Building the Caribbean’s first COVID-era Decent Work Country Programme
ILO collaboration with tripartite partners in The Bahamas leads to important milestone
by Lars Johansen, Ingerlyn Caines-Francis, and Shireen Cuthbert
When the National Tripartite Council (NTC) first approached the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean in 2019 to develop The Bahamas’ second Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), the nation was recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian.
The initial intention was to follow The Bahamas’ first DWCP of 2008 with a second-generation version aligned with the national Vision 2040 plan and the UN 2030 Agenda. At the time, resilience for the most part was considered to be a climate issue. Neither organization knew at the time that the country’s next DWCP would become a framework also designed to tackle long-term socio-economic complexities and consequences of an unprecedented health crisis.
The Bahamas was not spared the brunt of the pandemic’s economic and labour impacts which included a significant productivity slowdown, high levels of unemployment, underemployment and increased inequalities.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the country’s over-dependence on tourism meant that the sector’s decline in 2020 led to more than 25,000 workers losing their jobs or incomes and unemployment estimated to go above 30 per cent.
The pre-existing inequalities faced by youth, women, persons with disabilities and the long-term unemployed worsened as a result of the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, youth unemployment was twice the national average at 20 per cent in 2017, while female unemployment rates were consistently higher than the rates for men. Persons experiencing long-term unemployment of more than 12 months accounted for more than half of all the unemployed.
Once COVID-19 struck, the development of the Programme for The Bahamas rapidly transitioned to the first pandemic-era DWCP for the Caribbean. It became a historic plan of action built on a firm commitment between tripartite partners to place decent work at the heart of building back better from the ongoing crisis, while also addressing the setbacks caused by Dorian.
Lockdown measures and travel restrictions also meant that The Bahamas was the first country globally to develop a new generation DWCP entirely virtually. The ILO Caribbean and NTC teams, along with consulting firm Ergon, led online consultations with constituents and other key stakeholders for several months during 2020 and 2021. Their deliberations led to the identification of three priorities: jobs and skills, social dialogue, and governance.
Despite challenges caused by COVID-19 to the achievement of decent work in The Bahamas and across the Caribbean, the persistence of the NTC to ensure that the Programme is inclusive of the interests of all stakeholders needs to be applauded.
Launched on 6 December 2021, this five-year DWCP positions tripartite partners to navigate the country towards a human-centered labour market recovery that is inclusive and sustainable. It will be managed by a Steering Committee comprised of senior members of the NTC, the ILO and selected representatives from other identified stakeholders.
As the world prepares to enter its third year of the pandemic, recovery in the region is expected to be slow and gradual. Countries are grappling with new waves of the contagion and vaccine inequity. Additionally, small island developing states (SIDS) such as The Bahamas are continuously exposed to increasing climate risks such hurricanes, flash floods and drought.
Ambitious and agile plans of action such as the new DWCP for The Bahamas are needed to put countries on a path that incorporates decent work dimensions into tripartite strategic planning. Taking this approach means that they can adapt to keep ahead of the pace of the ongoing pandemic to achieve socio-economic resilience that would better position the country to face future crises.
For more information about The Bahamas Decent Work Country Programme, click here.
When the National Tripartite Council (NTC) first approached the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean in 2019 to develop The Bahamas’ second Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), the nation was recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian.
The initial intention was to follow The Bahamas’ first DWCP of 2008 with a second-generation version aligned with the national Vision 2040 plan and the UN 2030 Agenda. At the time, resilience for the most part was considered to be a climate issue. Neither organization knew at the time that the country’s next DWCP would become a framework also designed to tackle long-term socio-economic complexities and consequences of an unprecedented health crisis.
The Bahamas was not spared the brunt of the pandemic’s economic and labour impacts which included a significant productivity slowdown, high levels of unemployment, underemployment and increased inequalities.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the country’s over-dependence on tourism meant that the sector’s decline in 2020 led to more than 25,000 workers losing their jobs or incomes and unemployment estimated to go above 30 per cent.
The pre-existing inequalities faced by youth, women, persons with disabilities and the long-term unemployed worsened as a result of the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, youth unemployment was twice the national average at 20 per cent in 2017, while female unemployment rates were consistently higher than the rates for men. Persons experiencing long-term unemployment of more than 12 months accounted for more than half of all the unemployed.
Once COVID-19 struck, the development of the Programme for The Bahamas rapidly transitioned to the first pandemic-era DWCP for the Caribbean. It became a historic plan of action built on a firm commitment between tripartite partners to place decent work at the heart of building back better from the ongoing crisis, while also addressing the setbacks caused by Dorian.
Lockdown measures and travel restrictions also meant that The Bahamas was the first country globally to develop a new generation DWCP entirely virtually. The ILO Caribbean and NTC teams, along with consulting firm Ergon, led online consultations with constituents and other key stakeholders for several months during 2020 and 2021. Their deliberations led to the identification of three priorities: jobs and skills, social dialogue, and governance.
Despite challenges caused by COVID-19 to the achievement of decent work in The Bahamas and across the Caribbean, the persistence of the NTC to ensure that the Programme is inclusive of the interests of all stakeholders needs to be applauded.
Launched on 6 December 2021, this five-year DWCP positions tripartite partners to navigate the country towards a human-centered labour market recovery that is inclusive and sustainable. It will be managed by a Steering Committee comprised of senior members of the NTC, the ILO and selected representatives from other identified stakeholders.
As the world prepares to enter its third year of the pandemic, recovery in the region is expected to be slow and gradual. Countries are grappling with new waves of the contagion and vaccine inequity. Additionally, small island developing states (SIDS) such as The Bahamas are continuously exposed to increasing climate risks such hurricanes, flash floods and drought.
Ambitious and agile plans of action such as the new DWCP for The Bahamas are needed to put countries on a path that incorporates decent work dimensions into tripartite strategic planning. Taking this approach means that they can adapt to keep ahead of the pace of the ongoing pandemic to achieve socio-economic resilience that would better position the country to face future crises.
For more information about The Bahamas Decent Work Country Programme, click here.