Preliminary document for discussion
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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- 5.2. Labour Standards and Trade
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS5.1. Threats and OpportunitiesThere is some degree of trepidation among the citizenry of the CARICOM states regarding the regional integration process. However, based on the discussions and analyses of the current issues, there seems to be little basis for the fear. Notwithstanding this there are indeed challenges which, in reality, are perhaps more political than practical. One obvious concern regarding the regional integration process has been the extent to which there are consistent labour and social security standards, which are universally applied and enforced across CARICOM. Much has already been done in regard to the establishment of regional standards. The work on draft legislation has been a step in the right direction and there appears to be commitment in principle to them. Doubtless, there is a high degree of commonality among the national legislation of the various countries. However, there needs to be implementation of the agreed standards and in particular, those outlined in the CARICOM Declaration. As indicated there are gaps even within the Declaration itself. Nevertheless, if the draft statutes and the Declaration are given full effect then all nations will be working on a common playing field. The real issue here in CARICOM thus, is one of implementation at the national level rather than the existence or commitment in principle to the regional norms. As discussed in previous works36 there appears to be the view that in the current globalized environment, there is an economic advantage to be gained by those countries which have lower labour standards. Despite the fact that there is no empirical evidence to support this (Taylor 2002b) and the ILO’s Programme for Management and Labour Cooperation (PROMALCO), which points towards both economic outcomes and worker protection, the lag in giving effect to the regional labour standards continues. The putting in place of the existing regional labour standards is the beginning of the issue. If there is no consistent set of labour norms then other problems such as those related to the migration of labour will arise or be exacerbated. One common area of concern is migration of labour. Already a labour elite has full access to the employment opportunities in all countries which are signatories to the common market. In the absence of an open system of migration, which incorporates unskilled and semi-skilled workers, there is the possibility that a sort of intra-regional brain drain will occur. The consequences of this would be that countries with weaker economic profiles may find themselves denuded of critically skilled human resources as well. Nonetheless, even if there is free movement of labour of all categories, this will have to be within the framework of consistent conditions for labour across the region. Thus, workers who migrate from Jamaica to Barbados, to work for the same employer for example, may find that they no longer have the right to reinstatement in the event that they are found to be unjustifiably dismissed. Furthermore, there is no compulsory arbitration in the event that some other form of injustice is meted out. On the other hand, if a Barbadian moves to Jamaica s/he may lose the right to be awarded compensation equivalent to severance payment, by the courts. Apart from the obvious problem faced regarding security of tenure and protection from arbitrary dismissal, migration poses another challenge. This has to do with social protection. At present, this is one of the areas with the greatest degree of unevenness. In countries such as St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Belize, there is a less mature system. In Jamaica, the entire provision is being rationalized with the assistance of the World Bank, and has taken on a combined benefits approach. Barbados is a step ahead of all the other countries in that it has not only social security but it also has unemployment benefits for both those individuals who have been terminated justly and unfairly. Barbados has also a higher degree of worker protection as regards termination benefits. Thus, the question arises as to whether a Barbadian worker would lose his/her social security benefits upon migration. The implications of all this is that even where there is unrestricted movement of all categories of persons in CARICOM there will be inequities due to the divergent levels of social protection across the region. Therefore, an important task will be to either integrate the systems of social protection or to standardize the provisions of the various social security administrations. The former is a rather daunting task since it represents a new paradigm and ultimately takes sovereignty and autonomy over the national social protection funds from the national governments. It is as problematic as the question of a regional currency. 5.2. Labour Standards and TradeAs indicated above, there is no room for compromise regarding the implementation of common labour standards within the region. At present there is no debate as to whether there should be these standards. The commitments in principle are more than a decade old, the Declaration has been drafted and circulated, and draft legislation has been developed. What seems to be the real issue is not whether these regional norms exist but whether there is move afoot to have them enshrined within national legislation and practices. It is the personal view of this author, (not necessarily that of the ILO), that CARICOM should be a microcosm and a prototype of where global trade and labour standards should coincide. The ultimate goal of CARICOM should be to create a seamless economic space. This implies free movement of all the factors of production across national boundaries. However, it is clear that uneven labour standards could translate into disadvantages for some nation-states. The short term recommendations clearly have to point to the implementation of the agreed standards regarding labour and to work in the short to medium term towards not simply establishing standards regarding social protection, but to go the step further in creating perhaps a regional social security system. It is not unlikely also that this could be linked to a larger goal of the creation of a Caribbean Central Bank and by extension a common currency. Given the high level of nationalism in the larger economies this may be a difficult political endeavour. Still, a time-table needs to be agreed for the implementation of the regional labour standards in the very short term. After more than a decade, the time for enforcement should be at hand. Thus it is felt that the regional trade agreements, inasmuch as they now contain express labour and social protection provisions, should at this point in time, move in the direction of direct enforceability. CARICOM has a number of countries with pre-existing commonalities. Thus, it should be far easier than most of the other trade blocs to implement the agreed labour standards. Where the requisite labour standards are not given effect in national legislation or practice then there should be recriminating measures taken to make them directly enforceable. Download 475.12 Kb. Share with your friends:
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