MINISTER of Human Services and Social Security Jennifer Webster, addressing the 8th International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting of Caribbean Labour Ministers in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on July 2, urged that labour ministers stand as a united force, committed to enabling the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) in all the Caribbean countries for the benefit of all employees in the Region.

During her address, Minister Webster reminded that the Caribbean is part of a global environment that is changing rapidly and faces global issues such as job creation, social justice, youth unemployment, women empowerment and issues of creation of social protection floors for employees in the labour force. In charting the way forward, she called for all Caribbean countries to support each other in strengthening and implementing the Decent Work country programme within the Caribbean Community.
“Colleagues, I believe that our deliberations over the next two days must formulate cohesive policies and plans to chart the way forward, if we are to create the environment within the Caribbean as a unified body working together for the common good of our people, whilst at the same time pursuing programmes aimed to enhance growth in a sustainable manner in our respective economies.
“Let us therefore commit ourselves to ensuring that the issue of Strengthening Decent Work for development throughout the Region is on the priority agenda of our respective governments. Whilst there are some challenges, such as the issue of child labour, the labour community must condemn acts of child labour as we must support the continued education and development of our children,” she said.
The Decent Work Country programme focuses on ways in which creating jobs, while promoting respect for rights, social protection and social dialogue, can be made central to social and economic development.
Guyana is the 10th country to sign onto the ILO-Decent Work Country Programme in April, and during her address, Minister Webster also outlined some of the significant strides in Guyana in recognising the Decent Work Country Programme and Guyana’s achievements to date under the programme.
Included in these achievements is Guyana enacting the Occupational Safety & Health Act # 32/1997, and ratifying the ILO Convention on Occupational Safety & Health in the year 2012, and the plans to, in the not too distant future, enact mining regulations to enforce safety procedures with respect to employers and employees within the mining sector.
It is also Government’s intention to formulate regulations for the construction, forestry, noise, manufacturing, and chemical sectors, and to go further and enact regulations for HIV/AIDS in the workplace, to protect those vulnerable persons living with HIV/AIDS from being discriminated against she said.
Guyana’s revised 2003 Constitution has also enshrined as a fundamental right – “Equal Rights and Status in all spheres of Economic and Social life”, and just recently government approved a National Minimum Wage and a 40- hour work week for both private and public sector employees, following which it also took the position to  ratify the ILO Convention #189- Domestic Workers Convention, thereby “creating the basis for Decent Work with respect to those persons who are employed as Household Service Workers, whilst primarily ensuring that the rights of these workers are not violated,” she said.
Guyana also has in place an effective Tripartite Body which comprises 20 members and includes six representatives from government, employers, and the two trade union umbrella bodies (FITUG and GTUC) and one representative from the National Insurance Scheme. Meetings are held monthly and are chaired by the Minister of Labour.
Meanwhile, under the Decent Work Country Programme, she explained that Guyana has held workshops in Occupational Safety and Health with respect to Mining and Forestry, hosted a one-week seminar with cooperatives throughout the country, where the role of the Co-operatives in nation building and the development of small, and medium enterprises in Guyana was highlighted and discussed.
A seminar was also held on Green Jobs under the theme: Developing Policies and Programmes to promote the Green Economy and Green Jobs in Guyana, to provide an understanding of the benefits of the creation of Green Jobs in protecting the environment, whilst supporting the country’s economic growth and the “South-South” and Triangular Co-operation model that was developed to ensure the necessary transfer of skills and technology from Peru to Guyana, she said.
With regard to the long-term programme of promoting low carbon economic activities that generate decent work and sustainable enterprises and Guyana’s goal in this regard, Minister Webster reported that  Guyana is now in the implementation phase of the LCDS and projects are being executed that will re-orient the economy towards low-carbon growth.
“The first of priorities include investment in the Amaila Falls hydropower project, which, upon completion would provide stable, reliable, and affordable green energy, supporting community development initiatives and economic activities at the village level with particular attention being given to 180 villages of Amerindian communities at a cost of US$6M,  providing access to finance for small and micro enterprises and vulnerable groups, and supporting the expansion of existing sectors such as eco-tourism,” she said.
The 8th ILO Meeting of Caribbean Labour Ministers was held under the theme “The Caribbean and Labour 2013 and Beyond – Strengthening Decent Work for Development.”