As workers and their families continue to grapple with losses in employment and income caused by the COVID-19 crisis, social dialogue is becoming an increasingly relevant mechanism for workers’ organizations to find joint solutions with governments and employers’ organizations for a lasting recovery.
The magnitude of the pandemic however requires an innovative model for collaboration and decision-making – one that can be supported through the people-centred principles of the ILO Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work. By adjusting to this framework, trade unions can effectively develop and implement policies and programmes that improve worker capacity, strengthen labour institutions and create new opportunities for sustainable employment.
To provide a platform that encourages workers’ organizations to identify and harness opportunities from this new reality, the ILO hosted a virtual roundtable on November 30 to share experiences and discuss recovery strategies that can secure a brighter and resilient future of work for all.
“The ILO Caribbean Office has received an increase in requests for support for social dialogue since the pandemic started. This roundtable was designed to help trade unions better identify and assert their relevance to coordinated solutions alongside employers’ organizations, governments, the UN system and other partners to build a new and better normality moving forward. It is our hope that these policies and programmes can be designed and implemented to deal with the immediate health crisis and to mitigate the effects on employment and incomes now and in the long-term,” explained Marcelo Alvarenga, ILO Caribbean Officer for Workers’ Activities, who moderated the session.
In many Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, trade unions have been at the forefront of the short- and medium-term COVID-19 policy development. They have been proactively developing proposals for government action on measures such as social protection and employment retention schemes. They have also successfully influenced and / or supported national policies to protect lives, jobs and incomes, particularly in relation to wage and income support for freelancers, the self-employed and gig workers; loan relief for rent or mortgage payments; and the provision of free health care.
While they have successfully proven their value in the immediate crisis response across the Caribbean, workers’ organizations can achieve effective long-term measures through a more integrated approach to social dialogue offered through the ILO’s Future of Work policy framework.
“Governments have the ability for the design and implementation of public policies; however through ongoing social dialogue employers’ and workers’ organizations can make a decisive contribution to shaping these policies in the long term. Their responsibilities ensure that they complement and support the tripartite process and government action through their own active participation,” said Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, who delivered opening remarks during the session.
“The effects of this unprecedented crisis will impact the Caribbean for years to come. The ILO Centenary Declaration’s Pillar Four has gained even more relevance as it provides clear guidelines for greater inclusion in social dialogue to develop, adopt and evolve policies that can continuously tackle the economic and the social problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he continued.
Other featured speakers included Maria Helena André and Mélanie Jeanroy of ACTRAV ILO; Shirley Pryce, Founder of the Jamaica Household Workers' Union (JHWU); Michael Annisette, General Secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), and André Lewis, President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL). During the two-hour session, panellists and participants:
analyzed social dialogue scenarios prior to the crisis and the responsiveness of constituents to support their members and workers in general;
reflected on the challenges and issues that constituents are facing in light of the pandemic and the role of increasing their capacities through social dialogue mechanisms;
identified opportunities in the development of trade union proposals, vis-à-vis other actors, in order to make social dialogue effective, taking into account the ILO Centenary Declaration and trade union core values; and
discussed trade unions priorities while supporting members and their families to establish a way forward.
As part of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean’s ongoing response strategy, the conversation demonstrated knowledge sharing and support for social dialogue to help constituents play an active and instrumental role in the socio-economic recovery from COVID-19.
“The pandemic has made life so difficult for domestic workers. The workforce was already insecure and vulnerable,” explained Shirley Pryce, of the Jamaica Household Workers' Union (JHWU). “Our union has pushed for social dialogue for solutions as we know it can strengthen our capacity for building back better. Through social dialogue, we were able to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Labour to receive two workstations with computers, a printer and Internet access to help connect workers with employers who are looking for domestic workers.”
“What we all discovered was the importance of social dialogue in times of crisis,” explained Michael Annisette who discussed the tripartite process in Trinidad and Tobago develop a roadmap to economic recovery from COVID-19. “We were able to engage in meaningful conversations following ILO guidelines to ensure we put measures in place to protect workers.”
The discussion also reiterated that the ongoing crisis provides workers’ organizations with even more reasons to engage further to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and resilience at the national level. It has become of extreme importance that the trade union movement plays an important role in advocating for and identifying their countries’ priorities through the lens of workers’ needs.
“From these examples, the Caribbean is showing a good practice of a sustainable social dialogue model anchored on moving forward,” noted Maria Helena André, Director of ACTRAV ILO, in her closing remarks.
“The virus is still alive and kicking and we still are not safe. We are already looking at the dramatic consequences the pandemic has on the economy, social policies and livelihoods of people. Moving forward, building back better and leaving no one behind really does require a strong, consistent and pragmatic approach by the social partners. Employers’ and workers’ organizations should continue to use the tools within their reach such as collective bargaining and their capacity to work together to draw up proposals to the government in the context of tripartite social dialogue to develop the best possible measures,” she concluded.
