The Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, represented Bermuda at the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) – Labour, held on Tuesday, 8 April, in Guyana.
The meeting opened with a strong call from CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett to “keep the tripartite approach solid,” underscoring the importance of collaboration among governments, employers, and workers.
As regional Ministers prepare for the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2025, the meeting focused on three key agenda items critical to the Caribbean:
- Protection against biological hazards in the working environment;
- Decent work in the platform economy; and
- Tackling informality and promoting transitions towards formality to support decent work.
During the morning session, Ministers engaged in robust discussions and agreed to present a united front on these issues at the ILC. They also committed to strengthening national occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and considering ratifying relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions where appropriate.
Minister Hayward noted that it is the responsibility of the Caribbean region to ensure that the ILC Agenda progresses in a way that is advantageous not only to the region's workforce but also to the region as a whole. He went on to state, "Expansion of the informal economy creates a challenge from national and social protection standpoints as these persons rely on a healthcare system and later on a pension system that they have never contributed to, resulting in significant stress on affected economies. I caution us to have a strong opinion regarding transitioning from informality to formality as there is currently no economic model and no level of stability that can be achieved by expanding the informal sector. It goes against our national interest to have an expanding informal sector, so the region should openly support any movement to work to progress the transition from informality to formality.”
Ministers also discussed updates on free movement and labour market assessments, thematic labour issues affecting CARICOM, and the ILO’s governance structure.