Barbados tripartite partners endorse priority areas of an action plan for better business-enabling environment
The Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the social partners have selected three priority areas to be addressed in the action plan
11 May 2012
In delivering the feature address at the Workshop, Dr. the Hon. Esther Byer-Suckoo, Minister of Labour and Social Security commented on the timeliness of the action plan, as it came when the impact of the current global economic crisis underlined the need to preserve existing jobs and create new jobs.
“Our ability to tackle this challenge will have a direct impact on the quality of life we have come to treasure and enjoy in Barbados. The economic challenge therefore makes the promotion of an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises very urgent,” said Minister Byer-Suckoo.
“Enterprises are an important part of our society: they are a principal source of growth, wealth creation, employment and decent work, “she continued. “This process of creating an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises will not occur overnight however, it calls for new forms of cooperation and dialogue between government, employers and workers. It also calls for the integration of the three pillars of sustainable development: namely economic efficiency, social equity and democratic governance as exemplified by the International Labour Organization at its International Labour Conference in 2007,” said Byer-Suckoo.
The Minister went on to describe some of the initiatives being implemented by the Government that were in line with the priorities identified. She cited the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme to engender greater interest in entrepreneurship among Barbadians and the development of the National Employment Policy, for which there were consultations with partners in business and labour. The Policy addresses the priority issues, which are also included in the Medium-term Development Strategy and Protocol 6.
Also addressing the participants were Dr. Giovanni di Cola, Officer-in-Charge, ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean; Sir Roy Trotman, Former Vice-Chairperson , ILO Governing Body and General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union (BWU); Ms. Dawn Jemmott-Lowe, 2nd Vice President , Barbados Employers’ Confederation; and Mr. Cedric Murrell, President, Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados.
Sir Roy Trotman of the BWU gave a background of the initiative, pointing out that among the nine other reviews carried out around the world, the Barbados assessment was the only one with tripartite involvement.
Dr. di Cola of the ILO Office for the Caribbean emphasized the fact that the activity was the first being undertaken in the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
Members of the tripartite working group along with Mohammed Mwamadzingo, Senior Economist, ILO Bureau of Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) presented the survey methodology, findings of the report and the areas determined as priority for the improvement of the enabling business environment.
The selection of the priority areas is based on an assessment conducted jointly by the tripartite partners in Barbados with the technical support of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The assessment of the enabling environment for sustainable enterprises in Barbados was completed through secondary data sources, findings from a national opinion survey of workers and employers conducted in November 2011, and inputs gleaned at two technical tripartite workshops held in September 2011 and January 2012. The results of the assessment are contained in an ILO Employment Report entitled “The enabling environment for sustainable enterprises in Barbados.” [1]
ILO technical support for the assessment was provided by a team of ILO specialists based at ILO, Geneva and at the ILO Office for the Caribbean: Maria Sabrina de Gobbi, Mohammed Mwamadzingo , ACTRAV Senior Economist; Markus Pilgrim, Manager, Small Enterprise Development Programme; Paula Robinson, Senior Specialist, Workers’ Activities; and Kelvin Sergeant, Specialist - Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation.
Similar assessments have been done in other ILO member States as a basis for providing evidence-based recommendations on how to improve the business-enabling environment. The assessment focuses on the political, economic, social and environmental aspects of doing business, covering 17 pillars as highlighted in the Conclusions concerning the promotion of sustainable enterprises adopted at the International Labour Conference in June 2007. The Conclusions provide guidance on how to promote enterprise development in a manner that aligns enterprise growth with sustainable development objectives and the creation of productive employment and decent work.
[i] http://www./ilo.org/employment/Whatwedo/Publications/WCMS_175380/lang--en/index.htm