Addressing a gathering at an Open Session to commemorate Labour Day on Wednesday, Labour Commissioner Joseph Joseph reiterated the authorities concern that the Labour Act needs to be rectified to more adequately fulfill the needs of employees and employers.
While delving into some major tasks undertaken by the department over the past two years and more, Joseph commented on a new initiative implemented in the labour department entitled: Domestic Employment, where potential employees are able to apply for local jobs through the labour department.
“We have had a position in the department where the focus has been on foreign employment (recruitment of workers to overseas entities) …(but) this year we want to start (focusing) on local employment,” noted the Labour Commissioner.
Joseph admitted that one of the challenges faced by the department is concerning its visibility in the public sphere, and so, “we embarked on a sensitization programme.”
He highlighted some of the achievements undertaken at the Vieux Fort branch where they were tasked with 14 assignments and completed 11 of these cases.
He noted that the Labour Act has some areas that need to be reviewed, and urged the Employers Federation and other employers’ associations “to revisit at least three of these areas.”
Joseph listed those areas, as Maternity Leave, Severance Pay, and moving forward Artificial Intelligence.
Added Joseph: “As we look to the future, let us recommit ourselves to the principles of solidarity and social justice that lies at the heart of the labour movement. Let us stand in our resolve to build a world where every worker is treated with dignity and respect, (and) where no one is left behind.”
Labour Minister Dr. Virginia Albert- Poyotte stressed that in the overall scheme of things, government officials and trade unions representatives have a responsibility to educate workers about the rudiments of the trade union movement. She noted that the major political parties in Saint Lucia “were borne out of the Trade Union Movement.”
Citing the standing of the local workforce, the minister said, there is a very thin line between trade unions, employers and workers, and “it depends on what role you play at any specific time.”
Noting that the Labour Department needs to be strengthened, Minister Poyotte referred to the Labour Day activity as a “Tripartite” undertaking, involving government, the Employers Federation and the Trade Unions.
Within the Labour Department, she said, areas of concern include the strengthening of the Occupational Safety and Health Unit. She added that the Employment Unit needs to be expanded, “so that unit becomes the hub of employment for locals here.”
The minister noted that the Work Permit Department too, needs to be strengthened, because “we have to monitor the labour force in the country to ensure that when we issue work permits that we are not denying a Saint Lucian a job.”
Also, she said, the structure housing the Administration and Labour Relations Officers needs to be renovated.
Contextualizing the origins of the Labour movement in the country towards its modern-day development, Prime Minister Philip J Pierre noted that government continues to provide incentives to the business people, so they can “expand their businesses, make profit …and they can improve the generational wealth of the people of Saint Lucia.”
He emphasized that after all the processes and procedures leading to the implementation of a Minimum Wage standards, “Saint Lucia will have a Liveable Wage for the workers of this country.
The prime minster said there is no reason why government would “deliberately seek” conflict with its workers as the largest employer in the country. “What we strive for is an improvement in the quality of life for the people of Saint Lucia,” he stressed.
“We also want businesses to make money, and generate employment because the government cannot …employ everyone in this country.”
Other presentations were delivered by the representatives from the Saint Lucia Employers Federation (SLEF) and the Trade Union Federation (TUF).