One week to free movement for some CARICOM nationals

Barbados is preparing for a wave of new residents following a landmark agreement, which will allow people from four CARICOM member states to live and work freely across national borders from next Wednesday.
This initiative allows nationals from Barbados, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize to live, work, and access public services in each other’s countries without the need for a CARICOM skills certificate or work permit.

 

Minister of Labour Colin Jordan outlined the ministry’s role in ensuring a smooth integration process for incoming workers. He explained that the Ministry of Labour will serve as the central point of contact for individuals arriving under the free movement agreement.

 

“Once that person is registered, immigration facilitates the registration because it comes through a port of entry,” he explained. “The Ministry of Labour then works out the other details in terms of NIS, BRA.”

 

Jordan further clarified that the ministry’s coordination aims to streamline the registration process.

 

“What we don’t want is to put people through a situation where we tell them run here, run there,” he said. “We are coordinating it from the Ministry of Labour, so we’re going to do that coordination.”

 

The free movement agreement is a significant step towards deeper regional integration under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

 

“We already have a system in CARICOM where we kind of let’s say pull together contributions,” Jordan noted, referring to the pooling of national insurance contributions among member states. This reciprocal arrangement allows workers to combine their contributions from different countries to meet the required thresholds for benefits.

 

With the implementation of this agreement, the Ministry of Labour is committed to ensuring that incoming workers can register efficiently, obtain a national insurance number, and begin contributing to the social security system without unnecessary delays, said the minister.

 

The Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) has confirmed that Barbadian nationals will still require a CARICOM Skills Certificate to work in the other CARICOM member states.

 

The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) already allows for the movement of people, services, and capital. In principle, a consultant in Barbados can advise a client in Grenada, a patient from Saint Lucia can get medical care in Trinidad, or a Jamaican IT firm can set up a branch in Antigua. But rights are uneven and protections inconsistent.

 

Under the new initiative, Barbadians will also be entitled to seek employment as well as enjoy emergency and primary healthcare, and public education at the primary and secondary levels in the participating states, like ordinary citizens.

 

(LG)