Under the joint sponsorship of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB), The Trade Union Congress (TUC) will be hosting an International Labour Conference (ILC) on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
TUC Chairman, Obie Ferguson said the purpose of the conference is to recognise the need for increased information and participation of the different sectors of civil society, to develop regional working relationships, to educate and exchange information and to obtain a better appreciation for member nation's position and approach in determining possible FTAA impacts on those states which may have already began to take effect.
"We are excited that Bahamians really want to know about the FTAA and possible impacts," Ferguson said. "Its been rewarding because in our preparatory process, we have had the opportunity to glean information and a better understanding of FTAA by working with both local and regional experts.
"In keeping with our conference's theme, 'Knowing and Preparing for the Challenge,' we invite the 167,000 workers to find a way to attend if not all, but some of the conference sessions," he said. "We urge all employers to release and sponsor workers if only for one day to participate….and the ordinary man on the street to get involved."
Ferguson said that there has been favourable response from Local Government officials and civil society. Likewise, he said, educational institutions have taken a keen interest in the ILC on the FTAA Conference that was officially launched on July 30 of this year.
The conference which is slated for October 28 to November 1 at the Nassau Marriott Resort & Crystal Palace Casino, will feature a plenary session with IDB specialist, Dr. Robert Develin on the 'Challenges for small countries with emphasis on service economies' and Juliet Mallet Phillip along with Pamela Cook Hamilton will detail 'The role of the OAS in the FTAA process.'
According to Ferguson, The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas will assist with the educational aspect of the event by making talk shows available to the presenters and by recording and packaging the entire conference for future airing and reference.
Present at the press conference were various union leaders and members of the planning committee. They included: Leon Griffin of the Taxi Cab Union; Margaret Hepburn-McKay of the Bahamas Financial Services Union; Richard Johnson of the Public Service Drivers Union; Huedley Moss of the Bahamas Utilities Services Allied Workers Union and Kenneth Love of the Bahamas Guild of Artist.
Prime Minister, Perry Christie is expected to officially open the conference; Minister of Trade and Industry, Leslie Miller will give the Government's policy position on the FTAA and Minister of Financial Services and Investment, Allyson Maynard-Gibson will be the keynote speaker at the conference luncheon on Oct. 28.
The FTAA process poses special challenges for small countries like The Bahamas with regard to negotiations, implementation, and adjustment. It is important for The Bahamas to know that it is not alone as it faces the challenges and opportunities posed by the FTAA.
Addressing this issue at a Trade Union Congress press conference on Wednesday, Frank J. Maresca, Country Representative for the Inter-American Development Bank said that is important for Bahamian stakeholders to understand what the potential advantages and disadvantages of joining the FTAA so that they can formulate their opinions and based on informed inputs, develop common strategies to meet the challenges put forth by the FTAA.
"A look at the agenda suggests that much can be learned from participating in the FTAA Conference," Maresca said. "International organizations and regional institutions like CARICOM, the OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank are offering a number of programmes and activities that can be accessed quickly.
"It is important for Bahamians, both inside Government and the private sector to be aware of these specific instruments and take full advantage of those opportunities judged to be of value to them."
He said as it relates to IDB, a full range of support activities are provided which include, diagnostic studies, training for negotiations, design and installation of data and information systems, mechanism to foster trade policy coordination among countries and activities to facilitate trade policy consultation among the public sector and civil society.
"Countries of the Caribbean have never been engaged in trade negotiations that are so complex in terms of the scope and depth of the negotiating agenda," he said. "Nor have any previous negotiations promised to have such potentially far-reaching consequences."
Therefore he said, because these Caribbean countries are engaging in such complex agreements, the IDB has established several mechanisms to support these efforts which will greatly affect trade negotiations, implementation agreements and the undertaking of trade-related adjustments.
Speaking on the important role which the OAS plays in the advancement of the goals for increased trade and economic integration, OAS Representative, Juliet Mallet Phillip said that there is a strong commitment to building democracy and breaking down barriers to trade which has created a new sense of unity among member states. This she said was manifested at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami.
"At that time the OAS, Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) were instructed to work in support of the negotiation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas," Phillip said. "That mandate has been reiterated in subsequent Summits – the Santiago in 1998 and Quebec in 2001. The objective of the process is to open a hemisphere wide trading zone stretching from the Yukon to Patagonia."
She said that within this frame work, the OAS formed a Trade Unit in 1995 which provides analytical and technical support to the FTAA negotiation groups and other entities to establish the free trade agreement. It also prepares compendia and inventories of trade laws and measures, in a variety of fields requested by the countries, which are essential basis for the negotiations and preparation of substantive studies and reports for FTAA working and negotiating groups.
Additionally, the OAS organizes regional technical assistance and training activities for participating countries, in particular smaller economies and disseminates information and statistics through the Trade Information System (SICE).
To date, Phillip said, the OAs has provided technical and analytical support to nine of the twelve FTAA working groups and has facilitated workshops and seminars within the region on the FTAA process.
By Lisa Albury, The Nassau Guardian/B>
