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“Decent Work for Sustainable Development”

Nassau, the Bahamas, 3-4 March 2015

Presentation by:

Ms. Olivia Smith,

Programme Manager,

Free Movement of Labour, CSME Unit,

CARICOM SECRETARIAT

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CARICOM & THE DECENT WORK AGENDA

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AREAS OF DISCUSSION:

� INTRODUCTION

� YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

� GENDER EQUALITY

� TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING

� ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

� SOCIAL SECURITY

� SOCIAL PROTECTION

� THE CARICOM LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEM

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INTRODUCTION

At 41 years the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is the longest surviving integration movement among developing states.

In spite of the many challenges which range from those emanating from the global economy through to natural disasters CARICOM Member States have many steps in towards the achievement of Decent Work.

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INTRODUCTION

The Caribbean Community remains committed to

working closely with the ILO, Caribbean Congress of

Labour, Caribbean Congress of Labour and all other

stakeholders to achieve the strategic objectives of

the Decent Work in the post 2015 Development

Agenda and the Community’s Strategic Plan 2015-

2019.

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YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

• The ILO Report “The Youth employment crisis: Time for Action

(2102)and the Report of the Commission on Youth development

2010 noted that youth unemployment in the region are among

the highest in the world. High rates of unemployment among

youth and women creates an urgent need for investment in

education and training, including entrepreneurship skills.

• The phenomenon of rising youth unemployment was treated to by

CARICOM Heads of Government at the Thirty- Fourth Regular

Meeting (July 2013).

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YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

As one of the measures to address the issue:

• Mandated the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)

to establish a Commission on Human Resource Development, to

shape a Regional Education and Human Resource Development 2030

Strategy that would address the issue .

The Commission was established and has as its main remit, the

Development of a Regional Education and Human Resource

Development 2030 Strategy that would address the issue.

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YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

• While acknowledging that more must be done,

much work is being undertaken by Member States

through public and private sector agencies to

promote skills , training and employment

initiatives as well as micro- enterprises, as a means

of solving high levels of employment among youth,

both male and female.

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GENDER EQUALITY

• The empowerment of women is paramount to achieving sustainable social and economic development and reducing poverty. Within the context of the Post-2015, SIDS and Beijing +20 Agendas the Caribbean Community continues to make significant progress.

• The Caribbean Community promotes gender equality in all program activities. Under the CARICOM Trade and Competitive Project the Gender Component was established to consider the issues affecting the ability of women and men to participate equally and equitably in all aspects of socio-cultural, political and economic life across the CARICOM Member States under the CSME agenda.

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TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• A greater demand-driven approach to workforce

training and development is imperative to address

the skilling and re-skilling of the workforce. This is

necessary in order for Member States to become

globally competitive and to effectively establish

niche markets.

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TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• Regional Action in TVET has gathered momentum over the past decade, with the establishment of the Caribbean Association of Training Agencies (CANTA) and the development of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). The Community continues to collaborate with donors in the region to contribute to improving the efficiency of donor programming in support of TVET.

• Over the past decade, Member States have invested heavily in modernization of their TVET systems. Capacity building of fledgling National Training Agencies to offer the CVQ has been supported by the Canadian funded CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project (CTCP). Much work is also being undertaken in the development of occupational standards to meet sector demands.

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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has commenced implementation of a Caribbean Green Economy Project in the Region with funding from the European Union.

• The Secretariat was mandated by the Thirty-Ninth Special Meeting of the COTED - Environment and Sustainable Development] (April 2012) to work in close collaboration with UNEP in the development of the project proposal. This project is a building block in the development of a CARICOM

Green Economy Framework.

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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

• Work has commenced in (13)thirteen Member States under the “Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystem Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States - GEF IWEco” project.

• Member States are deeply committed to the implementation of an integrated approach to water, land and ecosystems services management, supported by policy, institutional and legislative reforms, and implementation of effective appropriate technologies to accelerate contribution to global targets on access to safe and reliable water supplies and improved sanitation, and contributing to improved ecosystem functioning in the region.

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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

CARICOM alongside the Canadian Funded CARICOM Education for Employment C- EFE Programme and the International Labour Organisation continues to promote sustainable practices through its green meeting policy, through the use of virtual meetings that reduce carbon production, and through sharing documents electronically.

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SOCIAL SECURITY

• It is the most important safety net in the CSME The

CARICOM Agreement on Social Security is already in

place and signed by 13 member States. The

Agreement is critical for free movement, but also

migration at the discretion of Member States,

because it covers all persons, who have migrated to

another Member State.

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SOCIAL SECURITY

• Following the launch of the Programme on Occupational

Safety and Health and Environment in the Caribbean (OSHE

Programme) in February 2011.

• The Heads of Social Security of CARICOM have taken up the

mandate to promote a thorough review of existing laws,

regulations and codes as regards OSH to ensure the causes

of accidents and illnesses are covered through the regulatory

mechanisms.

• The objective is to reduce the health economic and social

cost of accidents and diseases and to decrease the impact on

the social security system.

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SOCIAL SECURITY

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An assessment of Social Security organisations in all 15

Member States with a view to making recommendations

to address any issues identified is about to commence,

with funding from the 10th European Development Fund.

There will be a review of the CARICOM Agreement on

Social Security Social and proposals made to Member

States .

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SOCIAL PROTECTION

• With respect to the Free Movement Regime, Treatment of

persons from within CARICOM must therefore take into

account the obligations and commitments of Member States

which have been assumed under ILO Recommendation 202,

Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012.

• In support of the ILO’s activation of the Convention for Decent

Work for Seafarers a number of Member States have been

forging ahead with the ratification of The International Labour

Organization's Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006).

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SOCIAL PROTECTION

• Within the CSME arrangements for free movement, the issues of equality of treatment and the level of protection offered under national labour laws throughout the region assume even greater importance.

• The development and implementation of National Social Protection Floors with specific emphasis on Article 5 of the ILO Recommendation 102 of and the harmonisation of Labour laws are critical measures.

• Work is continuing in Member States . The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is in the process of crafting a governance framework for Social protection.

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CARICOM LABOUR MARKET

INFORMATION SYSTEM

• The Conference at its Twenty-Seventh Meeting in 2006 had urged Member States to take the needed steps to address any deficiencies in their Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS). The evidence to date is that there has been insufficient progress in this regard.

• A project aimed at development and implementation of the CARICOM Labour Market Information System commenced in November 2014. The project which builds on the extensive work undertaken by the ILO in the region .It is funded by the 10th European Development Fund and is being undertaken in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

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CARICOM LABOUR MARKET

INFORMATION SYSTEM

• The purpose of the project is to provide the

CARICOM Secretariat and its Member States with an

operating framework for data management on free

movement within the CSME, with the ultimate

result of better management of labour migration

and CSME Integrated Labour Market by Member

States.

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CONCLUSION

The Caribbean Community resolves to continue to engage all stakeholders with a view to forging ahead with achieving the global sustainable development goals in the areas of:

Employment and decent work, social protection, social security education and culture; youth and Promoting equality, including social equity, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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