Under Suriname’s second Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) and in collaboration with the ILO, tripartite constituents and other stakeholders are working together to improve the national business landscape and increase productivity.
Their efforts are fueled by the findings of the country’s 2019 Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprise (EESE) Assessment. With support from the ILO, the Assessment examined economic, social and political elements, with a specific attention to the factors affecting productivity.
Despite setbacks caused the COVID-19 crisis, the working group consisting of members of the DWCP Monitoring Committee and invited experts gathered virtually on 24 May 2021 for a one-day session hosted by the ILO.
During the meeting, they validated the findings and determined priorities to inform the development of a national action plan that will advance the most important factors to enable sustainable enterprise development and productivity. Their deliberations also considered the effects of the pandemic on Suriname’s business environment and its likely impact in the future.
“The commitment of Suriname to improve its business environment is not new; it was reinforced in 2019 which led to launching the current assessment, with a particular lens on productivity,” said Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean during the event.
“While we had to pause in the process in 2020 because of the pandemic, creating an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises is now more important than ever for Suriname to effectively recover. Entrepreneurs and workers in their enterprises need to be able to thrive in a new normal. It is also key because we had one year to realize and reflect on how our societies can do better,” he continued.
The gathering included representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs; the Vereniging Surinaams Bedrijfsleven (VSB) / Suriname Trade and Industry Association (STIA) and Raad van Vakcentrales / Council of Trade Unions in Suriname (RAVAKSUR). Experts from consulting firm DOOR Advisory Services Limited facilitated the session.
“The execution of an EESE Assessment is included in the Decent Work Country Programme under outcome 1.2: Micro to large enterprises are better equipped to provide decent work,” explained Glenn Piroe, Deputy Director Legal and International Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs and Chair of the DWCP Monitoring Committee. “The Assessment comes at a very appropriate moment and we are glad that it has incorporated the COVID-19 factor which has created a heavy burden in the world of work on both enterprises and workers.”
After the opening remarks, the Committee discussed the following seven priority areas for developing an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises.
Education, training, and lifelong learning
Adequate social protection
Social dialogue and respect for universal human rights and international labour standards
Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
Enabling legal and regulatory environment
Trade and sustainable economic integration
Fair competition
They decided to include the first four in the national action plan for Suriname.
Before concluding the working session, the Committee announced that two weeks of consultations supported by the ILO are needed to have a closer look at the priorities and prepare the action plan. The draft plan will be discussed and validated in the next DWCP Monitoring Committee meeting scheduled for 8 June 2021.
