By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Monday 24th January 2023)- Workers’ representative organisation, The St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union (SKNT&LU) on Tuesday 24th January 2023 met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at a session conducted at the Ministry of Finance located at the Stanford Building at the Airport Road.
That meeting was one in a series of meetings being spearheaded by the IMF regarding its 2023 Article IV mission during a visit to the Federation over the period 16 to 27 January. Areas of discussions for that meeting-which spanned just over an hourincluded: the role of the union, minimum wage, recent labour markets developments and the impact of COVID-19 and the forthcoming labour code.
The SKNT&LU team members were President Sydney Bridgewater, First Vice President Curtis Francis, General Secretary Precious Mills and Executive Committee member Nadine Natta (immediate past Treasurer) while Deputy Chief Alexandre Chailloux and Senior Economist at the Western Hemisphere Department Sophia Chen represented the IMF. Meeting observers saw representatives from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.
Chailloux during his opening statement said “Unions are important layers in the social dialgoue between the government, employers and workers…” Additionally, he made mention of the IMF’s Article IV which speaks to consultation saying that “unions are important players” regarding such. As gleaned from the official website www.imf.org: “Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year.
A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies.” When quizzed by Chailloux about the Union’s contribution to social dialogue, President Bridgewater shared during his comments that: “The role that the Union plays is that we are part of the National Tripartite Committee.” Furthermore, he (Bridgewater) expressed the organisation’s eagerness for that committee to meet so that the union can carry out its role in seeing to the wellbeing and interest of workers which includes discussing the drafted labour code document. Bridgewater also informed that the Union covers a broad section of workers at various workplaces including at manufacturing plants.
Other organisations engaged in meetings with the IMF team are Social Security, Ministry of Finance and also the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Notably, a meeting between the SKNT&LU and the IMF was conducted via a virtual format in June 2021.
Front Page Photo: (Right to Left) Representatives of the St. KittsNevis Trades and Labour Union (SKNT&LU) Executive Committee member Nadine Natta (immediate past Treasurer), First Vice President Curtis Francis, General Secretary Precious Mills and President Sydney Bridgewater take a photo with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Chief Alexandre Chailloux and Senior Economist Sophia Chen following a meeting held on Tuesday 24th January 2023 at the Ministry of Finance. – LOCAL NEWS5
