Representatives of Guyana’s trade unions, employers and government are commending the Free Movement regimes within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) as important contributors to the region’s development.
The groups are part of a two day Free Movement sensitization workshop, which began Wednesday.
“It is about people and peoples’ development, which is central to the Region’s development”, said General Secretary of the Guyana Trade Union Congress Mr. Lincoln Lewis as he addressed the Opening Ceremony.
Chairman of the Guyana Private Sector Commission, Mr. Norman McLean agreed, and noted that the sensitization is important as individual Member States, including Guyana, develop technical skills among their populations and encourage the movement of those skills.
Labour Minister Ms Volda Lawrence told the meeting Guyana, like it’s CARICOM neighbours, has been actively facilitating the operation of the regimes.
“According to statistics here in Guyana we welcomed, from the outset up to November 2015, a total of 4870 persons, of which 2057 were male and 2833 were female. Of this number, 3372 were graduates, and 487 non graduates, which included musicians, artistes, sports persons and media persons. Seventy-five of the lot were nurses, 182 were trained teachers, 774 certificates were assessed and there were 51 non nationals. So things have been happening people wide. People have been moving. You will admit that this movement has been significant in Guyana and I’m quite certain that the same phenomena, though varying in numbers, must have pertained in other member States,” the Minister said.
Guyana is hosting the first in the series of sensitisation workshops to be held across 12 CARICOM Member States. They are targeting private sector, employers organisations and trade unions and highlighting the following CSME regimes: free movement of skills/labour and the facilitation of travel generally; the right of establishment; and the free movement of services.
