Project Overview

ILO Programme on Occupational Safety and Health and the Environment in the Caribbean

Welcome to the webpage of the ILO Programme on Occupational Safety and Health and the Environment in the Caribbean. On these pages and in subsequent ones to be developed, you will find the latest news, information and upcoming events and training on occupational safety and health and the environment (OSHE) of benefit to Caribbean governments, and employers' and workers' organizations.

The ILO Programme on Occupational Safety and Health and the Environment in the Caribbean was initiated by the International Labour Organization Office for the Caribbean and the ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SAFEWORK) in January 2011, with funding under the ILO Regular Budget Supplementary Account (RBSA). The one-year Programme aims to support governments as well as employers' and workers' organizations in their efforts to improve occupational safety and health at the enterprise and national levels and to contribute to environmental sustainability of Small Island Developing States. The Programme is being implemented in the context of the Decent Work Agenda, a development strategy which strives for economic growth with equity and sustainable development. The Agenda is built on four pillars: providing opportunities for employment; ensuring respect for rights at work; providing social protection, (including safe working conditions); and promoting tripartism and social dialogue among governments, and employers' and workers' organizations.

The Programme targets countries and non-metropolitan territories of the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean and draws on regional and international expertise. A Team of OSHE Resource Persons has been established. The Lead Consultant is Dr. Alan Le Serve, a United Kingdom-based OSH expert with over 30 years of international experience, including in the ILO. The Team comprises representatives of the following:

Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC)
Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL)
University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and St. Augustine campuses
Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperatives, Trinidad and Tobago
Barbados Workers' Union Labour College
Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute, Jamaica
Critchlow Labour College, Guyana
Guyana Agricultural and General Workers' Union Labour College
Suriname Labour College (SIVIS)
National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas Labour College
Caribbean Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI)
Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)
Trinidad and Tobago Occupational Safety and Health Agency
Tobago House of Assembly
International Labour Organization

The Team provides valuable guidance and also delivers services for, the implementation of the work plan for the ILO OSHE Programme.

The Programme is based on a needs assessment involving several Caribbean countries, that was undertaken by Dr. Le Serve in 2009. Among the priorities of the Programme are:

to promote awareness of international labour standards on OSHE and labour inspection, and also on the CARICOM Model Law on Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment, given that several countries are reviewing and amending their OSH legislation and regulations;
to develop advocacy and awareness-raising strategies to improve OSHE practices, in line with international labour standards on OSH, as well as to promote a culture of safety;
to conduct training programmes on the Occupational Safety and Health Management System, the use of industrial hygiene kits as well as sector-specific OSH training for labour inspectors;
to conduct training programmes on the Occupational Safety and Health Management System as well as sector-specific OSH training for employers and workers;
to support academic institutions (universities and labour colleges) to deliver training and advisory services on OSHE; and
to establish a Caribbean Network of OSH Experts to facilitate further South-South cooperation as well as to establish links with experts in extra-regional institutions.

The linkages between activities and working conditions at the workplace and the consequences for the external environment will be highlighted under the Programme. The vulnerability of key sectors of Caribbean economies to climate change will provide the context for addressing these issues.

A module on the workplace response to HIV/AIDS, based on ILO HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 ( No. 200) and the ILO code of practice on HIV and AIDS and the world of work, is integrated in all OSH training to be delivered under the Programme.