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Sunday, 21 September 2008 |
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A senior Caribbean Community (CARICOM) official has called on member countries to honor their obligations regarding the free movement of labor, on the heels of a public dispute by two regional leaders on the issue.
CARICOM’s lead specialist on the free movement of skills and labor, Steven Mac Andrew, said member states would need to remove restrictions on nine categories of workers – university graduates, holders of associate degrees, sports persons, media workers, artistes, musicians, teachers, nurses and artisans.
“Any CARICOM national who is employed in Barbados or another member state must be treated as if that person is a national of that country. So, for work purposes, you cannot discriminate against that person if he or she belongs to one of those categories which have been granted free movement,” he said.
“Certain things which you could have done a couple of years ago, you have less room to maneuver to do those kinds of things because you need to adhere to the dominant rules which are mentioned in the revised Treaty (of Chaguaramas).”
His comments came after Barbados’ Prime Minister David Thompson and Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines exchanged different views over the weekend on how individual states should go about meeting their labor requirements.
Thompson, who has lead responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), had issued a strong warning to the business sector here to stop importing labor and employ Barbadians instead.
“Not that I am closing the door to anyone, nor am I sending anybody unceremoniously out of Barbados, but I am recognizing the existence of a real situation in Barbados where unemployment is much higher than the statistics tell us,” he said, while addressing small and medium-sized building contractors.
“There is an unsatisfactorily high level of unemployment in Barbados among Barbadians. I have told the Immigration, I have told the Public Service and now I am telling the private sector: The rot must stop. I want Barbadians working.”
But Gonsalves in a swift response cautioned his Barbadian counterpart that such remarks go against the spirit of the regional integration movement.
Mac Andrew was careful not to criticize the Barbados Prime Minister but said Gonsalves might have a point.
“The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is correct in his assessment to say that might go against what is mentioned as a key principle in the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, namely Article 7, that discrimination on the [basis] of nationality is prohibited with respect to the scope of application of the revised Treaty,” he said.
CARICOM is due to fully implement the free movement of nationals by the end of next year.
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