PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release		To: Editor, News & Business
March 18, 2003

UWI stages Inaugural
Caribbean Labour Policy
Conference – April 2 – 5

Local, regional and international analysts of labour market issues, labour relations and labour legislation will be in Jamaica from Wednesday April 2 to Saturday April 5 for the Inaugural Caribbean Labour Policy Conference, a ground-breaking event which will be staged at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

 The conference is jointly organized by the Labour Studies Programme, Mona School of Business (MSB), in conjunction with: the Department of Management Studies; the Trade Union Education Institute; the UWI’s HIV/AIDS Response Programme (HARP); the Centre for Gender & Development Studies (Regional Coordinating Unit), UWI; and the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto.

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The Conference’s primary objective is to examine the impact to Caribbean labour issues caused by globalisation, international trade liberalisation, and the linking of trade and international labour standards.  The Conference is also intended to provide government officials and policy makers throughout the region with recommendations and guidelines for the formulation of progressive and responsive labour policy related to critical contemporary issues.

Professor Neville Ying, Conference Co-Chairman and UWI’s Professor of Business Development and Director of the Labour Studies Programme, outlined the significance of the Conference at a recent media briefing.  He explained that with the advent of important integration movements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME), policy makers, academics, trade unionists, corporations and government and non-governmental organizations need to sensitize themselves to the implications these movements will have on labour issues in the Caribbean.

In the area of labour market mobilisation, for example, globalization and shrinking consumer demand in some sectors have accelerated unemployment.  As a consequence, the informal economy has grown and governments are presented with the challenge of not only making provisions for reduced fiscal revenue but also of implementing social protection for displaced employees.  Facilitating the regional and international mobility of labour becomes critical in this scenario, by helping to prevent social unrest and also by increasing opportunities to maximise the value of human potential to economic development and competitiveness of Caribbean countries.

Professor Ying explained further that the competitive global marketplace has intensified the need for companies and government institutions throughout the Caribbean to achieve the important objectives of increased productivity and profitability.
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Labour/management co-operation programmes play an important role in the achievement of these objectives and the Caribbean Labour Policy Conference will explore factors related to this area, Professor Ying advised.  The development and harmonization of relevant legislation in the Caribean region will also be examined, as well as regional compliance and commitment to international labour conventions and standards.

The Caribbean Labour Policy Conference will also feature interactive policy workshops on four major topics: Gender & Child Labour; the Future Role of Ministries of Labour in the New Caribbean Economy; Labour Policy and HIV/AIDS; and Alternate Dispute Resolution Systems.   The closing plenary session on Saturday April 5 will detail policy guidelines, options and recommendations emerging from all the presentations and discussions showcased throughout the Conference.

“We have invited from all over the world some of the best minds in labour market, labour and employment relations, and labour legislation,” Professor Ying explained.  “The information garnered from their analyses and research will provide solid data which can contribute to the Caribbean’s preparation for the challenges of globalization when these become manifest in the FTAA and CSME.”

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CONTACT: 	BILLSON HAINSLEY
		COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
		Tel: (876)927-0473, 927-2592, 361-3634
Fax: (876)927-2163
E-mail:bhnsley@uwimona.edu.jm