ILO launches database of Caribbean labour legislation

The database is available online and contains many of the full texts of national labour laws from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana, an ILO press release said.

Currently, focus is being placed on legislation pertaining to subjects covered by the Caricom Model Labour Laws: termination of employment; registration, status and recognition of trade unions and employers organisations; equality of opportunity and non-discrimination in employment; and occupational safety and health and the working environment. Caricom adopted Model Labour Laws under these four subject areas in 1995 and 1997 with technical support from the ILO.

“The database will be a useful tool for governments, employers, workers, lawyers and investors, particularly in the context of the Caricom Single Market and economy (CSME), involving the free movement of enterprises and labour within the region,” the release said. This resource is one of the outputs of the Harmonization of Labour Legislation project, funded by the Canadian government’s labour programme. CARIBLEX can be accessed at http://www.ilocarib.org.tt/projects/cariblex/