About the office

The ILO Office for the Caribbean was established in 1969 and is based in Trinidad and Tobago. It serves 13 member States and 9 non-metropolitan territories of the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean as follows:

Member States: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

Non-metropolitan territories: Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Montserrat, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Utilizing the ILO's tripartite structure, the Office works in close collaboration with governments, employers’ and workers' organizations to promote decent work for all through technical guidance and cooperation.

The concept of decent work is built on four strategic pillars: the promotion of rights at work, employment opportunities, social protection and social dialogue. The Decent Work Agenda supports integrated development strategies that link rights at work and social dialogue with employment policies and social protection. The Office works with the constituents at the national level to implement the Decent Work Agenda through Decent Work Country Programmes.

The ILO Office for the Caribbean provides advocacy, technical guidance, training and technical cooperation on policy and technical issues related to labour and employment, to the tripartite constituents. Technical support for the programmes and activities of the ILO Office for the Caribbean is provided by its own team of specialists in the fields of:
  • Employers' Activities
  • Employment and Labour Market Policy
  • Enterprise Development and Job Creation
  • HIV/AIDS and the world of work
  • International Labour Standards and Labour Law
  • Labour Administration and Social Dialogue
  • Occupational Safety and Health
  • Skills and Employability
  • Workers' Activities
The Office receives technical support from experts at ILO's Headquarters, the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), Turin, Italy and the Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (CINTERFOR) as required.