By Aleem Khan breaking news Trinidad & Tobago

The T&T government will sit with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Caribbean’s private sector and trade union movement to discuss the free movement of labour in the Caribbean, at a United Nations event in Samoa (South Pacific Ocean) tomorrow. The meeting, where Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran will represent the government, begins at 3:00 pm West Samoa Time (WST) on September 1, which works out to be 10:00 pm tonight (August 31) as the tiny islands in Oceania are 17 hours ahead of T&T.

According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) statement Saturday (August 30), Antigua and Barbuda Senator David Massiah, a trade unionist, and Jamaican businessman Wayne Chen, president of the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC) will be the other two panellists.

“The International Labour Organization (ILO) will host a side event to call for closer economic integration for full employment and decent work as a path to sustainable development at the United Nations Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference in Apia, Samoa from September 1-4 (2014),” the ILO said.

The side event “Promoting Closer Economic Integration for Full Employment and Decent Work in the Caribbean,” will be moderated by ILO Deputy Director-General Gilbert Houngbo. Discussions will focus on “existing and potential arrangements for closer economic and social integration as well as labour mobility within the region. The focus of the discussion will be on measures required to overcome the obstacles that have so far prevented the region from achieving the economic, labour market and social benefits of closer cooperation and integration,” the release said.

The ILO said: “It has long been recognized that the region would benefit from increased economic integration which can be boosted by referring to multinational enterprise frameworks. This notion has led to a number of intra-regional arrangements and on-going bilateral negotiations between countries in the Caribbean, Central and Latin America. These existing and potential agreements aim to expand trade, commerce and decent work opportunities in specific niches of the economy.”

An ILO report, “Decent Work in Caribbean Small Island Developing States” has been prepared for the conference, the ILO said. The report argues that “decent employment” – that is employment “providing adequate livelihoods, social protection and respect for worker rights” – is an essential element of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The SIDS conference takes place at the Faleata Sports Complex in Apia, Samoa. Pre-conference activities, including a youth forum, took place in Apia from August 28-30.

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