The National Tripartite Council (NTC) is in the process of developing The Bahamas’ new Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) as a key component of a national development strategy.
The program is being established with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO stated in its most recent Decent Work Country Diagnostic in 2020, that in The Bahamas, there has been limited contribution in the areas of gender equality and non-discrimination, as well as meeting international labor standards.
NTC Chairman Robert Farquharson said the Decent Work Programme is intended as a planning and programming tool to coordinate national efforts to create decent work in The Bahamas.
“Decent work is a broad concept that refers to employment that respects the fundamental rights of humans as well as the rights of workers in employment. It deals with health and safety in the work place, it deals with renumeration. In the context of the Decent Work Country Programme, it can be thought of as incorporating four pillars; the creation of decent employment and jobs, ensuring fundamental rights at work, social protection and social dialogue,” he said during a virtual stakeholder meeting yesterday.
Farquharson continued, “The Decent Work Country Programme is intended to integrate key issues related to these four pillars into national policy development and thus contribute to national development. It is based on an objective assessment of the current situation in The Bahamas pertaining to decent work, including the key challenges identified.”
According to the ILO, DWCPs have two basic objectives, the promotion of decent work as a key component of national development strategies; and the provision of ILO knowledge, instruments, advocacy and cooperation in a results-based framework to advance the Decent Work Agenda.
The Decent Work Agenda is a part of the United Nations General Assembly’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
