Mr. Chairman
Incoming Chairman of the COHSOD, Minister Lawrence Achong
Other Honourable Ministers of Government
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Representatives of International and Regional organizations, especially Ms. Grace Strauchan, Regional Director of the ILO, who is attending her first meeting of the COHSOD
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media
Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
I am truly happy to join those who preceded me in welcoming you today to this, the Ninth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development – COHSOD – of our Caribbean Community, which is meeting under the Theme, “Investing in Human Resources with Special Reference to Labour.” A particular welcome is extended to the Delegates from outside of Guyana who have made a special effort to be here to deliberate on the important and very challenging agenda before you. I wish to make special mention of the representative of the Outgoing Chair, Minister Sandriman and the Incoming Chair, Minister Achong, of the COHSOD.
The Honourable Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Suriname would have, had he been able to arrive, indicated the hectic programme of work this Council undertook during the past year. (Dr. Greene has given you a synopsis of this.) I was particularly impressed by the rapid progress that was made in the youth and development programme and the leadership role played by Suriname in ensuring that their two CARICOM Youth Ambassadors were truly integrated and responsive to the National Youth Programme.
To my mind, this is a formula that other Member States may wish to emulate, to link regional and national programmes, not only in the context of youth and development, but also in respect of health, education, culture labour, sport, crime and security and other areas which focus on enhancing the quality of the lives of the people of our Region.
I was present at the Youth Symposium at CARIFESTA VIII and must admit that I was very impressed by the organisation and execution of that event which was coordinated by the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors of Suriname in collaboration with the Suriname Youth Movement. I look forward to receiving the recommendations resulting from some very stimulating presentations and discussions in that forum.
Now you may wonder why I have started to stress the importance of youth in a meeting primarily dealing with labour, but it is precisely because it is from that point that the role of youth in development has to be recognized.
Hon. Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, in welcoming the Hon. Lawrence Achong, Minister of Labour and Small and Micro-Enterprise Development of Trinidad and Tobago, who assumes the Chair of the COHSOD for the next year, I cannot help but note that yours, Sir, is a monumental task, if you are to match the volume and scope of work undertaken by your predecessor, the Outgoing Chair, the Hon Walter Sandriman of Suriname. The task is not made any easier by virtue of the issues currently confronting Labour. This situation is especially so for those issues that relate to the question of enhancing the competitiveness of our workforce in the current challenging, ever-evolving global arena. However, from your presentation, Minister Achong, you seem already well seized of the priorities and of the volatile nature of the environment in which Labour functions today.
This environment includes negotiating the maze of conditionalities, rules and regulations within, for example, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) systems, and last week, securing a viable place for our people in the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in the meeting which took place in your own Port of Spain. Paramount among all of these, are the requirements for the free movement of skills in our Region in the context of our CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
This requires a full understanding of those inhibiting and facilitating dimensions of the hemispheric and global processes. It requires, too, a commitment on the part of the Member States of this Region to pursue a collective strategy, when negotiating in the highly rules- based international arena.
CARICOM at the Threshold of a level of Regional Integration
It is against this background that this Meeting is taking place in the thirtieth year of CARICOM and at a time when the Region may be considered to be on the threshold of a new and higher level of regional integration. It is fitting that in this thirtieth anniversary year, Member States have committed themselves to demonstrate their commitment to the regional integration process by implementing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Some countries are even intent on being “CSME-ready” as early as by the end of 2004. The details of the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), for example, which will provide a vital pillar of the CSME, are being fine-tuned as we speak.
The Headquarters for the Secretariat for our Community is well on the way to being a reality within a matter of months and as you know, we are on the verge of new mechanisms of governance of the Community, which is being actively contemplated at the highest level. All of these are reflective of the new infusion of regionalism in our Caribbean Community. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit the Headquarters site to see our Headquarters rising. I, personally, am impatient for its finalisation.
The Global Imperatives of a Competitive Workforce
The major focus of this Meeting centres on the development and viability of the labour force of the Region. In this regard, specific policies essential for the proper functioning of the CSME, which will also contribute to the competitiveness of our work force, must be considered as a matter of the highest priority. I am pleased to note that you are addressing many of these issues, for example, the procedures for accreditation; the standardisation of labour classifications; and the removal of restrictions on intra-regional travel for specific categories of workers, including university graduates, media professionals and cultural workers
Ladies and Gentlemen, let us be brutally frank about it. If we are to enhance our chances in the global economic system, we defer implementation of these policies at our peril. And let there be no doubt about it.
We know already that the WTO-led philosophy based on the competitiveness principles, especially for developing countries, (because some of our developed countries are still allowed to engage in highly uncompetitive practices such as domestic and export subsidies) means that it cannot be business as usual for the Member States of CARICOM. But we have to accept this and work around it. As was experienced in Seattle, Doha and Cancun, there are deep divisions in the positions of the Developed and Developing nations with respect to the application of principles of competitiveness. But certainly, the rules of international trade, more than ever before, have made it imperative for CARICOM to realize its Single Market and Economy, and through this, secure its future in the global economy. It cannot be done otherwise.
Labour at the Centre of the Human Resource Development
This Meeting hinges on the challenges and opportunities for Labour and indeed, the entire social sector, if the CARICOM is to become a viable force in today’s international environment. We await the outcome of your discussion on the important Labour issues, which arise in the context of human resource development in our Region. Specifically, I believe it is essential that you address at least three of them –
i. The impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on employment trends and on the organisation and relocation of work and working conditions.
ii. The reorientation of training systems to adopt industry-driven competency-based approaches to the training, retraining and certification of workers.
iii. Workers’ health, in general, and the development of a policy and programme to deal with the major threat of HIV/AIDS in the work place which includes the reduction of discrimination against People Living and Working with HIVAIDS (PLWA).
In respect of this last, permit me to draw your attention to the fact that, we are looking forward to the CARICOM/Pan Caribbean Partnership Coordinating Unit, standardising the development of a strategy for stigma reduction against People Living with HIV/AIDS as part of the celebration of World AIDS Day on 1 December 2003. I am certain that I can count on you, Honourable Ministers of Labour, all to advocate and support this venture in your respective countries.
Conclusion
I want to conclude by saying that I am not sure when I ate labba and drank creek water, but I have been here quite a long time and I am not about to depart. I can assure you that if that is what it takes to achieve progress in the Community, I will be here for some time.
I wish you a fruitful meeting and look forward most eagerly to the outcome of your deliberations.
Thank you.
