By Lavern Clarke, Staff ReporterAT the end of this month, 11 of the 15 CARICOM-member countries will start waiving work permit requirements for skilled persons who have landed jobs or gigs, pushing the regional bloc closer to its goal to knock down all barriers to trade.
The announcement by trade experts Thursday came in response to a local entertainer, 'L.A. Lewis', who wanted to hear what practical benefits the CARICOM Single Market and Economy would provide for him and his colleagues.
Ambassador Gail Mathurin, undersecretary for external trade negotiations, said skilled persons could work in the 11 territories without having to apply for permit, but might still require an endorsement from the relevant agency - in Jamaica's case the Ministry of Labour - which issues a 'certificate of recognition' as proof of identification.
To acquire the certificate, it helps, she advised the entertainer, if he was a member of an association.
There are tax implications, but in line with the double taxation treaty, once there is proof that you are taxed in your home country, said the Jamaican ambassador, then the host country would not require that similar taxes be paid.
"That sound good to me," responded Lewis, having advised a CSME workshop that his group had recently lost out on a gig because one member of his entourage did not have a work permit.
The four member countries not included in the arrangement are the Bahamas, which has chosen not participate in the CSME; volcano-ravaged Montserrat, which has not enacted legislation; St. Kitts & Nevis, which is to finalise legislation, and Haiti, which only achieved membership status one year ago.
The free movement agreement will eventually apply to all CARICOM nationals but for now it is limited to university graduates, media workers, musicians/artistes and sports professionals.
Meantime, as pension and retirement issues continue to absorb policy makers now grappling with an ageing regional population, Desiree Field-Ridley, advisor on the single market and sectoral programmes at the CARICOM Secretariat, also informed the workshop that the agreement allows for the transfer of social security benefits for workers who move across the territories.
"You can continue your contributions without a break, and at the end of the process there is a formula to determine who contributes to what part of your payment," said Field-Ridley.
In relation to continuing travel restrictions, those should be eliminated by year end, said the CARICOM advisor.
A single immigration card for CARICOM residents is due for issue by the deadline.
But given heightened world concerns about drugs and terrorism, Field-Ridley warned that while the agreement facilitates hassle free travel, it "does not mean unregulated travel." A meeting, she said, is set for September for the territories to discuss security issues in the context of unrestricted movement and the support measures that are required.
Under the CSME agreements, all restrictions to trade are to be phased out by 2005, with Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados having committed to an earlier deadline of December 2004.
