Rebuilding a more resilient world of work in the Caribbean after COVID-19 will require strengthened social dialogue, skills development for green and blue economy jobs, digital transformation, greater social protection and sustainable enterprise creation. These were some of the recommendations by regional leaders from government, employers’ organizations and trade unions in a recent ILO discussion on how labour markets can sustainably recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, moderated the 14 December virtual panel, which drew 238 registrants from across the region. The conversation brought together high-level panelists including the Honourable Colin E. Jordan, Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations for Barbados; Andre Lewis, President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL); Wayne Chen, President of the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC); and Vinicius Pinheiro, Director of the ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Just ahead of the discussion, Diego Rei, ILO Caribbean Specialist for Employment and Labour Market Policies presented the main findings of the report “COVID-19 and the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean labour market. A rapid assessment of impact and policy responses at the end of Q3, 2020”. The study revealed that while the partial reopening of Caribbean economies is showing some immediate signs of socio-economic improvements, a full recovery will be gradual as working hour losses are expected to remain high.

“One of the impacts of the pandemic was the increased speed of change. The situation not only deteriorated but it did so faster than other crises. It is important to note however that the recovery has not been as quick as the downturn,” explained Diego Rei.

The research presentation was followed by a conversation between the ILO and tripartite leaders to share experiences in developing responses to COVID-19 as well as their perspectives on the potential way forward for a national- and regional-level recovery.

“As the report highlighted, the responses have been varied across the region – all targeting the different aspects of the impacts. It also highlighted the way forward and some of the issues that we will need to take into account to determine how to do things better as we go beyond the current crisis,” said ILO Caribbean Director Dennis Zulu in his introduction to the panel conversation on sustainable solutions for recovery.

As the first panellist, ILO Regional Director Vinicius Pinheiro spoke about some of the overall response trends across Latin America and the Caribbean. “There was more prevalence of social dialogue in the Caribbean than in continental Latin America. The ILO has had to use innovative ways to support social dialogue such as virtual meetings. In the Caribbean there seems to be more openness for this engagement,” he said.

“Looking ahead to the future, the crisis has been a great opportunity to upgrade and accelerate the digital transformation. To attract remote workers and engage with the global economy, we need digital infrastructure and skills. Vocational training therefore has a big role to play to accelerate that transition,” he continued.

Speaking on behalf of the Government of Barbados, Minister Colin E. Jordan outlined the country’s approach to recovering from the crisis. “A pandemic by definition is something that impacts people and if we are going to get through it, then the approach has to be people-centred. So, we adopted an outlook where we talked about lives and livelihoods and we dismissed quite early the view that existed that there was a dichotomy between employers and employees and between lives and livelihoods,” he said.

“We need to get out of this situation in a much better position than before the pandemic period,” he continued as described some of Barbados’ specific response strategies to build back better. They include digitization, skills upgrading for tourism sector workers and employment programmes that train workers in sustainable agriculture. 

“It cannot be business as usual once the pandemic dissipates or when we get the vaccine in mass quantities,” said Wayne Chen who spoke on behalf of the CEC. He shared recommendations for a long-term recovery that include more effective social dialogue, stronger digital infrastructure and reskilling to build more a more resilient labour market. “We should not let the crisis to go waste. We have seen a rapid transformation in how we deliver services especially education. These cannot be one-offs. So how do we make the future of work now and what are the changes in mind sets we need to encourage to accelerate that future of work?”

Speaking on behalf of the CCL, Andre Lewis agreed that the region should not respond to unplanned challenges caused by the crisis with a business as usual mentality. He emphasized that innovation and imagination are needed for a sustainable recovery. “Our dependency on tourism must be shifted. We need to invest in agriculture, digital training, as well as the crafts and entertainment sectors, health and safety, and openness of information.”

The panel conversation ended with a Q&A session with questions from a range of audiences and moderated by Vanessa Phala, ILO Caribbean Senior Specialist for Employers' Activities.