The workshop, held in Tokyo, assessed the situation of the automotive industry in eight countries in Asia, examined the problems and opportunities facing the industry, and discussed how to apply the Global Jobs Pact to the automotive sector.

The points of consensus reached at the workshop highlight the triple challenge the automotive industry faces, namely: how to overcome the systemic problems of the past, mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis of today and prepare itself for the low-carbon future.

Governments often have an important role to play in developing domestic automotive industry. Automotive industry is an important source of employment in all eight countries present at the workshop. Small and medium-size enterprises play an especially important role in providing employment.

During the economic crisis many of the participating governments alleviated the crisis by subsidizing employment preservation, improving social safety nets and by supporting skills development. Automotive enterprises in the countries responded to the crisis by implementing a wide range of cost reducing measures.

A highly skilled workforce is instrumental in the change to a sustainable and greener automotive industry, and enhanced training and skills development in the industry is needed.
Attention should be given to ensure that the use of irregular workers, which increased during the decade preceding the crisis, does not undermine productivity and that also the irregular workers have access to training and develop the skills needed for the future industry.

During the economic crisis social dialogue has in many countries been used to overcome impacts of the crisis. The ongoing structural change of the industry calls for long-term dialogue.