Resilient and sustainable supply chains need decent work, says ILO Caribbean at UNCTAD global forum

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Caribbean Office was among UN entities that gathered with business leaders, policymakers, social partners, academia and other experts for the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Global Supply Chain Forum, hosted in collaboration with the Government of Barbados (21 to 24 May 2024).

Participating officials included Director Dr Joni Musabayana; Specialist for Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation John Bliek; Specialist for Labour Law and International Labour Standards Shingo Miyake; Senior Programme Officer Ingerlyn Caines-Francis and Programme Assistant Lesley Nelson. 

As global supply chains undergo profound transformations, the Forum provided the ILO Caribbean team with an opportunity to gather multi-partite insights and share innovative decent work strategies that will contribute to industry success, resilience and sustainability. 

During a 23 May session titled "Promoting responsible business conduct for decent work in supply chains: A focus on the transport sector", Director, Joni Musabayana joined Sustainable Enterprise Development and Job Creation Specialist, John Bliek, to emphasize workers' rights as the foundation of supply chain management.

“Strong responsible business policies are good for business and support decent work in supply chains. They promote good internal working conditions for workers and external reputation with buyers and suppliers,” explained John Bliek who moderated the session.

“Policymakers, employers and workers organizations can ensure that supply chains contribute to   economic and social development through responsible business conduct that includes social dialogue and investments in skills development,” said Dr Musabayana as a featured panellist.

Later that day ILS and Labour Law Specialist, Shingo Miyake moderated a session titled "Decent work: Challenges and opportunities related to the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006", which placed an emphasis on seafarers. The session provided an engaging discussion that offered a high commendation to the work that went into the realization of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) and its value to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are reliant on the maritime sector for trade, tourism and transportation. Panellists represented the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF); the World Maritime University; the International Chamber of Shipping; and the Barbados Employers’ Confederation. 

Their conversation featured strong global employer and worker voices who despite their different perspectives and realities of the seafaring world, agreed that MLC, 2006 is crucial to their organizations and members. 

“Seafarers are our unsung heroes and they have proven this as they continue to move the world even in dark periods. We need to show our gratitude to them by not letting up on efforts to ensure full implementation of their bill of rights,” said Professor Maximo Mejia Jr., President of the World Maritime University. 

“Seafarers are a growing industry and we have certainly seen that in the last six months to a year, certainly in this hemisphere. On this basis it is very important that collaboration continues to be tripartite to ensure that all stakeholders come to the table not just to put pen to paper but to take action,” said Gail Ann King, President of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation. 

“What the MLC serves as is basically a safety net of global standards. So what we want is for companies to be working even above those standards,” said Helio Vicente, Director of Employment Affairs at the International Chamber of Shipping. 

“Today, we have been talking extensively about the MLC in the context of the supply chain. The MLC is the formidable instrument that is a tool something that we should consider using,” said 
Fabrizio Barcellona, Seafarers and Inland Navigation Section Coordinator at the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

“Our panellists were experts at the regional and international level in their respective areas and capacities. At today’s meeting, they vividly described how dire the employment and working conditions of seafarers were during the COVID-19 period; and how maritime employers and workers, governments, and international organizations collaborated to protect them using the international framework and apparatus the MLC provided. Their interventions were touching human stories,” said Shingo Miyake, looking back the session.

ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo also attended the UNCTAD Global Supply Chain Forum on 24 May 2024 to deliver the keynote address during the high-level closing panel session “Charting a new path: Gender Equality in Supply Chains - Challenges and Opportunities”.  He appeared on the panel alongside other leaders including Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD; Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Technology and Logistics Division of UNCTAD; Natalie Sandiford, President of the Women in Maritime Association Caribbean – Barbados Chapter; Naa Densua Aryeetey, Chair of the Trade and Gender Subcommittee of Ghana’s National Trade Facilitation Committee; and Milaika Capella-Ras, General Manager of the Caribbean Shipping Association.

The ILO Director-General's presence at the Forum was an opportunity for him to witness Barbados’ ratification of C189 – Domestic Workers Convention – during a special session with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley; the Honourable Colin Jordan, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector; and ILO Caribbean Director Dr Joni Musabayana on the final day of the event.

Following the Forum, the ILO Caribbean team will continue to provide ongoing guidance and support to our Member States and tripartite constituents. “We are committed to optimizing decent work opportunities, pursuing social dialogue and realizing the fundamental principles and rights at work in supply chains,” explained Dr Musabayana. 

More information about the UNCTAD Global Supply Chain Forum is available here.