Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 23, 2017 (SKNIS): The establishment of a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) in St. Kitts and Nevis is one step closer to reality with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between national stakeholders and the presentation of related software and equipment.
A ceremony was held on Thursday (June 22) at the Ministry of Labour’s Conference Room in Basseterre, to signify the formalized partnership between the federal labour office in St. Kitts; the Ministry of Sustainable Development; the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board; and the Department of Labour in Nevis.
Acting Labour Commissioner in St. Kitts, Shernel James, said the partnership will have a favourable impact on local labour structures.
“Three primary units coming together to implement a system and programme that would develop and benefit all workers, … our business sector and develop policy surrounding the world of work,” she stated, adding that the MOU signing ensures that the LMIS will have the necessary support structures that it needs.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour, Ron Dublin-Collins, thanked the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Unit for its lead role in establishing an LMIS among member states.
“We are also indeed grateful for the equipment that has been presented and for the training that has been provided so far,” the permanent secretary said, adding that additional training will be forthcoming from the ministry for all partners.
Stakeholders from the public sector, private sector and trade unions were introduced to the LMIS in February 2017. They were trained on the various systems that will help to provide a big picture of current market conditions and poverty levels. This will help policy makers to design appropriate interventions to address gaps. A follow up training is scheduled for August that will focus on the physical applications of the software.
The equipment and software were presented to the various representatives by the Senior Minister and Minister of Labour, Honourable Vance Amory.
