All Constitutions across the region as well as legislation
across the region guarantee to some extent, the freedom from
discrimination in the labour market. Gender specifically,
is covered by equal pay statutes. However, there are gaps
and inconsistencies, which allow for the glass ceiling and
pay differentials to continue existing irrespective of these
very statutory provisions. Several existing Caribbean statutes
are in fact in dissonance with the spirit of their Constitutions
and in some cases the regional Constitutions are contrary
to international labour conventions. These gaps are outlined.
The paper begins with a discussion of the question of fundamental
rights and freedoms, using the paradigm of the International
Labour Organization (ILO), with special emphasis on the standards
relating to gender. It then discusses the regional standards
such as those in the CARICOM Declaration of 1995 and the various
Protocols relating to the CSME. It reprises earlier work on
discrimination in the labour market and more recent findings
from an on-going research project on regional (CARICOM/OAS)
labour standards.
In the end it evaluates the readiness of the region as a
whole and various countries to standardise the conditions
related to gender and the challenges presented in the
various states.
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