– Commonwealth Parliamentary Association finds
As regional governments seek to prevent social security collapse in the wake of the global economic downturn, immigrant workers are emerging among the groups most vulnerable to displacement.
This was among the findings reported yesterday during the working sessions of the 34th Annual Regional Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas and the Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), which was told that upholding parliamentary democracy remains crucial to confronting the challenges created by the financial crisis. Working sessions began yesterday at the Guyana International Conference Centre, at Liliendaal. Among the topics discussed were the “Global Economic Crisis and its Consequences for the Region,” “Dealing with the Social Impact of the Economic Crisis,” “Priorities for Spending for Caribbean Governments” and the “Environment and Climate Change.”
Discussing the social impact of the economic crisis in Antigua and Barbuda, Speaker of the House of Representatives Giselle Isaac-Arrindell noted that it has seen blame being directed towards “the half-brothers and half-sisters of Caricom” who have sought to make a home on the islands. In this regard, she said all the gains of the integration movement are being second and third guessed while the gates are being narrowed for immigrants.
According to her, while the economy flourished, many immigrants were seen as desirable and they were integrated in the society to the point where access to education, healthcare and other social services were seen as par for the course. However, in the dire economic situation Antigua and Barbuda finds itself in, she explained, the immigrant population has become the millstone around its neck. Further, she noted that there has been fear and anxiety which have been borne out “in resentment and prejudice at best” and in “outright xenophobia at worst.” In fact, there have been new policies now guiding access to education, the granting of work permits and temporary residential citizenship and the removal of persons who failed to regularise their status. Most distressing of all, she related, is the creation of a deeply divided society in which fingers are pointed not only at non-nationals but also at MPs, who are viewed as having created the situation or allowed it to go on.
However, the crisis has had implications beyond the welfare of the immigrant population, Isaac-Arrindell also noted. There has been a drop in national revenue, coinciding with the drop in tourist arrivals, and civil servants have had to contend with the late payments of salaries. She added that the government has had to make “drastic” changes, even in areas once held sacred, like carnival, which has been scaled down due to fewer government subsidies. There has also been a call for greater social responsibility and citizens this year have been urged to take ‘staycations’ rather than vacations to keep scarce dollars within the island and help local businesses stay afloat. She said it was too early to assess the success of this call.
Isaac-Arrindell warned of education and healthcare burdens, noting that in the case of the latter, workers and their families have lost insurance benefits. She noted that the British American and Clico debacles have also derailed an unemployment benefits fund created by the government. “It is expected that my generation will not retire at sixty,” she said, explaining the result of retirement plans.
However, Isaac-Arrindell noted that out of the disappointment there has emerged a greater sense of entrepreneurship and the country has more self-employed persons than ever before. And she hoped that the people who withstood four major hurricanes in five years and prospered in spite of the m could find within themselves and across all divides the wherewithal to do the same with the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, Bermudan MP Neletha Butterfield, outlined initiatives implemented by her government to reduce the economic and social impact of the downturn. The measures, she explained, were intended to empower the people by making more services available. She, however, noted that in relation to layoffs, the policy has been “guest workers first,” which she described as unfortunate but necessary in order to ensure that nationals have employment.
With the slogan “Tenderness in Tough Times” as the mantra for the financial sector, Butterfield, noted that both economic and social services were boosted to meet the challenges. The economic policies were geared towards ensuring the sustainability of the private sector through tax waivers and job creation, among other initiatives, while social policies, including education and healthcare initiatives, were geared towards servicing the youth, seniors and the indigent.
She singled out the implementation of a child day-care allowance, which targeted low income earners and has been aiding single parent households in particular. Also, she noted that the Labour, Home Affairs and Housing Minister held town hall meetings where he met with the people to listen to their concerns and to help shape the development of policy. In this regard, Butterfield emphasised the need for governments to go to the people, rather than waiting for the people to come to them.
