The Anguilla Government is to appoint an independent consultant to undertake research and to recommend a National Minimum Wage for workers in Anguilla. This was announced by Chief Minister and Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Osbourne Fleming.

L-R: George Kentish, Evalie Bradley, Rodney Rey, Marcel Fahie and CM Osbourne Fleming

Mr. Fleming, who observed that labour was a major issue in the recent election campaign, made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon, April, at a press conference. He said the consultant would be a local person who is familiar with the labour and employment situation in Anguilla.

The Chief Minister noted that a similar Minimum Wage consultancy was undertaken in St. Maarten recently. He was of the view that such a step would produce quicker results than the voluntary private/public sector committee that was set up in Anguilla some years ago.

Mr. Fleming also disclosed that a revised draft Labour Code would be presented to the Executive Council within the next few weeks. This will be followed by a series of public discussions.

On another matter, the leader of the Anguilla Government said that representatives of the Labor and Immigration Departments would be visiting the various job sites on the island. “What we will do is: all those persons at work illegally, we will not stop them from working,” he stated. “We will ask them to get a medical certificate and a police record and we will facilitate them on the spot by giving all of them a work permit.”
He promised that this would be done without having the vacancies advertised, without the workers losing their jobs or staying home for a day. The only exception he said was that the persons must have the right papers to work in Anguilla. He pointed out that there were persons with permanent residence on the island, but that did not give them the right to hold employment without a work permit.

The Chief Minister said there was a great need for construction workers on the island, but that in helping to satisfy the demand, the Government was also making certain that persons were legally working on the island.

He said the Government had asked the two major developers of the Flag Luxury Project and the Viceroy Project to submit a list of their employee needs. The first meeting is scheduled on May 5 for the Flag Project and that the Viceroy will be later. He reported that Flag Luxury Project might need between 800 and 1,000 workers as from May. Of that number, there are already over 300 persons employed there.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development, Marcel Fahie, explained that the Flag Project had a very aggressive time-table to complete, thus the need for the large number of workers.

Other matters discussed at the meeting included a report by George Kentish, Chairman of the PROMALCO Task Force, an initiative of the ILO Caribbean Office. Mr. Kentish has just completed for the Government a consultancy on the establishment of a National Productivity Centre for Anguilla.

Mr. Kentish said that PROMALCO – the Programme for the Promotion of Labour Management Cooperation in the English-speaking Caribbean – is about how labour management could be improved in the region. He outlined a number of benefits which could be derived from the productivity centre. These will be reported next week in The Anguillian.

Another matter was the holding of a Workers’ Week of Activities which will take place from Monday April 25 to Monday May 2, leading up to the official observance of Labour Day. The activities, which will commence with a radio address by the Chief Minister, were outlined by Labour Commissioner, Evalie Bradley.

Among the activities will be a panel discussion on Monday April 25 at 7 pm, at the Teachers’ Resource Centre, on “Changing Attitudes in the Workplace for Improved Productivity”. An employer’s perspective will be given by Sutcliffe Hodge, Chief Executive of Cable and Wireless. This will be followed by an employee perspective by Haydn Hughes, Restaurant Supervisor at CuisinArt Resort & Spa. The moderator will be Rodney Rey, Permanent Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office.

There will be a radio address on Tuesday April 26 by the Labour Commissioner; Wednesday April 27 will be “Let’s Talk Labour Issues” on the Talk Your Mind radio programme. Thursday April 28 will be presentations at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on “The importance of Workers and Employers Organistions in National Development”. These will be led by Theophilus Thompson, President of the Windward Island Federation of Labour in St. Maarten; and a representative from the Barbados Employers Confederation.

On Friday, April 29, will be a radio discussion on the Draft Labour Code. This will be an open session at the Labour Department for Employers and Employees.

Monday, Labour Day, will be a rally and various fun activities at the Ronald Webster Park. There will also be addresses by the Chief Minister and representatives of employees and employers.

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