
company invited to sign the agreement.  According to the 
Amcham, the agreement will later be circulated among the 
remaining 
participants, of which the following U.S. companies are 
expected to sign: Alto Parana, AmCham, Cargill, Celulosa 
Argentina, Citibank, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Ford, General 
Electric, General Motors, IBM, Lockwood Greene, Manpower, 
Massalin Particulares, Merck, Sharp, & Dohme, McDonalds, 
Microsoft, Monsanto, Nextel, Nobleza Picardo, Pan American 
Energy, Penaflor, Pepsi, Pfizer, Sun Microsystem, and Visa. 
 
¶4.  Tomada thanked the Ambassador for the positive role that 
U.S. companies play in Argentina and for the Embassy's role 
in encouraging attention to corporate social responsibility 
(CSR) and specifically for the July 24 roundtable the Embassy 
hosted on the subject (reftel).  Earlier, Tomada informed the 
Ambassador that all of the companies that participated in the 
roundtable had signed on to the initiative. 
WAYNE