In attendance were the Hon. Manzoor Nadir, Minister of Labour of Guyana and Host Minister; Ministers of Labour of Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Anguilla as well as Member States and Associate Members which were represented by Labour Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Senior Labour Officials were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A number of Institutions also participated in the Meeting. These were the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA), the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL), the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC), the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM)/Organisation of American States (OAS), the University of Guyana (UG), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the National insurance Services of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

OPENING CEREMONY

Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat, welcomed delegates to the meeting and noted that the Council was meeting at a critical juncture when it was necessary to examine the crucial role of labour in advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

Adding to the welcome, Minister of Labour, Guyana, the Hon. Manzoor Nadir reiterated that Labour Ministers within the Caribbean Region had forged and fostered solidarity which was consolidated in the international arena by foreign policy coordination; and this, he added had helped to strengthen the profile of labour within the Caribbean Community.

In his remarks, the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, HE Edwin Carrington acknowledged the positive outcomes spawned by the partnership between the Community and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He enumerated several achievements in the free movement component of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy but noted that there was still more work to be done. He also challenged the COHSOD to marshal its troops in support of Haiti whose capital was destroyed by an earthquake on January 12 2010.

The Regional Director for the ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mr Jean Maninat stressed the importance of sustaining the partnership between ILO and CARICOM, noting that it was strong and sustainable. He called for an integrated regional approach to implementing the “Global Jobs Pact” which was adopted by governments, labour organisations and employers’ federations at the ILO Global Jobs Summit in 2009. This Global Jobs Pact calls for an integrated approach to overcoming the economic crisis. It is grounded in the belief that “economic and social policies implemented in an integrated way, nationally and coordinated internationally, could accelerate a ‘jobs-rich’ recovery.”

The Hon. Karl Hood, Minister of Labour, Grenada who assumed the Chair of the COHSOD, outlined several critical issues to be addressed by the COHSOD. Those issues included the need for greater involvement of labour in the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA); mainstreaming of gender equality in managing migration, and expediting the implementation of harmonised labour market management information systems.

A special feature of the opening ceremony was the keynote presentation by the Senior Economic Adviser, ILO Headquarters, Mr Robert Kyloh on the theme: Achieving Human and Social Development through Policy Coherence. Mr Kyloh examined critical approaches and macro-economic policies that could assist in promoting a better environment for growth, entrepreneurial development and job creation in the future and in harnessing and nurturing the skills necessary to sustain the economy. He focussed on policy coherence in pursuit of decent work and argued that increased policy coherence between labour, social and macro-economic policies was required at both national and international levels. He also noted that the recent economic indicators and forecasts suggested that a recovery in global economic activity was underway. However, he argued that the recovery would be “multi-speed” with some regions lagging well behind others. Caribbean economies, he said remained precarious, and a full recovery could not be expected until employment and income levels expanded significantly in the United States and Europe. This, he argued, was necessary to provide the significant boost needed in the regional tourism and construction sectors.

FOLLOW UP TO THE SIXTH MEETING OF CARIBBEAN LABOUR MINISTERS

The COHSOD received a report and noted progress made in relation to the main conclusions of the Sixth Meeting of Caribbean Labour Ministers which was held in 2007. The report outlined concrete steps made by Caribbean countries in the areas of labour migration, youth education and training, the development of a social floor and the development of labour market indicators. The Report also indicated that the most frequent challenges among countries were financial and human resources constraints.

CONTRIBUTION OF LABOUR MINISTRIES TO ADVANCING HUMAN AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE DECENT WORK AGENDA

The COHSOD noted the presentation on the progress of the Decent Work Agenda, a multi-faceted and integrated programme which advocates for full and productive employment and decent work for all at global, regional, national, sectoral and local levels. The COHSOD urged Ministers of Labour to participate actively in the design, implementation and monitoring of national development strategies and to mainstream the decent work concept in other national policies. The Meeting further encouraged Ministers of Labour to use the Decent Work Agenda as an instrument for policy making and also to adapt this Agenda to the local context in an effort to promote human and social development at the national and regional levels.