CARICOM Commission Wants to Make it Easier for People to Move and Work Across the Region

Jan is a skilled hair braider who dreams of practising her craft in neighbouring Caribbean islands. She, however, finds the current CARICOM skills certificate programme to facilitate her movement too restrictive. The process of securing the certificate has improved over the years, but for workers like Jan and many other CARICOM nationals, it’s drawn out, cumbersome and uncertain.

“Obtaining the skills certificate can be like going through hoops,” a CARICOM national commented.

The CARICOM Commission, which started work in 2019 to advise on common solutions for region-wide problems, has some suggestions to alleviate Jan’s frustrations. It proposes that individuals with two or more passes at CSEC or any equivalent should qualify to live and work within CARICOM, provided that all or at least five CARICOM countries agree to enhance their cooperation on immigration issues. The commissioners further recommend that participating member states make it even easier for Jan by accepting an electronic verification in passports as sufficient documentation on her.

Writing about the suggested change in the Commission’s report, Commissioner Paul Scott noted that:  

“The desire to have a single market functioning efficiently must incorporate the free movement of labour for several reasons. Our region does not retain talent. Talent migrates north because of the economic freedoms that are associated with the options available. Creating frictionless economic opportunities throughout our region for our people must be a priority if we are to safeguard the investment we have made (through the education system) and harness the true capabilities of our region…. The free movement of labour must follow the free movement of goods if we are not to create further inequality in our societies. The mobility of our labour forces must increase with the available opportunities…. The absence of this mobility builds resentment to the integration movement and impediments to trade.”

He acknowledges that while the concept of free movement of people in the region was not new since decision-makers identified it as a critical component in creating the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) two decades ago, the Caribbean has made little progress in this area.

Should CARICOM make it easier for its people to move more freely across the region, Jan and many others like her will realise their dreams, and the region will fulfil a key mandate under the CSME. Experts admit that the free movement of people is essential for the development of the Caribbean’s all-important regional services sector.

Learn more about this and other recommendations in the Commission’s report during the Central Bank of Barbados’ Caribbean Economic Forum discussion on “Putting People at the Centre of Development in the Caribbean” on Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 8:00 p.m. in Barbados (7:00 p.m. in Jamaica).  

The panellists are Commission Chair and Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services, Professor Avinash Persaud; fellow Commissioner and Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) Dr. Damien King; and Dr. Jan Yves Remy, Deputy Director, Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services.

The programme will be livestreamed on the Bank’s website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel, and the panel will take questions from the live online audience.

Learn more about the Caribbean Economic Forum.