Preliminary document for discussion
Effects of Economic Integration on Employment
Download 475.12 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- 4.5.2. New Relations of Work: Both Countries
- 4.5.3. Economic Migration
4.5. Effects of Economic Integration on Employment4.5.1. Functioning of National Labour Markets: Jamaica and BarbadosInterestingly both countries have Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS). As a result data on profiles of the labour market and the other demographic information are readily available in published format and online. These data allow for the forecasting of labour needs and supply. The degree of cooperation among CARICOM countries in regard to the labour market is appreciable. One of the concerns expressed in the interviews was how would the mobility of labour affect first of all the demand and supply of labour. One main difference between the two countries is that Jamaica has an unemployment rate of close to 18 per cent as compared to a predicted ten per cent for Barbados in 2003. Nonetheless neither the Barbadian employers nor trade unions are concerned that the influx of labour will put pressure on wages, driving them down. In fact the response of the trade unions is more of a positive one since an increase in the supply of labour will mean a larger number of workers to unionize, thus increasing union revenue. The view also is that in a market where all factors of production are mobile and fluid, market forces will regulate wages and prices. It is only where there are artificial restrictions on the movement of one factor or the other, that distortions within the market will take place. In Jamaica, where there is a higher level of unemployment, a lower level of unionization, and overall poorer economic indicators, there seems to be greater concern. It is felt that free movement of labour will depress employment. There is the concern that there will be somewhat of a ‘brain drain’ but paradoxically there are fears that educated migrants for the other countries in the region will displace slightly less qualified locals, thereby exacerbating the unemployment problem. This thus points to another issue that has arisen, the degree of inequality in the national levels of capacitation. The challenge is not just the mobility of labour in itself but the measurement of skills from one Member State to the other. The TVETs have a central role to play in the process and this is occurring. Clearly though, the national economies need to be able to accommodate the insurgence of labour. With labour supply increasing in an economy that is not expanding via external investment and increased export earnings, the perils and pressures on the social infrastructure are understandable. 4.5.2. New Relations of Work: Both CountriesOne of the emergent trends in workplace relationships is the advent of contract work. A more common phenomenon in Jamaica than in Barbados, it presents a greater challenge for the former. Terms and conditions of employment in Jamaica are much more clearly circumscribed by legislation than in Barbados. For example there is the aforementioned LRIDA, which defines who is a worker and what constitutes a contract of employment. Other statutes such as the Holiday With Pay Order and the Employment Termination and Redundancy Payment Act and Barbados’s Severance Payment Act, also define a worker to be one who works under a contract of employment. What is critical for the individual who is engaged under such contracts is that s/he is entitled to a range of benefits and protections under these statutes. If an individual works under a contract for services, where s/he is defined as a “contractor,” s/he is essentially excluded. In Barbados, such persons would not have access to unemployment benefits, severance payments or any of the other provisions of the social security administration. These ‘new’ relations of employment are very significant in the regional integration process because the regional and international labour standards are applicable to employers and workers, that is persons engaged under ‘contracts of employment’ or ‘contracts of service.’ If persons are ill-defined as contractors while they are de facto workers then it means that they are excluded from the benefits of employment and protection. The result of this would be that the entire process of establishing regional labour standards would be made a mockery of. In recent years there has been a trend towards engaging workers under contracts for services. In Jamaica this appears to be a means of de-unionizing the labour force. Data from the Ministry of Labour suggest that complaints by non-unionized workers have increased dramatically during the 1990s to the early 2000s, while disputes reported by unions have been declining especially with respect to dismissals. The dimensions of this have been elaborated in the ILO commissioned study done by this researcher in 2001.35 In Barbados the pattern has been steady. The phenomenon of disguised contracts is of such concern that the ILO has commissioned two studies in the region on the subject. Under the proposed Employment Rights Bill in Barbados the definition of employee or worker will be critical. In Jamaica, the LRIDA now has a definition of worker which does attempts to incorporate dependent contractors as ‘employees’. However, given that it does not define employee in the Act, the definition will be of little help to the worker who is a bona fide employee but labelled contractor. In both Jamaica and Barbados if the issue of contract work in not clearly defined it could very well become the contentious issue of the early years of the millennium. 4.5.3. Economic MigrationThe data regarding intra-regional migration is only just emerging. Therefore it is difficult to speak to the topic with empirical support. Most of the data surround the migration of persons to metropolitan countries, in particular, the United States, The United Kingdom and Canada. However, some impression may be gained from the data on work permits given. So far, the data do not suggest that there is any significant trend in the pattern of intra-regional migration as measured by the issuing of work permits. The number of work permits issued by the Barbadian government to CARICOM nationals has varied between 241 and 360 during the 1990s and has not shown any particular tendency to increase. With the opening up of the regional labour market in 2005 it is anticipated that there may be an increase in migration to that country for the purposes of employment. However, this needs not be the case since there is the view that the cost of living in Barbados is also a deterrent. Jamaica’s pattern on the issuing of work permits has not showed any dramatic increase in the number issued to CARICOM nationals. In the 1990s it has remained constant slightly above 200 per year. Inasmuch as Jamaica’s economy is not one of the most ‘healthy’ in the Anglophone CARICOM it is closer to Haiti than all the others and could be one of the main foci for migration from the most populous country in the community. This is one fear that exists in Jamaica. With an average of 30 permits being granted to Haitians during the 1990s there could be some basis for this fear. Nonetheless, the movement of capital across the borders has begun in earnest. Given the market forces the process should be self-regulating in the medium term. Download 475.12 Kb. Share with your friends:
|