Delegates attending the Ninth International Labour Organization Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour, held March 3-4, 2015 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS Photo/Raymond Bethel)

NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Minister of Labour the Hon. Shane Gibson wrapped up a very successful Ninth International Labour Organization Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour, held March 3-4, 2015. “The Meeting was very successful and we are going to use this as a springboard to use in every aspect in whatever policies we are going to develop for The Bahamas,” he said.

The Meeting brought together 21 delegations, 14 of which were led by Caribbean Ministers of Labour, as well as the ILO Director General, the CARICOM Assistant Secretary General, representatives of UN Agencies, representatives of the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation and the Caribbean Congress of Labour under the theme: ‘Decent Work for Sustainable Development’ in dialogue at the British Colonial Hilton.

The biennial ILO Meeting of the Caribbean Ministers of Labour came about through Ministers of Labour wanting to stay in touch with each other to share similarities and challenges surrounding work permits, unemployment and other issues impacting labour that are not included in legislation in areas of the Caribbean.

This year topics such as climate change, renewable energy, and youth unemployment toped the agenda.

“We began to appreciate the high level of unemployment around the Caribbean and the world,” Mr. Gibson said. “Capacity building around the Caribbean is where we want to maximize efforts.”

As to the solutions to youth unemployment, he said there is no need to reinvent the wheel. “For the Bahamas, one of the issues discussed is how to address high levels of unemployment, especially amongst the youth,” Mr. Gibson said. “We found out that many people in the region cannot find jobs. We agree that we must find a mechanism to make sure those jobs are filled by those in the Caribbean and have them properly trained.”

Minister of Labour the Hon. Shane Gibson wrapping up the Ninth International Labour Organization Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of Labour, held March 3-4, 2015 at the British Colonial Hilton. (BIS Photo/Raymond Bethel)

In the area of greening the economy for sustainable development or renewable energy initiatives, Mr. Gibson noted that there are many opportunities that did not exist years ago. Many jobs are being created as a result of this concept. He cited Andros Island, where there is much natural environment which could create more jobs – as a result of this new concept being developed in The Bahamas and around the world.

Minister Gibson thanked the ILO for its involvement in the conference, particularly Mr. Giovanni di Cola, Director, ILO Office and Decent Work Team for the Caribbean, for an “excellent” job in having the ILO support the region.

Representatives who attended the meeting were from the following member states and non-metropolitan territories: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.