Tripartite Caribbean Conference on the global financial crisis and its social and labour dimensions
The theme of the conference is "Promoting human prosperity beyond the global financial crisis: Seeking sustainable solutions through social dialogue."
The ILO Subregional Office for the Caribbean, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Jamaica, the Caribbean Congress of Labour and the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation, will convene a Tripartite Caribbean Conference to discuss the global financial crisis and its social and labour dimensions on 1-2 April 2009 in Kingston, Jamaica.
Theme: The theme of the conference is "Promoting human prosperity beyond the global financial crisis: Seeking sustainable solutions through social dialogue."
As the Caribbean region begins to experience the effects of the global crisis, through the slowdown in demand and falling commodity prices, it is important for policymakers and other key stakeholders to come together to devise policies and strategies for addressing the crisis before it intensifies. While the dialogue has so far focused on bailout plans, there is the need to address the social and labour consequences of the crisis and take immediate action to mitigate its effects.
With its tripartite structure, bringing together governments, employers and workers, the ILO is poised to respond to the crisis through the effective use of social dialogue and promotion of the Decent Work Agenda.
Objective: The objective of the conference is "To offer a space for knowledge sharing and advocacy for the principle and practice of social dialogue to strengthen the input of tripartite constituents in policy and programmatic responses to the global financial crisis."
Target group: The participants will be representatives of Ministries of Labour and Ministries of Finance and/or Planning along with representatives of employers' and workers' organizations (based on ILO Governing Body approvals) from the 13 ILO member States and 8 overseas territories of the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. In addition, a number of international and regional organizations have been invited, including the International Organization of Employers and the International Trade Union Confederation.
Resource persons: Presentations will be made by a distinguished panel of experts who have been working closely on the global financial crisis, including representatives of international and regional organizations, the University of the West Indies, Government Ministries and employers' and workers' organizations.
Focus of discussions: The discussion over the two days will focus on the following:
- An overview of the crisis from a global perspective:
the underlying reasons for the crisis
ideas on the duration of the global recession - a critical issue for this region that has limited foreign reserves
the economic landscape that the large economies will shape in response to the crisis; this will determine the economic environment to which developing countries will have to adjust.
Theme: The theme of the conference is "Promoting human prosperity beyond the global financial crisis: Seeking sustainable solutions through social dialogue."
As the Caribbean region begins to experience the effects of the global crisis, through the slowdown in demand and falling commodity prices, it is important for policymakers and other key stakeholders to come together to devise policies and strategies for addressing the crisis before it intensifies. While the dialogue has so far focused on bailout plans, there is the need to address the social and labour consequences of the crisis and take immediate action to mitigate its effects.
With its tripartite structure, bringing together governments, employers and workers, the ILO is poised to respond to the crisis through the effective use of social dialogue and promotion of the Decent Work Agenda.
Objective: The objective of the conference is "To offer a space for knowledge sharing and advocacy for the principle and practice of social dialogue to strengthen the input of tripartite constituents in policy and programmatic responses to the global financial crisis."
Target group: The participants will be representatives of Ministries of Labour and Ministries of Finance and/or Planning along with representatives of employers' and workers' organizations (based on ILO Governing Body approvals) from the 13 ILO member States and 8 overseas territories of the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. In addition, a number of international and regional organizations have been invited, including the International Organization of Employers and the International Trade Union Confederation.
Resource persons: Presentations will be made by a distinguished panel of experts who have been working closely on the global financial crisis, including representatives of international and regional organizations, the University of the West Indies, Government Ministries and employers' and workers' organizations.
Focus of discussions: The discussion over the two days will focus on the following:
- An overview of the crisis from a global perspective:
the underlying reasons for the crisis
ideas on the duration of the global recession - a critical issue for this region that has limited foreign reserves
the economic landscape that the large economies will shape in response to the crisis; this will determine the economic environment to which developing countries will have to adjust.
- An overview of the impact of the crisis on Caribbean countries, highlighted through sectors such as tourism, oil and gas, minerals, financial services, etc.
- How the crisis impacts on the actors in the world of work, and the new challenges for the tripartite partners.
- A discussion about different macroeconomic approaches, including those that have positive social outcomes.
- The role that social dialogue can play in promoting sustainable measures to mitigate the negative impact of the crisis on both enterprises and the workforce.
Finally, it is expected that an outcome document will be a tangible output of the Conference.