Issues unresolved

Caricom is examining ways of giving common law spouses the right to move and work freely if their partners take up jobs within the single trading market.

At issue is whether unmarried partners can benefit from so-called contingency rights against the background that they are not recognized in the laws of some member nations.

Progress on free movement within Caricom was on the agenda of a ministerial meeting which has just ended in Georgetown. Other problem areas include the residency and work rights of spouses in the event of separation and the right of children to get jobs on becoming adults.

Persad-Bissessar ‘poised’ to oust Panday

The new leader of the opposition United National Congress in Trinidad and Tobago believes she has the parliamentary votes to oust the party’s longtime supremo.

Last month, Kamla Persad Bissessar trounced former prime minister Basdeo Panday for the party’s leadership.

But Panday has refused to step down as Opposition Leader in parliament, insisting the two positions were separate. Persad Bissessar now says she has the backing of a majority of opposition MPs and expects to formally oust Panday after carnival.

Jersey hosts offshore conference

Developing offshore financial centres are attending a conference on financial crime in Jersey in the Channel Islands. The meeting is looking at how these nations can improve their tax take, reduce money laundering and improve their financial regulations.

Ahead of the meeting, the British Treasury Minister Stephen Timmons said he’d written to 16 countries, including Jamaica, seeking to swap information to crack down on tax avoidance.