-Exodus of the (skilled) people
Guyanese see greener grass in the Caribbean
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
June 11, 2004
While two hundred Guyanese have applied to work in other Caricom countries as part of the free movement of skills initiative, only one has applied to work in Guyana.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued around 200 six-month certificates of skills to Guyanese nationals seeking employment within the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
Specialist on Movement of Skills/Labour within the Barbados-based CSME Unit, Steven McAndrew told Stabroek Business that the issuance covered the period from August 1 to the first quarter of this year.
During the period, a total of 1,500 to 2,000 Caricom nationals had been issued with certificates.
However, because of the absence of reliable databases, he said there might be some double counting on the regional scale as a single application might be doubled when taken into account by the country issuing the certificate to the applicant and the country receiving the applicant.
McAndrew said the CSME Unit is currently developing a database to give to each country, which will provide feed back as part of a comprehensive regional database.
The greatest movement, McAndrew said, was seen between Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines. A number of persons obtained certificates of skills for Trinidad and Tobago but there was evidence that they had not used them. So the total number of application and certificates issued, was not a real indication as to how many have used the facility to date. During research, the CSME Unit "found that some persons use the certificate of skills to fall back on to something..."
Though all member states had been asked to be ready to accommodate university graduates, media workers, sports persons, artistes and musicians by July 31, 2003, McAndrew said that Jamaica was among the first to enact legislation and put administrative and procedural arrangements in place to accommodate free movement of skills. Jamaica enacted legislation since 1998.
Barbados was also granting free movement to university graduates though not totally and is still to enact legislation that would allow for artistes to seek employment in Barbados as well as to amend legislation to cater for other categories of workers.
The current Barbadian law grants free movement if a job is there. "If you are a graduate you will not be allowed to seek employment," McAndrew said until amendments to the laws are made.
Trinidad and Tobago has all the arrangements in place for free movement. "You can enter Trinidad and Tobago with a six-month certificate of skills and seek employment," he said. Other countries have followed suit but not all are ready.
Montserrat, a department of the United Kingdom, has been given the go-ahead by the UK administration to enact legislation to be part of the CSME process.
St Kitts and Nevis are still to enact legislation and still to put in administrative arrangements. McAndrew said it was difficult to say when St Kitts and Nevis would put these in place adding that the administration has indicated its commitment to free movement of skills but there has been no further movement in this direction.
Antigua and Barbuda had implemented free movement in January 2003 but the order was flawed and there is now need to correct it. This had been delayed by the elections. Antigua and Barbuda had already issued 20 certificates when the flaw was discovered.
Some member states have free movement committees that talk with stakeholders on behalf of the relevant ministry as an interim measure to enable the implementation of free movement of skills in all member states. The Bahamas is the only Caricom country not a member of the CSME but employs other Caricom nationals on a needs basis, using work permits.
McAndrew noted that at present 97% of nationals are working in the various territories on the basis of work permits granted to them. They were granted mainly to fill vacancies, which the countries' own nationals could not fill. He said that there are concerns about persons losing jobs to nationals of other countries but as yet McAndrew said that free movement is fairly limited. Many countries have invited Caricom nationals to work and contribute to the country's development. Those living illegally are in the minority, he said.
On the issue of social security benefits, McAndrew said that a number of Caricom nationals are already receiving social security benefits. Last week a meeting of heads of social security administrations was held in Georgetown. The Barbados National Insurance Board has already paid out benefits to 45 non-Barbadian nationals and Trinidad and Tobago is currently paying a number of benefits.
Agreements on social security issues are already in place in Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and Dominica.
To deal with the issue of harassment, McAndrew said Caricom hosted a two-day training seminar for immigration officials in early February on the subject.
Free movement calls for the elimination of the requirement for passports for community nationals travelling to their jurisdictions; the elimination of the requirement for work permits for community nationals seeking approved employment in their jurisdiction; establishment of mechanisms for certifying and establishing equivalency of degrees for accrediting institutions; and harmonisation of transferability of social security benefits.