Preliminary document for discussion
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 PRELIMINARY DOCUMENT FOR DISCUSSION REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND FREE TRADE IN THE AMERICAS: THE LABOUR CHALLENGE IN THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY AND COMMON MARKET (CARICOM) Project: Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the context of the XII IACML -OAS RLA/02/55M/USA December 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS 3 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 5 1. INTRODUCTION 7 1.1. The Summit of the Americas and Labour Standards 7 1.2. The Emergence and Current State of the Caribbean Community and Common Market 7 2. SOCIO-LABOURAL ASPECTS OF CARICOM 9 3. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND RIGHTS AT WORK AND THEIR EFFECT IN CARICOM 11 3.1.Regional Standards Regarding Core Principles 11 3.1.1. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining 11 3.1.2. Elimination of Forced Labour 12 3.1.3. Elimination of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation 13 3.1.4. The Eradication of Child Labour 14 3.1.5. The Protection and Termination of Employment 15 3.2. Labour Principles at CARICOM and the Caribbean countries 16 3.2.1. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining 16 3.2.2. The Elimination of All Forms of Compulsory Labour 21 3.2.3. The Elimination of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation 22 3.2.4. The Effective Abolition of Child Labour 22
4.1.1. Freedom of Association 26 4.1.2. Forced Labour 27 4.1.3. Freedom from Discrimination 28 4.1.4.Eradication of Child Labour 29 4.1.5. Termination of Employment 29 4.2. 1Role of the Ministries of Labour 30 4.2.1. The Ministry of Labour: Jamaica 30 4.2.2. Department of Labour: Barbados 32
4.3.1. Jamaica 33 4.3.2. Barbados 34
4.4.1. Jamaica 36 4.4.2. Barbados 37 4.4.3. Social Partnership and Social Contract 38 4.5. Effects of Economic Integration on Employment 38 4.5.1. Functioning of National Labour Markets: Jamaica and Barbados 38 4.5.2. New Relations of Work: Both Countries 39 4.5.3. Economic Migration 40 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 42 5.1. Threats and Opportunities 42 5.2. Labour Standards and Trade 43 5.3. Employment Policy and Trade 44 5.4. Labour Perspectives in the Summit of the Americas 44 GLOSSARY 46 ANNEXES 47 Annex 1 47 Ratification of Fundamental Labour Conventions in the Countries of the OAS 47 Annex 2 46 Principles and Rights at Work in the Countries of the OAS 46 Annex 3 53 CARICOM: Implementation of Model Legislation by Nation 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY 54 OTHER BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES 55 VIRTUAL SOURCES 56 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONSThe information here presented is preliminary for the discussion of Working Group 1 members of the Inter American Conference of Minister of Labour of the Organization of American States (IACML-OAS). The present article has been developed on the basis of the report of the study on the labour aspects of CARICOM for the project on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Context of the XII IACML-OAS, carried out by Orville W. Taylor, Lecturer in Sociology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. The study considered the current labour legislation in CARICOM and its member countries Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tabago. Interviews were held with government, labour and employers' representatives of two volunteer countries, Jamaica and Barbados. 1. INTRODUCTION1.1. The Summit of the Americas and Labour StandardsAt the XII Inter-American Conference of Labour Ministers of the Organization of American States (IACLM-OAS), the Ottawa Declaration was signed and there was universal commitment to promote, respect and apply measures for the compliance with the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s 1998 Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and its 1999 Declaration on Decent Work at the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference. This notion of fundamental principles and rights and the concomitant obligations of governments are summarized as: “... the rights of workers and employers to freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, and to work towards the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, the effective elimination of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation." 1 Noting that these minimal labour standards are binding whether the country has ratified them or not, it is recognized that their provisions are implied within all treaties even if they are not expressed. This paper is the culmination of a four-month investigation into the labour content in regional trade agreements of the Americas. In the initial stage the task was to examine the trade accords within CARICOM, with particular reference to the provisions regarding labour. More specifically, the intention was to do an in depth analysis of the agreements designed to integrate the region, with a view to determining the extent to which the core labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) are conformed with. In the end an analysis of the application of the fundamental principles on labour in the various CARICOM countries was carried out. A second phase of the study was undertaken, involving a deeper analysis of the agreements and their application and implication for labour in two countries. The countries selected for the detailed analysis were Barbados and Jamaica. Both these countries have, by dint of being Commonwealth Caribbean countries, a reasonably high degree of similarity. Yet, despite these commonalities they have sufficient divergence and distinctiveness to illustrate the challenges to be faced in regional integration. Download 475.12 Kb. Share with your friends:
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