“It has been a good move for us to
be a partner in this Programme. We
have nothing but positive feedback.
The ECLS is great to work with and
it is really nice of them to recognise
us at this appreciation event,” he
said.
Head of the ECLS, Chief Liaison
Officer Olaf Fontenelle, said the
Worker Recognition and Employer
Appreciation Event was initiated
to celebrate the hard work and
dedication of participating
OECS farm labourers, and to
acknowledge the impact on their
home economies, as well as the
Canadian agricultural industry. He
urged the OECS workers present at
the event to self-evaluate.
“Be the best workers in the
Programme. Reflect and ask
yourself if you’ve achieved what
you came here to do. Are you
saving each month? Are you saving
towards your retirement?” he said.
Fontenelle also noted that as the
ECLS improves worker welfare and
employer relations, it effectively
raises its profile to be better
positioned to secure additional
resources to administer the OECS’
participation in SAWP, adding that
a dedicated Liaison Officer to serve
the Leamington area would be
installed within the next year.
Head of the International Relations
Unit at the OECS Commission,
Ambassador Anthony Severin,
Ambassador Anthony Severin
reinforced the Commission’s
strategic priority to reduce
unemployment in Member States,
pointing to the SAWP as a key
means to achieve this goal.
“We readily acknowledge the
tremendous contribution made by
the Programme and the workers,
in particular, to the economies of
our Member States through the
generation of employment and the
infusion of repatriated earnings into
the economies.”
“We also believe in excellence, and
the importance of acknowledging
this, as well as the importance of
just saying thanks. And so we are
really excited and proud to be a
part of this Worker Recognition
and Employer Appreciation event.”
Minister for Labour in Saint Lucia,
Stephenson King, also addressed
the gathering and highlighted the
crucial role of the ECLS as the
www.slyoumag.com | September-October 2019
agency responsible for worker
welfare and employer relations.
King praised the ECLS staff for
their efficiency and efficacy.
“I think this event is a wonderful
initiative as it gives the ECLS staff
an opportunity to demonstrate
appreciation to the workers, and
also to the farmer employers
for providing tremendous
opportunities in human
development as well as growing
the economies of the respective
islands,” King said.
King noted that it is now up to
the governments of the Member
States to continue to invest in the
infrastructure of the ECLS as this
will allow additional Liaison Officers
to be hired, thereby ensuring more
focused attention on both workers
and employers in Canada.
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