Guyana Attends 10th ILO Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour.
The Ministry of Social Protection is Pleased to announce that on behalf of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, it attended the 10th ILO Meeting of Ministers of Labour which was held in Kingston Jamaica during the period 23-25th February, 2017.
Guyana’s delegation was led by the Honourable Mr. Keith Scott, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour.
The theme of the meeting was “Realizing Decent Work Under the 2030 Agenda. Hence all the deliberations were centered on Decent Work. During the meeting itself, Minister Scott made presentations in connection with the elimination and eradication of Child Labour and on Improving Productivity and Competitiveness in the process of transitioning from the informal to the formal economy.
The meeting which was considered to be successful deliberated on several other issues pertaining to the concept and practices of decent work which impacts human development and the attainment of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The Honourable Minister was able to emphasize Guyana’s role in and commitment to the spirit of regional integration, while expounding on the country’s emerging Oil and Gas Industry as a source of job creation not only for Guyana but other regional states also.
Among the many other issues which the Guyana delegation discussed and contributed to with marked significance, were the proposed harmonization of labour laws and the use of co-operative societies as a medium for transitioning the informal economy.
In addition to the main meeting, the delegation attended also the Future of Work Forum on 22-2-2017 and a Caricom Council of Human and Social Development COHSOD Meeting–Labour. It was at that forum that Minister Scott played a lead role in demanding that trade unions be re-included in tripartism. For some strange reason, it had been omitted, but after the leader of the Guyana delegation raised objection, he was joined by his counterparts from Trinidad, Jamaica, and the Caribbean Congress of Labour.
The Ministry wished to point out that Minister Scott was able to engage the Director General of the ILO Mr. Guy Ryder on three separate occasions where matters peculiar to Guyana were discussed. The Honourable Minister indicated that arising out of those meetings the ILO pledged added and continued support to Guyana.