This virtual roundtable will present some of the underlying principles and current practices on how governments and social partners can engage and undertake measures aimed at preserving jobs and creating new ones. It will also focus on how they can contribute to increasing the employability of people who have been dismissed.

The discussion will be structured in two parts along an ideal continuum of interventions starting with those aimed at preserving jobs and concluding with those meant to help job seekers once jobs are lost.

The first part of the virtual roundtable will illustrate the guiding International Labour Standards in terms of job retention. It will specifically reference ILO Convention No. 158 and Recommendation No. 166 and the therein expressed principle that when employers are obliged to introduce changes of a technological nature or otherwise, they should first consider all other possible measures that would allow them to avoid terminations.

Following the introduction, the discussion will zoom in on three topics: 

1. the rationale behind work sharing agreements and remote work, featuring some concrete examples of current implementation;
2. an overview of how countries designed financial support for companies or employers and the linkages with labour retention; and
3. a specific analysis of the treatment of leave, introducing the relevant International Labour Standards and examples of legislative and practical changes (such as anticipated paid leave, relaxation of rules to access paid sick leaves/parental leaves) introduced in the context of the response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The second part of the discussion will highlight potential measures to be implemented once the sombre scenario of layoffs becomes a reality. While introducing considerations regarding allocative efficiency, the traditional design of labour market policies will be presented, together with few guiding principles to help drive a step-by-step response in the COVID context and cope with potential trade-offs and implementation gaps. Specific examples from around the world and the Caribbean about cushioning temporary income losses and their link (or absence of) with employability building, up-skilling and re-skilling of workers and other types of assistance will be showcased.

Date and time

24 June 2020 @ 11.00 am Eastern Caribbean Time (ECT)

How to attend?

The event will take place via Zoom technology. You must pre-register to receive an invitation to attend. 

The Zoom meeting room will open at 10.00 am (ECT) on 24th June 2020, one hour before the event starts, so that participants can join and iron out any connectivity issues.

Participants will be able to post their questions and comments to the panelists via CHAT option only (microphones will be disabled).

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