COHSOD calls for labour to have active voice in trade negotiations

Sunday, October 12, 2003

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The Ninth Meeting of the Caricom Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) ended in Guyana on Friday with broad agreement on the way forward for labour in the context of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) as well as hemispheric and international trade negotiations. 

A communiqué issued at the end of the three-day meeting on Friday 10th October, said COHSOD ministers agreed that the voice of labour was important in the formulation of policies as well as in trade negotiations at the regional level, and pointed to the social compact in Barbados as a possible model. 

The meeting also discussed issues affecting labour in hemispheric and international negotiations and recognized the imperative of the involvement of Ministries of Labour in the negotiating process. It was agreed that ministers of labour should collaborate closely with ministers of trade on labour issues in the Free Trade Area of the Americas process, CMC reports indicate. 

"The COHSOD also agreed that member states should facilitate the participation of labour officials in this process in order to adequately represent the views and interests of the Community," added the statement.

The communiqué said it was further agreed that the representation of officials of the Caricom Secretariat in these meetings should be assured in order to provide critical guidance to member states. 

In terms of the free movement of persons, it was noted that all member states, except Haiti, Montserrat and St Kitts and Nevis, had operationalized the free movement of wage-earning categories of workers. 

COHSOD Ministers noted that the CSME arrangements should also make provision for the movement of unskilled labour. They also noted the security concerns expressed relating to free movement. 

In respect of hassle-free travel, the COHSOD noted that measures had been taken by member states to establish common lines for Caricom nationals and that some member states were prepared to accept identification cards, which were not machine-readable, as an interim measure, the communiqué added.

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