GUYANA – Caricom has launched a project aimed at developing a comprehensive labour migration policy for the Caribbean region. The ‘Free Movement of persons in the Caricom Region: Undertaking labour market analysis in the Region’ project is being undertaken in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Caricom Secretariat said that the project is designed as part of an ongoing collaboration between ILO and Caricom to strengthen the free movement of persons in the region and that the study will evaluate the interplay of economic, employment, and migration patterns in the region. It said that the findings are expected to guide member states “in optimising labour mobility, protecting workers’ rights, and enhancing job creation through innovative economic strategies”.

Director of the Caricom Single Market (CSM), Leo Preville, said the development of policies to enhance the smooth movement of people is central to the success of the Caricom Single Market and Economy, which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region, and that an evidence-based approach to the development of policy is therefore critical. “The development of the labour migration policy component of the regional migration policy must be centred on a sound analysis. The study will provide the opportunity for a close and detailed assessment of both the demand and supply sides of labour in the Community as well as provide an understanding of the migration dynamics taking place in the Community.

“This understanding is especially important in the context of the standing decision of the Heads of Government to work towards the free movement of all Caricom nationals,” he added. ILO employment and labour market specialist, Abdelmalik Muhummed, said that migration presents challenges and opportunities for long-term socio-economic development in the region. (Jamaica Gleaner)