Mr. Lars Johansen, Director a.i. of the International Labour Organisation’s Office for the Caribbean.
AS countries across the region seek to reopen for business amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic, they must take all precautionary measures possible
to ensure that they do so in a safe manner, so as to prevent any
further setbacks to their economies.
Mr. Lars Johansen, Director a.i. of the International Labour
Organisation’s Office for the Caribbean, noted the above as he chaired
the UN and UNDP’s Consultation for Action online forum, under the
topic, “Reopening the Economy at the End of the COVID-19 Response”.
The e-Series was just one of a virtual series of consultations, set up
to discuss some of the critical challenges facing the region in the
wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify innovative solutions for
catalysing recovery and building long-term resilience.
“As you all know, in order to contain the infection and avoid the
collapse of health institutions and to reduce the number of people
succumbing and dying from the infection as much as possible,
governments around the world and including in the Caribbean have had
to make some hard choices and implement relatively extreme measures;
measures which basically have made economies grind to a halt,”
Johansen pointed out.
“Some sectors have been fortunate enough in order to move their
operations from office to home and continue with relatively limited
disruptions. That’s unfortunately the minority. We have all seen the
numbers related to businesses that have had to close permanently,
after not being able to carry the cost of this lockdown. The millions
of people that have been furloughed or laid off and the effect this
has had and continues to have on the economy and people’s livelihoods.
We are also seeing a crisis that affects both the young and the old
disproportionately, but in different ways. Whilst the medical
emergency has mainly affected the old, not exclusively, but the
overwhelming majority of those who have succumbed to the disease are
over 70, the job crisis is hitting the young the hardest,” he
continued.
Noting that the accommodation and food service sector has been hit
hard in the Caribbean, as well as other sectors which have a
relatively high percentage of women, he stated that the situation has
been made more difficult for women, with schools and child care
facilities being closed.
“It is therefore important to get society back to work as soon as
possible, whilst keeping in mind doing so in a way that keeps
infection rates under control, because we know what a new major surge
(of COVID-19 cases), causing the need for another round of lockdowns
will mean. It’s already clear that a recovery will take time. It is
therefore important to do the utmost to ensure that it doesn’t take
longer than necessary,” Johansen stressed.
“For the economic damage to be as limited as possible and the recovery
as short as possible, it is fundamental to reopen as early as
possible, but not too early and there is unfortunately no clear answer
to this. The lockdown has been described as an unprecedented
experiment and I think it safe to say that an opening is also an
experiment. This is something we have never done before. (So) when
reopening the economy, we must take all the possible measures that we
have to, to ensure that the reopening is as safe as it possibly can
be,” he maintained.
In terms of recommendations for reopening, he says persons can visit
the ILO’s website to see a range of practical guides that speak to the
safe return to work, and the occupational safety and health aspects of
the reopening. (RSM)