CARICOM spouses exempt from Barbados work permit
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Suppoing Local Paner
By George Alleyne
Barbados has jumped ahead of its
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
partners in passing a law granting to
spouses of skilled nationals from other
regional countries the right to work
without a permit and access to free
health care on the island.
When the lower house of Parliament
passed the Caribbean Community
(Amendment) Bill last Friday, it not only
paved the way for automatic work permits
and health access of these spouses
whose partners are employed in Barbados
as skilled nationals, but it also opened the
doors for Bajans to enjoy similar conditions
in member countries.
This is consistent with the CARICOM
Protocol on Contingent Rights, signed
by government representatives of Antigua
and Barbuda; Barbados; Grenada;
Haiti; Jamaica; St. Lucia; St. Vincent
and the Grenadines; and Suriname at
the 39th regular Heads of Government
Summit held in Jamaica in July 2018.
It is expected that for now the Barbados
reciprocal arrangement will be
restricted to nationals of the member
countries that have signed onto the
Protocol and followed-up by passing the
law through their parliaments.
Only six of the eight remaining
member countries are due to sign on
to this Protocol as The Bahamas and
Montserrat have excluded themselves
from aspects of the Revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas Establishing the Caribbean
Community including the Caribbean
Single Market and Economy.
The six whose signatures that remain
outstanding are of Belize, Dominica,
Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad
and Tobago.
In this Protocol spouses include
those in common-law relationships.
They could remain and work in Barbados
even if the marriage or commonlaw
relationship has ended.
Children could remain and acquire
independent status and be employed
without a work permit until attainment
of the age of majority, which is
18 in Barbados.
These offspring of skilled CARICOM
nationals and spouses would enjoy
free primary and secondary school
education.
In presenting the bill to parliament
Home Affairs Minister, Edmund Hinkson,
said that Barbados went beyond
the Protocol stipulations by extending
to these children the right to enter secondary
school free of cost.
It is unsurprising that Barbados
has jumped ahead of other CARICOM
jurisdictions in passing the law
through parliament as this island is
on the verge of a labour supply crisis
because Bajans are not multiplying
fast enough to fill the workplace void
created by persons retiring.
Bemoaning this fact Chief Medical
Officer, Dr. Kenneth George recently
said, “in 2007, there were 3258 births
recorded, and within 10 years this
dropped to 2346, a 15 per cent decline.”
“As Barbados continues to develop
its aspirational goals it is necessary to
ensure that there is a workforce that
can carry the country forward. Declining
birth rates, coupled with an ageing
population, will have a significant
impact on our ability to project for the
future requirements of national development.”
Supporting the Bill in Parliament,
Minister of Tourism, Kerrie Symmonds
urged Barbadians to see the reciprocal
benefit in the new pending law because
it gives them the right to relocate to signatory
countries for work and business
unhindered.
“That is why we have to pass this
piece of legislation today, not because
we are so keen about people coming
here only, but we have to make sure
when Barbadians go abroad, they are
treated fairly and the reciprocity is
there,” Symmonds said.
That list of skilled CARICOM nationals
allowed to move and work freely
across the regional community was just
last December, at a meeting of Heads
in Port of Spain, extended to include
beauticians, barbers, security offices
and agricultural workers.
Barbados Minister of Tourism, Kerrie
Symmonds. George Alleyne
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