Labour sector plays an integral role in national development as well as in regional integration. The ASEAN cooperation on labour is led by the ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting (ALMM) which meets every two years and is supported by the Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM). Since the historical 1st ALMM in April 1975 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the ASEAN cooperation on labour has continuously grown in depth and scope.

SLOM is supported by three Subsidiary Bodies namely: Senior Labour Officials Meeting Working Group on Progressive Labour Practices to Enhance the Competitiveness of ASEAN (SLOM-WG); ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW); and ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network (ASEAN-OSHNET). 

Through its work plan, SLOM-WG encourages the adoption of progressive labour flexibility in the labour markets for economic growth and job creation. Its efforts are translated to several thematic areas including efforts on thematic areas including labour market information system, skills development including technical and vocational education and training (TVET), skills recognition, promotion of inclusive employment, promotion of productivity of workers including workers in informal sector, social protection for workers, capacity building on tripartism and labour dispute and labour justice.

ACMW focuses its work on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers in the region. The main objectives of the ACMW include ensuring the effective implementation of the commitments made under the Cebu Declaration and facilitating the development of an ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers.

ASEAN-OSHNET aims to promote cooperation in improving occupational safety and health (OSH) in the workplace in the ASEAN region.  As the oldest subsidiary body of SLOM, ASEAN-OSHNET also serves as a platform to exchange experience and information in the field of OSH standards, training, research, OSH inspection and national framework, and HIV prevention and control in the workplace.