ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—Urging immediate action, the Director of the ILO Caribbean Office, Joni Musabayana, calls for the Trade Union movement in Grenada to collaborate with the Government and private sector employers. The aim is to ensure that the legal framework, which is crucial for safeguarding workers’ rights, is not only up-to-date but also fit for purpose.
“The biggest frontier to respecting workers’ rights is through labor laws…the amendment of the Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act ten years later have still not yet been adopted,” Musabayana said while addressing the 2024 May Day celebrations.
“I urge you, comrades, to work with the Government and employers to ensure that the legal framework that guarantees your rights and labor law is up-to-date and fit for purpose. This is a challenge that I hope next year when we are here, you will be able to say we made progress in,” said the Zimbabwean national who took up the post of the Director of the ILO Caribbean Office in October 2023.
He told the hundreds of workers who gathered at the Fond Playing field in the northern parish of St Patrick that the world of work is changing, and this is causing some challenges for the labor movement.
“The world of work is evolving, and this poses unique challenges for the union movement. In Grenada, the issue of temporary work is particularly concerning. Workers can spend ten, twenty years without accruing the necessary benefits for retirement. This is a struggle that you, comrades, need to confront directly,” Musabayana emphasized.
The Government has announced that it will be undertaking pension reform for public officers whose right to a non-contributory pension from the Government is guaranteed in the constitution. In his deliberation, Musabayana, who is in Grenada at the Government’s invitation, called for all workers to be sufficiently protected and to retire with dignity.
“The issue of Pension reform, the issue of ensuring that all workers can and must be sufficiently protected in terms of safety and health, occupational safety and health, and, more importantly, their social security benefits, is most urgent.
“We at the ILO look forward to working with you in making sure that all workers, whether in the private sector, the public sector, in the informal economy, are sufficiently protected and they can all look forward to retirement with dignity,” said Musabayana who is expected to lead the ILO’s efforts in promoting social justice, decent work, and inclusive economic growth across the 13 Member States and nine non-metropolitan territories in the English-and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
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