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ILO holds National Bipartite Meetings for social partners in Saint Lucia and Grenada

The first Meeting in Saint Lucia will be held at the Bay Gardens Hotel on Tuesday, 7 July; and the Meeting in Grenada will be held at the Public Workers' Union on Thursday, 9 July.

Under the EU-funded Programme to strengthen the capacity of the Caribbean Employers' Confederation (CEC) and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) to enable them to play a more effective role in determining and developing regional policy, two National Bipartite Meetings for social partners will be held this week.

The first Meeting in Saint Lucia will be held at the Bay Gardens Hotel on Tuesday, 7 July. Mr Titus Preville, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, is carded to deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony, with remarks from Mr Vern Gill, President Saint Lucia Employers’ Federation and Mr Wilfred Pierre, President, Saint Lucia Civil Service Association.

On Thursday, 9 July the Meeting in Grenada will be held at the Public Workers' Union. The Hon. Elvin Nimrod, MP, Minister for Labour, Ministry of Labour, is carded to deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony, with remarks from Mr. Dorset Cromwell, President, Grenada Employers' Federation and Mr. Kenny James, President, Grenada Trades Union Council.

The EU-funded Programme supported by the ILO with CEC and CCL is a three year Programme1 designed to build the capacity of the regional organizations so that they can participate effectively in regional development and integration processes, and thus fulfil their obligations under the Social Aspects Chapter of the Economic Partnership. Strengthening the regional organizations will also necessitate capacity-building activities of the national organizations affiliated to CEC and CCL respectively, as these organizations will be called upon to provide logistical, technical and political support to the initiatives of the regional organizations.

Already the CEC and CCL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to identify areas where common legislative and regulatory principles having regional application are essential and formulate in legislation principles facilitating the establishment and operation of business and the free movement of labour with the CARICOM common space. This legislative agenda also includes upholding and advocating for the principles and rights enshrined in ILO Fundamental Conventions. Other regional level activities include a study tour to Brussels in May and an Employers’ Forum in Barbados in June. This bipartite meeting in Saint Lucia represents the first of a series of national activities to be undertaken in each of the 15 countries which are members of CARIFORUM. These one-day meetings of the national employers’ and workers’ organizations will form the platform for further work to be executed within the scope of the three-year EU Programme.

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The Project funded by the European Union is entitled: “Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers to fulfil their Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Obligations: Caribbean Employers’ Confederation and the Caribbean Congress of Labour Component of the Support to Facilitate Participation of CAIFORUM Civil Society in Regional Development and Integration Process.”

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