Public to be better informed regarding labour issues, following signing of MOU

A Labour Market Information System (LMIS) is critical to the forward movement of St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

This view was expressed by labour commissioner Fitzroy Jones last Friday, when heads of the National Insurance Services (NIS), Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Labour Commission signed a memorandum of understanding, regarding a LMIS.

While addressing the gathering, Jones assured persons that the signing of the memorandum will ensure that the public is better informed about issues relating to labour.

“As St Vincent and the Grenadines moves forward, labour market information is going to become even more critical. It is not that labour market information or labour market information system is new. In our case, it is a matter that we are organizing better,” the labour commissioner said.

Oftentimes, you would have heard our political directorates and our policy makers refer to different aspects in terms of the labour market. We would have heard people talking about unemployment…about the GDP…about underemployment, so the information is there already, but now we need to have it more accessible, more readily available”.

Jones declared that through the use of the LMIS, the country will be in a better position to plan for its labour force.

“No longer can we afford planning for our labour force, planning for our population with pie out of the sky ideas. We need to be strategic and it is because of the need to be strategic that these agencies…must move together to strategize the labour market information, not just for policy makers, but also for the general public, so when we discuss these matters, we discuss from an informed position,” he said.

Executive director of NIS Reginald Thomas noted that the LMIS will help to add value to the services that are provided by the NIS.

Furthermore, Thomas, who revealed that the company has been hindered in some tasks due to the lack of labour market information, stated that the new system will add value to operations carried out by the NIS.

“The absence of labour market information has been hindering our operations as it relates to comprehensive data set for us to do the analysis which we are required to do by law every three years,” the director said.

“It is time for us to review, update and refresh the employment practices of St Vincent and the Grenadines, to put in place standards, to put in place risk mitigating measures which will ensure that all employers will practice recruitment and selection practices that are in accordance with best practices throughout the Caribbean”.

In her remarks, Gatlin Roberts, the chief statistician, stressed the importance of an LMIS, citing that it presents a wide range of information, not just to policy makers, but also to persons considering their career destination.

The statistician noted that a lot of work must be done in order to keep the system functioning and urged persons to be supportive of the project, as the information that is available at the statistical office is collected from the public.

“To make this work, the databases and tables must be updated on a regular basis so the data can be used to make decisions, not for historical purposes,” Roberts said.

“Your involvement is therefore vital to the success of this venture. For us to have data to share with you, we first have to collect the data. Where does the data come from? You, either as an individual at a household level or a business entity”.(BK)