The Asia-Europe Labour Forum (AELF) consists of trade union centres that engage the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process in order to make social justice and development central in the agenda of ASEM Ministers and Heads of State. The first meeting of the AELF took place in 1996 and since then, AELF’s contribution to the ASEM process has not ceased. The AELF is a social partner in the ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers Conference consultations.

The Asia-Europe Labour Forum aims (AELF) at:

• making social development central on the ASEM dialogue agenda;
• getting ASEM decisions to reverse the current trend of increasing inequality with policies based on social justice, including the promotion of freedom of association, collective bargaining, and setting minimum living wages;
• promoting social protection for all;
• convincing ASEM partners to invest in the care economy – a sector that has high potential to formalise millions of jobs and create new jobs;
• bringing the concept of ‘just transition’ to a low carbon economy and the need for industrial transformation into ASEM;
• advocating for national strategies that encourage formalisation of informal economic activity;
• promoting gender equality at the workplace; and
• other goals.