BUSINESS
NEWS
for improvement of the OECS’s
participation in the TFWP.
• To discuss the way forward for
wider OECS Labour matters in the
context of ‘Free Movement of
People’; and
OECS Media Statement
The Caribbean island of
Guadeloupe - an overseas
Department of France - has
formally joined the Organisation of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), a
regional grouping comprising the
independent and non-independent
countries of Antigua and Barbuda,
Commonwealth of Dominica,
Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts
and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent
and the Grenadines, British Virgin
Islands, Anguilla and Martinique.
The 1st OECS Council of Ministers
of Labour Meeting was held in
Barbados on May 13, 2019. The
meeting brought together Ministers
and government officials from
Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Grenada, Montserrat and Saint
Kitts and Nevis to discuss multiple
matters related to strengthening
the Canadian Temporary Foreign
Workers Programme (TFWP)
and the coordinating unit at the
OECS Commission – the Eastern
Caribbean Liaison Service (ECLS).
The objectives of the 1st OECS
Council of Ministers of Labour
Meeting were:
• To review the impact of the
Temporary Foreign Workers
Programme (TFWP) on OECS
economies;
• To understand the current
situation at the ECLS and supply-
country worker processing
systems;
• To confirm the findings of the
ECLS stakeholder consultations;
• To consider key recommendations
of the 3-year ECLS Strategic Plan;
• To consider policy decisions
• To seek common positions on
these wider Labour matters,
for participation in the 11th ILO
Meeting on Caribbean Ministers
of Labour, hosted by Barbados,
from 14-15 May 2019.
Director General of the OECS
Commission, Dr. Didacus
Jules opened the meeting by
reinforcing the significance of
the Canada Temporary Foreign
Workers Programmes under the
Commission’s strategic priorities
to reduce unemployment in
member states, the resulting gains
to member states’ economies via
workers’ remittances and recalled
the Commissions commitment to
the continued strengthening the
Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service
(ECLS).
Head of Eastern Caribbean Liaison
Service, Olaf Fontenelle, presented
an overview of the impact on
OECS economies of the TFWP,
which is coordinated by the ECLS in
conjunction with OECS Ministries
of Labour and the Government of
Canada. A total of 3,623 Nationals
of the participating OECS Member
0States have had the opportunity
to work in the agricultural sector in
Canada between 2014 and 2018.
In addition, 826 workers have
already been recruited through the
programme, to date, in 2019.
OECS hosts National Consultations for
Multi-Purpose Identification System
Four OECS Member States are one step closer to the implementation
of a Multi-Purpose Identification System (MPID) that is expected to
enhance access to government services, reduce transaction costs and
improve business competitiveness.
The MPID is designed to consolidate many government-issued
identification cards such as the National Identification Card, National
Insurance Card, National Voter’s Card, and the Driver’s License and
would allow for a unique identification record to be created from birth
for citizens of the four participating OECS Member States.
38 SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019