The government is developing a national roadmap to improve working conditions for care workers and strengthen support services as an ageing population and a non-communicable disease crisis increase demand for care, Labour and Social Security Minister Colin Jordan said on Tuesday.
As a private medical clinic, MD Urgent Care, opened in Mile & A Quarter, St Peter, Jordan highlighted the pressures on caregivers and outlined legislative and policy efforts to develop a roadmap for the care economy.
Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan (Photo by: Shamar Blunt)
Addressing medical professionals, government officials and community members, Jordan cited the emotional and physical toll on doctors, nurses and allied health workers, noting that “the provision of care is real work, the provision of care is hard work, the provision of care is demanding work”.
He emphasised that when a person is in pain or agony, “some of it is transferred to the caregiver”, requiring support that goes beyond standard operational guidelines.
Jordan said: “That is one of the reasons why my ministry [is] working on developing that roadmap, because of the care economy, provision of care in all of this.
He also outlined the economic and social pressures behind the policy shift, explaining that “we are an ageing society” and that “we also know that we have an NCD crisis that also calls for care”.
The framework’s development follows international engagement and standard-setting initiatives. Jordan said the government had participated in global discussions to align local labour frameworks with international benchmarks: “At the International Labour Conference two years ago, in developing [an] outcome document on decent work in the care economy, we have started some work on developing a roadmap for the provision of care and decent work in the cure economy for Barbados.”
The broader care economy framework addresses issues including the rising incidence of chronic illnesses, the care needs of an ageing population and support for working parents through expanded childcare infrastructure.
The Ministry of Labour has also strengthened protections for domestic workers and nursing personnel by ratifying international standards.
Jordan explained: “I was able in the last few years to have Barbados ratify two conventions, Convention 189, which relates to domestic workers, and Convention 149, which is nursing personnel,” adding that “the Nursing Personnel Convention will be ratified in about two years’ time as “part of the government’s commitment”.
(RR)
