WILLEMSTAD - Organizations involved in the Venezuelan migration problem and the labor market in Curaçao met last week in a so-called strategic round table meeting.
This first round table meeting also brought together the various stakeholders, including representatives of the trade union federations SSK, CGTC and Solidaridat Sindikal, the ministries of Economic Development, Justice, Social and Labor (SOAW) and General Affairs, the private sector, including construction, Social Economic Council (SER) members and a Member of Parliament.
First
This strategic round table meeting is the first in a series that aims to better understand from all stakeholders involved how migrants could contribute to the socio-economic development of Curaçao in general and to the labor market in particular and how can respond to increasing opportunities and reducing risks.
The initiative for this meeting, which should be periodically followed up in 2023, was in the hands of Human Rights Defense Curaçao (HRDC), the organization that is committed to human rights on the island.
The Round Table is a follow-up to previous initiatives on this theme, such as the symposium 'Migration and Socioeconomic Development' organized by the Social and Economic Council (SER) in May 2019 and the SOAW study from 2014 Building a Life, Building a Nation'.
Solutions
“Periodic strategic meetings on the theme of 'migration and the labor market', which can count on the active participation of the government, social partners, civil society and academia, are indispensable for jointly arriving at sustainable solutions to one of the biggest societal challenges facing the world in our time”, says Ieteke Witteveen of HRDC.
According to Witteveen, a significant contribution can be made to the formulation, implementation and evaluation of concrete policy measures by means of periodic constructive and result-oriented multi-stakeholder dialogue.
“The aim of these is to achieve an inclusive and balanced labor market, where full attention is paid to the local population as well as to migrants and undocumented workers.”
According to Witteveen, what is important here is the unconditional commitment of all stakeholders involved and the willingness to enter into sustainable strategic partnerships, whereby no one is excluded from opinion and decision-making.