ILO on St. Maarten for Labor Market Information System

A team from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is on Sint Maarten this week to install the Labour Market Information System (LMIS). This system will provide greater efficiency within the Department of Labour as far as statistics are concerned.

Mr. Reynold Simons, the Senior Specialist for Employment and Labour Market Policies and Mr. Kerwyn Roach, the Software Developer will be administering training to users and installing of the software. This will enhance the labour administration services, the compilation of labour statistics and facilitate the dissemination and use of labour market information which would result in the collection of valuable labour market statistics.

"This is a major step forward in acquiring data to substantiate policies, propose changes in legislation and to analyze trends," said Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labour. "This system will improve better service to the workers, employers and labour services."

The staff to be trained will be those from the executing agencies such as Labour Affairs Department and Labour Inspection. The system provides modules which include complaints handling, dispute resolution, labour inspections, and various other employment and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) related operations.

When fully operational, the Labour Market Information System will enhance the Department’s capacity to generate more reliable and timely statistics. The system will also foster closer collaboration among employers’ organizations, workers’ organizations and the Department of Labour along with other key stakeholders in the production, use and dissemination of labour market information.

Back in 2010, the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean formally established the CLMIS Project (Caribbean Labour Market Information System) with the objective of implementing a computerised system to generate reliable and timely statistics for use by government, Employers’ and Workers’ Organizations.

This project was piloted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as in St. Lucia and is now ready to be implemented in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. With the use of this product, the Departments of Labour in the Caribbean can heighten their service quality, monitor trends and develop policies and programs.

Key stakeholders that have committed their support to the LMIS on Sint Maarten are SZV, Department of Statistics, Department of Inspection, Department of Public Health, Inspectorate of Education and Labour Affairs. The installation of the system at the Department of Labour will be achieved through collaboration with the Department of Information Technology and the International Labour Organisation who will provide initial training for personnel who will utilize the system.

The follow up to the installation of the LMIS will be the establishment of a website whereby the producers of labour market information can disseminate statistics to the general public through the internet.

Once the system is up and running and in use, the ILO team will once again return to Sint Maarten and officially launch the website by year’s end.

The Ministry of Public Health Social Development and Labour is truly greatfull to the ILO for their commitment in providing technical assistance to Sint Maarten and making the LMIS a reality.