Barbados looks to Jamaica ... To improve farm work programme

Barbados is looking towards Jamaica as it seeks to improve its competitiveness and increase job opportunities through the Canadian Overseas Employment Programme, Labour and Social Security Minister Dr Esther Byer Suckoo has said.

Suckoo, who travelled to Canada to participate in the inter-governmental review meeting of the Canada-Commonwealth Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme, said Barbados is seeking to expand employment opportunities for nationals through the Canadian programme.

But she said that limited administrative manpower in Canada was among the challenges facing the local authorities.

She said Barbados only had two liaison officers who served and facilitated the hundreds of Barbadians who participate in the entire programme.

"There are more opportunities in Canada. Right now, we are at the tip of the iceberg. There are areas in fishery, dairy, beef, and cannery ... there are new industries that are booming in oil - lots of jobs are available.

"But the truth is, as I examine the liaison officers' workload, it is a lot for two people to do. They can only get out there periodically, but not enough to make a dent," she said.

"It is hard for them to do the administrative (and financial) work for a couple hundred people. They meet workers at the airport, ensure everything is in place, assist with recruiting, and while workers are up there and you have a problem, you call your liaison officer and let them try to liaise between you and the employer. And, we are also asking them to help us find new jobs. It's difficult, Canada is not Barbados," she added.

The labour minister said that Barbados is now examining the approach that Jamaica, with more than 4,000 people employed under the Canadian programme, took regarding the farm labour programme.

She said that Jamaica had a support service organisation based in Canada, which not only facilitated workers' needs, but also aggressively pursued new areas of employment.

"We are planning to explore how we can have somebody from the Jamaican team sit with our National Employment Bureau and show them what they (Jamaica) do differently," she said, adding that discussions behind the scenes have been taking place in both Barbados and Canada.