As the conversation surrounding free movement in the Caribbean continues, with Barbados among the four countries leading the charge to full implementation, the concept leads us to question whether the process is keeping pace with the promise.
Following the collapse of the West Indies Federation, Caribbean countries aimed to maintain their unity, thus proposing the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), which was established in 1965. Its main goal was to maintain and deepen economic linkages among those countries — especially trade in goods — by reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade.
Later, it became clear that broader integration of labour, services, capital and policy coordination across the member states was required, prompting the creation of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1973 through the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Trinidad by Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was later created through the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas of 2001, which allows easier movement of capital and services across borders. It also provides the right for businesses to be set up in other member states and the right for skilled CARICOM nationals (for example teachers, nurses, graduates, artisans and musicians) to move and work freely without work permits. A similar process also exists — the Free Movement of Persons Regime — through the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
As it stands, the existing CSME process for the movement of skills, conceived and executed 24 years ago, still leaves much to be desired.
While the jury is out on the recent decision of the four countries, CSME travellers can enter partner CARICOM countries without work permits for an indefinite stay, but on arrival, their passports receive a stamp explicitly stating that the holder is excluded from working. This leaves travellers across many Caribbean islands applying for regularisation of status — applications which often languish for weeks on end.
In the experience of one applicant, the overall process to attain the necessary documentation to work legally took upwards of four weeks, not including the time originally spent applying for CSME documentation in their home country.
This period leaves travellers unable to earn income, unable to contribute to national taxes, and unable to properly set up a life in the recipient country, all while maintaining expenses in their home countries and undertaking new expenses — rent, groceries, transport and more — in the recipient country. This also does not take into account the difficulty in other aspects of regional integration, such as transferring funds between countries.
For the average person, circumstances like these can be untenable without significant financial preparation or assistance. Moreover, the process means the recipient country experiences no immediate benefit, as the delays prevent travellers from immediately paying taxes or contributing to the national insurance scheme and other government income sources.
In this historic and admirable quest for regional integration and the free movement of people, questions remain:
- Are there other aspects of regional integration which must come first?
- Are the creation and review of the processes around free movement being prioritised?
- Has enough thought and planning been given to what follows after a traveller lands in a recipient country?
The idea of free movement can be supported through research, planning and dialogue.
One simple solution would be to survey the first travellers through the new process: discuss what inspired their movement, what blockages they encountered, and use these findings in the planning, legislative and execution phases.
Processes like the CSME fall short as a result of information not being freely shared or easily accessible between countries. The creation of a robust, centralised communication system between host and recipient countries that allows greater transparency and coordination would benefit travellers moving through the free movement process.
Finally, creating circumstances to allow subsidiary processes — such as the creation of bank accounts, registering for insurance schemes and submitting documentation for regularisation — would ease the difficulties that accompany inter-island travel.
With thoughtful consideration and implementation of solutions such as these, the free movement process can be built to function smoothly and effectively from its inception, ultimately bringing about more efficient regional integration, and contributing meaningfully to the prosperity of both travellers and host countries.
