During the Executive meeting of the Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Local Government Associations (FLACMA) held in May, representatives of local and regional government workers from Inter-America signed a memorandum of understanding for institutional cooperation between Public Services International and FLACMA aimed at strengthening social dialogue in the local and regional government (LRG) sector in Latin America.

PSI regional secretary for Inter-America,Euan Gibb and Rebeca Céspedes Alvarados, (ANEP, Costa Rica) of the Confederation of Municipal Workers (CONTRAM/PSI) participated in the meeting and signed the memorandum of understanding together with FLACMA president Ana Lucía Reis and its general secretary, Sergio Arredondo. FLACMA represents the regional section of the worldwide network United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

Text of the Memorandum of Understanding

The Memorandum establishes a common commitment to develop ongoing collaboration, exchange of experiences and the joint creation of training opportunities to strengthen GLR's public function and the human and labour rights of workers in the sector. It also recognizes that GLR workers are the foundation of local governments, and stresses the need for ongoing dialogue with their representative organizations.

The next steps are to organize a first meeting of rapprochement and exchange between members and to sign the content agreement discussed between PSI Inter-America and FLACMA's leadership and to set up a program of dialogue and common work.

This process follows a meeting that Rebeca Cespedes Alvarado had with the FLACMA leadership on the occasion of the annual UCLG GLR strategic retreat in February 2025 which she attended as a member of the PSI delegation and was facilitated by Daria Cibrario, member of PSI's International Secretariat. Euan Gibb, contributed to consolidate this initiative in its final stage.

During that meeting, which was also attended by trade union leaders from Argentina, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, issues of common interest were addressed within the framework of the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including climate justice, decent work, just energy transition, sustainable cities, waste management and access to water and sanitation, among others.

Rebeca Céspedes stressed that this memorandum of understanding is of great importance for GLR workers, because for the first time a dialogue channel is opened with representatives of more than 16,000 municipalities, prefectures and local government associations of FLACMA. "This is an essential step in establishing a relationship between the employers and trade union organizations, based on cooperation, continuous exchange and joint training. Both PSI and FLACMA share similar missions and face common challenges, and this agreement is a tool to address them in an articulated manner," said Cespedes.

The document recognizes that PSI and FLACMA share similar missions and common challenges around the defense of human rights, gender equality, peace, environmental sustainability and inclusive development. The text also establishes as a local frame of reference to anchor the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda and the progress achieved by both organizations in their respective spaces of regional and international representation.

For Euan Gibb, PSI Regional Secretary for Inter-America, "the signing of this agreement represents a first step towards the opening of a space for dialogue between GLR workers and more than 16 thousand local governments represented by FLACMA in Latin America and the Caribbean".

The memorandum of understanding signed in Rio de Janeiro between the organizations is a precursor to a full agreement that has already been submitted to CONTRAM-PSI and other PSI affiliates that represent workers in LRG in the Latin America for approval during the year 2025.