Caribbean and South African labour officials host knowledge exchange on dispute resolution

An ILO-facilitated forum featuring the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) of South Africa has provided senior labour officials from nine Caribbean countries with access to guidance and best-case examples for finding solutions to labour disputes. 

Held on 17 May 2024, the virtual knowledge exchange featured Cameron Morajane, Director of the CCMA and labour law expert from South Africa, who provided key insights for participating institutions, policymakers and other stakeholders looking to establish or improve dispute resolution services in the Caribbean. The event forms part of an ongoing regional forum and south-south cooperation initiative of the ILO Caribbean office to connect practitioners and decision-makers with expertise in dispute resolution that can enhance institutional capacity. 

“In the Caribbean region, a number of governments have committed to enhancing the effectiveness of their dispute resolution systems, and improving access to justice. It is in this spirit that the ILO Caribbean Office has organized this knowledge exchange, which we hope will promote a sense of collaboration on building effective dispute resolution systems and improving access to justice for all,” said Dr Joni Musabayana, Director of the ILO Caribbean Office, during his welcome remarks. 

Caribbean labour officials in attendance included Eltonia Anthony Rojas, Labour Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Labour; Indira Francis, President of the Industrial Tribunal of The Bahamas, Timothy Maynard, former Permanent Secretary and Ms Claudette Hope-Greendige, Chief Labour Officer of the Barbados Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector; Beverly Beckles and Cathy Norville, members from the Barbados Employment Rights Tribunal; Nazira Ann UC Myles, Chairperson of the Belize Labour Complaints Tribunal; Anna Brizan, Permanent Secretary and Sparkle Grenade, Labour Commissioner (Ag.) of the Grenada Ministry of Legal Affairs, Labour and Consumer Affairs; The Honourable Joseph Hamilton, Guyana Minister of Labour; Kherie Osbourne, Crown Counsel (Ag.) of the Jamaica Ministry of Labour and Social Security; Sabina Gomez, Chief Labour Relations Officer of the Conciliation, Advisory and Advocacy Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Labour; Her Honour Heather Seale, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Industrial Court; Deborah Thomas-Felix, Former President of the Trinidad and Tobago Industrial Court;  and Ferdinand Welzijn, Chairperson of the Suriname Mediation Board. 

During the session, Cameron Morajane highlighted the evolution of South Africa’s national dispute resolution institution including key challenges, responses and results. He also shared experiences with other countries that the CCMA has hosted and visited to provide a context for learning from other institutions while enhancing the CCMA system. 

“When visiting host countries, we share best experiences in terms of dispute resolution in general and not just the operations of how the institutions work. We also talk about the legal framework within which we are operating, the principles which we understand, and which are the same principles that apply. We recognize and appreciate that different countries have different constitutions. And we’ve got different constitutional structures and different constitutional powers. However, that is not stopping us from sharing the best experiences from that variety of different legal frameworks where there are similarities,” explained Cameron Morajane to participants. 

The CCMA is a high performing organization and some of its achievements include procedures for the expeditious conciliation and arbitration of individual disputes, innovative and proactive approaches to collective dispute resolution, the adoption of modern telecommunications and information technology and a holistic strategy concerning job retention. Participants also learned first-hand how the CCMA, a non-judiciary institution, interacts with the labour courts of South Africa.

Following Cameron Morajane’s presentation, participants from each Caribbean country shared insights from their own national contexts. 

“This session was very timely for us in Grenada as we are looking to implement a permanent labour tribunal,” explained Sparkle Grenade, Labour Commissioner (Ag.) of the Grenada Ministry of Legal Affairs, Labour and Consumer Affairs. 

To build on this learning experience, the ILO will continue to consult with Caribbean Member States and intends to organize similar events where presenters and participants will have the opportunity to directly collaborate, elaborate on ideas and further share knowledge. 

More information about the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) of South Africa is available on its website.