Port of Spain (ILO News) – The ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean and Red Thread’s group of domestic workers, will be conducting a three-day workshop designed to assist domestic workers to successfully form a workers’ cooperative. Given the historical importance of the cooperative movement to development in Guyana, this event is expected to contribute to the empowerment of Red Thread members and bring social and economic benefits such as joint ownership, access to finance, legal advice and marketing opportunities. In the long run, a service cooperative is expected to give domestic workers greater control over their working conditions and a formal vehicle to address their interests.

The workshop will be held at the Cara Lodge Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana over the period 23-25 May 2017, and would be facilitated by Ms. Paula Robinson, Senior Specialist, Workers’ Activities and Mr. Kelvin Sergeant, Specialist in Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation, ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean. Ms Perlina Gifth, Chief Cooperative Officer, Department of Labour, Ministry of Social Protection will do the welcoming address at the formal opening of the workshop.

The workshop is expected to lead to the establishment of a management committee and a work programme for the development of the first domestic workers’ cooperative in Guyana.

The initiative forms part of ILO’s support to implement the Domestic Workers Convention (ILO C189) adopted in 2011 and ratified by Guyana in 2013 at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C189