Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 23, 2017 (SKNIS): Premier of Nevis and Senior Minister in the Federal Cabinet, the Honourable Vance Amory, is currently in Jamaica attending the February 22 to 24, 10th International Labour Organization Caribbean Labour (ILO) Ministers Meeting, held under the theme “Realizing Decent Work Under the 2030 Agenda”.
This year, the meeting will offer an opportunity to have an exchange on the continuing challenge to promote a more inclusive and sustainable growth process with more and better jobs, as well as allow the ministers to articulate and share their perspectives around the future of work, drawing from the national level dialogues that have occurred in the past year.
The 10th ILO Caribbean Labour Ministers Meeting will address two pertinent areas: one, elevating Decent Work to the National and Regional Policy level through social partnership – experiences in the region and a proposed way forward and two, instruments and practical tools for Decent Work.
Premier Amory, who is also the Minister of Labour, said that the meeting brings together all the ministers of labour in the Caribbean region with an aim to discuss the work agenda and the millennium goals, which deal with decent work for the people of the region. He said that the discussions thus far are going good, while recapping the previous day’s proceedings.
“We had a full discussion on decent work of which we had three panelists, who put forth their own countries perspectives, but also looked generally at what the decent work agenda is,” said the minister of labour. “The second session dealt with good governance and work, and I think that for us, is a very critical area because it is important that we see good governance as beginning with people understanding their role in the workplace, and employers understanding their responsibility in managing the workforce, whether in government or the private sector.”
Minister Amory said that the discussions also recognized the need for people to understand the rules and conditions of employment, both in the private and public sectors, as well as plans for the future of work organizations.
“I think that is very interesting because it means we now have to look at how do we plan for the future, how do we plan to create employment, how do we plan to ensure that our people are prepared for the world of work and to work effectively for the improvement in the economic development of our country and longevity in the place of work as well,” he said.
St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad are currently going through a process of Labour Law Reform in the Caribbean. In light of this, on Thursday, February 23, Premier Amory will make a presentation as part of the Law Reform Panel on the process.
Minister Amory is accompanied by Shernel James, Labour Commissioner, Gary Liburd, Chief Labour Officer in Nevis and Rhonda Nisbett Browne, Senior Legal Counsel in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA).
