Employment promoted in Canada by Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service and OECS Labour Ministries

​Employment for OECS people is being promoted in Canada, by the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service, and OECS Labour Ministries, who recently met to discuss strengthening & harmonizing the coordination of temporary worker programs now in place between Canada and the Eastern Caribbean countries, to address issues of unemployment in the region. Seven OECS States have been taking part in temporary worker programs with Canada for some 50 years: Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent &the Grenadines.
 
One objective of the Toronto-based Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service (ECLS) is to strengthen ties with Canada, by increasing the number of workers in these programs, and particularly the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). Newly appointed Chief Liaison Officer Olaf Fontenelle shared the progress of an interim action plan for the short to medium-term development strategy, that includes building a unified approach to participation in the SAWP Annual Review Meeting. The OECS Ministries of Labour were therefore able to present their individual country processes on the Selection and Orientation components of the SAWP, as a group, resulting in the identification of similar challenges and good practices for active knowledge sharing.
 
Participants agreed unanimously to prepare one consolidated process map for supply countries, for consideration by the OECS Council of Ministers of Labour; for regularizing the Selection and Orientation processes among member states. In this session, the ECLS presented on the In-Canada processes associated with ensuring worker welfare and maintaining healthy employer relations. Their meeting ended on a positive note, having achieved its objectives beyond the expectations of the members of the working group, with the formulation of an ECLS SAWP 2018 Marketing Strategy in-progress and a commitment of stakeholders to a ECLS 3-year Strategic Planning Exercise in early 2018.
 
All Caribbean Liaison Services pledged their continued efforts towards maintaining a supply of well prepared and experienced workers; and pursuant to the OECS’ strategy to help alleviate unemployment in member states, the ECLS offered assurances of its commitment to improving the quality of worker welfare and employer relations, during the work period in Canada.