Labour warning!
Unrestricted travel under Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas expected to take from Jamaica’s workforce
Published:Wednesday | July 19, 2023 | 12:06 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Dr Taneisha Ingleton, managing director of the HEART/NSTA Trust, is concerned that the revision of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which will guarantee CARICOM nationals the right to unrestricted travel to live and work in member countries, will increase Jamaica’s skilled labour shortage.
Speaking at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Business Forum yesterday, Ingleton said the announcement spelt “trouble” for Jamaica, especially because of the portability of the HEART certification.
“So, I can see these Caribbean countries gobbling up the HEART trainees, and so if we do not do something … as quickly as possible to retain them, we are going to lose our best. It’s a present reality that we must confront,” she said.
With some 750,000 Jamaicans outside the formal labour force, the shortage of skilled labourers has been spotlighted as a consistent issue facing the economy. Last- year, Prime Minister Andrew Holness indicated that the country may be forced to import skilled labourers for the construction industry. A similar view was shared by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett in relation to the hospitality sector.
During the 45th Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, earlier this month, the leaders agreed to amend the Treaty by March 30, 2024. This agreement will expand free movement beyond certain categories of skilled persons previously agreed by CARICOM governments and applies to member states that are also part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The agreement comes three months after Holness announced the removal of all tuition requirements for courses up to associate degrees at the HEART/NSTA Trust. At the time, Ingleton told The Gleaner that she expected an increase in uptake of between 30 and 50 per cent from their target enrolment of 100,000.
PUSH FACTORS
Through studies done by the trust, Ingleton shared that push factors causing skilled labourers to leave Jamaica include poor working conditions, little scope for career growth and low salaries.
“We have to think about quality of life. We are training people, we are giving them a certificate, we are employing them, but they can’t feed their families, and until we have that very difficult conversation, we’re gonna get our very best exiting,” she said.
Meanwhile, Professor Densil Williams, principal of The University of the West Indies Five Islands campus, said ease of movement across the region needs to be addressed for countries to reap the full benefits of the treaty amendments.
“In addition to a pronouncement about free movement of people, you also need to have proper transportation, and lower cost transportation as well. Where people are moving from Barbados to St Vincent and it’s costing them twice than they could move from Barbados to New York or Miami that inhibits free movement,” he said.
While contending that a well developed and skilled labour force is critical to economic growth, PSOJ Executive Director Imega Breese McNab said the organisation has remained focused on strengthening the private sector’s human capital.
However, even though she said the entity prefers to hire locals, a continuous shortage of skilled labour may cause it to push for policy to guide the importation of skilled labourers.
“At some point, from a policy perspective, we may need to look at better facilitating the importation of the skills we require and the transfer of this knowledge,” she said, adding that it has already engaged the Caribbean Policy Research Institute to conduct a study to investigate this.