The International Labour Organization, Subregional Office for the Caribbean and the Office of Trade Negotiations (of the CARICOM Secretariat)

Transcription

1 The International Labour Organization, Subregional Office for the Caribbean and the Office of Trade Negotiations (of the CARICOM Secretariat) Training Workshop on International Trade Negotiations, Trade Agreements and the Decent Work Agenda British Colonial Hilton Hotel, Nassau, THE BAHAMAS 3 5 February 2010 AGENDA Objective: To enhance the capacity of Employers and Workers Organizations in the Caribbean to contribute meaningfully to preparations for future international trade negotiations and to maximize the benefits of the existing Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union Day One : WEDNESDAY, 3 FEBRUARY :15 8:45 a.m. Registration 8:45 9:30 a.m. Session I: Opening Ceremony Welcome remarks: Dr. Ana Teresa Romero, Director, ILO Subregional Office for the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago Mr. Vincent Atkins, Trade Policy/Technical Adviser to the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) of CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), Trinidad and Tobago Mr. Harcourt Brown, Director of Labour, Department of Labour, Ministry of Labour and Social Development, The Bahamas Chairperson: Mr. Rainer Pritzer, ILO Senior Specialist, Social Dialogue and Labour Administration 9:30 10:30 a.m. Session II: The Decent Work Agenda as a tool for development 10:30 11:00 a.m. Coffee break Presentation: Mr. Rainer Pritzer (20 minutes), followed by plenary discussion 11:00a.m 12:15 p.m Session III: Introduction to the goals, processes and rules of negotiating international trade agreements p.m. Lunch break Understanding the domestic and international contexts: Their impact on the trade negotiation agenda and negotiation processes Presentation: Mr. Vincent Atkins (45 minutes) 1:30 2:00 p.m. Session III (Continued) : Introduction to the goals, processes and rules of negotiating international trade agreements 1

2 Question and Answer session (30 minutes) 2:00 2:45 p.m. Session IV: Group work - Positioning the social partners for effective participation in trade negotiations Participants assemble in groups of six (employers and workers separately) to outline their broad priorities and their strategies for advancing their interests both prior to, and during the trade negotiating processes (Coffee break will be included in the group work session) 2:45 3:30 p.m. Group presentation: Report back from Group Work by participants selected to represent the respective groups 3:30 4:45 p.m. Session V: Institutional arrangements under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): The roles of the Social Partners and Civil Society Identifying the actual and potential roles of the social partners and civil society and their interaction with Government; their influence in shaping and setting the agenda for trade negotiations in general as well as for the implementation, monitoring and revision of the EPA Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, Lead Negotiator for Legal and Institutional Issues in the CARICOM/Canada Trade Negotiations; Senior Lecturer in History, University of the West Indies (UWI); Associate Fellow, Institute of International Relations, UWI; Chairman of the CARICOM Competition Commission Presentation (45 min) and plenary discussion Day Two: THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY a.m. Session VI: Trade agreements and their implications for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements implications of the spaghetti bowl of trade agreements; The CSME goals, successes and challenges Building competitiveness and exploiting the new trading agreements Preparing for competition what businesses and workers need to do Dr. Elizabeth Parsan, Trade and Development Expert, International Consultant Presentation (30 minutes) followed by plenary discussion (30 minutes) a.m. Session VII: Group Work a.m. Coffee break Mention specific areas where progress is urgently needed at the regional level to help you benefit from opportunities through the EPA. What do workers and employers organizations have to do to ensure that both the CSME and the EPA benefit them? p.m. Group presentations: Report back by participants selected to represent the respective groups 2

3 p.m. Session VIII: Trade policy objectives and The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): The effects on enterprises and workers in different sectors (examples from agriculture including sugar, food and fisheries, manufacturing and services (including financial services and tourism) 1:00 2:30 p.m. Lunch break Presenters will describe the sectors included in the EPA and explain the provisions that deal with them. They will explore approaches for preparing for the CARICOM- Canada trade negotiations, propose a methodology for determining the sectors that should be covered by a resultant agreement and outline implementation strategies aimed at achieving the objectives Presenters: Dr. Kusha Haraksingh (30 minutes) Mr. Lawrence Placide, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI); Trade Negotiator and Business Development Expert (30 minutes) 2:30 3:45 p.m. Session VIII (Continued): Trade policy objectives and The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): The effects on enterprises and workers in different sectors 3:45 4:00 p.m. Coffee break Interactive session on preparing for upcoming trade negotiations 4:00 5:15 p.m. Session IX: The role of development assistance for addressing the social and labour effects of trade liberalization Issues in accessing aid Donors: Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (ownership, alignment, harmonization, results, mutual accountability) Caribbean countries: employers and workers need to lobby for coherence, clear guidelines on project proposals, simplification of procedures Presentation and Plenary Discussion: Mr. Lenox Forte, Manager, Corporate Development and Programming, CARICOM Development Fund, Barbados (30 minutes) Chairperson: Dr. Elizabeth Parsan Followed by Question and Answer session (45 minutes) 3

4 Day Three: FRIDAY, 5 FEBRUARY a.m. Session X: The treatment of labour issues in bilateral arrangements: The case of Free Trade Agreements between Canada and select countries of Latin America Presenter: Mr. Vincent Atkins (20 minutes) Followed by Question and Answer and plenary discussion (40 minutes) a.m Session XI: Aid for Trade (AFT) background, concepts and strategies What is AFT, early debates and the WTO Task Force recommendations; AFT in the Caribbean key issues and results from the WTO 2009 survey The EU AFT Strategy priorities and funding Drawing up an AFT plan and accessing funds Presentation: Dr. Elizabeth Parsan a.m. Practical Exercise: Participants assemble in groups of six (employers and workers separately; observers distributed across groups) to outline their specific AFT requirements. Presenters can facilitate sub-group discussions Lead Facilitator: Dr. Elizabeth Parsan Coffee break (can be integrated in group work) 11:45am. - 12:30pm. Group presentations: Report back by participants selected to represent the respective groups 12:30 1:45 p.m. Lunch break 1:45 3:00 p.m. Session XII: Strengthening the capacity of the social partners to monitor the impact of trade agreements What is the purpose of monitoring? How does one choose the areas to be monitored and the indicators to be used for this purpose? What is required to build the capacity of employers and workers organizations to monitor the effects of trade agreements on enterprises and labour and to use the findings effectively? 3:00 3:15 p.m. Coffee break Mr. Lawrence Placide (25 minutes); Dr. Kusha Haraksingh (25 minutes) Followed by Question and Answer session (25 minutes) 3:15 4:15 p.m. Session XIII: The way forward: promoting Decent Work in the context of trade and development Panel discussion: Mr. Vincent Atkins, Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, Dr. Elizabeth Parsan, Mr. Lawrence Placide, Chairperson: Mr. Rainer Pritzer Panellists will each put forward summary conclusions from their particular perspectives, drawing on inputs and feedback arising from the plenary discussions 4

5 4:15 4:30 p.m. Session XIV: Closing Session Remarks by Dr. Ana Teresa Romero, ILO and Mr. Vincent Atkins, OTN Agenda Revised 21 January LSH 5