Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Convenio sobre política social (normas y objetivos básicos), 1962 (núm. 117) - Bahamas (Ratificación : 1976)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Education and training. Improvement of the standards of living. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the finalization of various training programmes implemented by the National Training Agency (NTA) as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that young Bahamians are well prepared to enter and thrive in the labour market. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that, since the fall of 2019, a major policy shift was introduced to secure free tertiary education for Bahamian students enrolled full-time at the University of The Bahamas, covering tuition and compulsory course fees. The Committee also notes the enactment of the Apprenticeship Act, 2024, and the establishment of The Bahamas Apprenticeship Programme, designed to equip participants with skills aligned to high-growth industries and to enhance employability. It further notes that the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2021–2026, jointly adopted by the Government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO, identifies as national priorities the promotion of productive employment, improved labour-market information systems, and strengthened social protection, with the overarching objective of advancing decent work and improving living standards.

The Committee observes that, despite the country’s high per-capita income, the most recent Household Expenditure Survey (2013) estimated that 12.8 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line, with a Gini coefficient of 41.4, and that the UN Common Country Analysis (2020) and the ILO DWCP (2021) underline persistent inequalities and high cost-of-living pressures, particularly affecting low-income households and residents of the Family Islands. The Committee recalls that, under Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, Members shall direct their social policy to the well-being and development of their population, and ensure that policies in the fields of education, vocational training and employment effectively contribute to the improvement of living standards for all groups of the population. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report:

• Updated information on education and training policies. The Government is requested to provide detailed information on education, vocational training and skills-development programmes, including those implemented by the NTA and under the Apprenticeship Act (2024), and their alignment with labour-market demand. The Government is requested to include statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and economic sector on enrolment, completion and job-placement rates of graduates.
• Impact on employment and living standards. The Government is requested to indicate the results achieved in terms of access to stable and productive employment and the contribution of these programmes to raising the standard of living, particularly for youth, women and residents of the Family Islands.
• Free tertiary education. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the implementation of the policy of free tertiary education, including enrolment figures, retention and completion rates, and any measures to ensure equitable access for disadvantaged groups.
• Monitoring of living-standard indicators. In light of Articles 1 and 2, the Government is requested to provide updated data on poverty, inequality and cost-of-living trends, indicating any recent or planned Household Expenditure or Living Standards Survey and how its results will inform national social and employment policies.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the measures taken and progress achieved to ensure that education and training policies contribute effectively to improving the standard of living of the population, in accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

Articles 4(e) and 5. Promotion of cooperatives. Informal economy. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Department of Social Services (DSS) plays a central role in providing support to persons and families in need through food assistance, financial support, shelter and housing protection, and education. The Government further reports the expansion of the National School Breakfast Pilot Programme and the Food Assistance Programme, as well as the extension of the rent-to-own housing scheme, which has recently provided homes to 51 families. The Committee welcomes these initiatives aimed at improving the living standards of persons facing hardship and at reducing social vulnerability. The Committee notes, however, that the Government’s report does not contain information on measures taken to promote the development of cooperatives or on progress made in establishing a policy and legal framework favourable to their growth. It recalls that, under Article 4(e) of the Convention, Members shall encourage and assist the development of cooperative organizations, as a means of enabling workers and small producers to participate more fully in economic and social progress. The Committee also recalls that, under Article 5, Members shall direct their social policy to the improvement of living standards and conditions of work, particularly for workers in sectors where social protection and incomes are least secure, including the informal economy. The Committee notes from the UN Common Country Analysis (CCA 2020) and the ILO Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP 2021–2026) that informality persists in several service and microenterprise activities, and that persons engaged in informal or self-employment often have limited access to social protection, productive resources and skills-development opportunities. These challenges underscore the importance of policies promoting formalization, enterprise development and cooperative self-organization, as means to enhance incomes and resilience.

In light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report:

• Promotion of cooperatives. The Government is requested to provide detailed information on any policy, legal or institutional measures adopted to promote the establishment and development of cooperatives, including in agriculture, fisheries, retail or services. The Government is requested to indicate whether any draft legislation or national strategy on cooperatives has been prepared, and describe the role of the Department of Cooperatives or other competent authority in supporting cooperative formation, training and access to finance.
• Support to workers in the informal economy. The Government is requested to describe specific measures adopted to improve the standards of living of workers in informal or vulnerable employment, including social-assistance, livelihood or microenterprise support programmes. Kindly provide concrete examples and statistical data, disaggregated by sex, age and region, on beneficiaries of such programmes (for example, the Food Assistance and School Breakfast initiatives, rent-to-own housing, or other community-based income-support measures), and on their observed impact on household income and living conditions.
• Linkages with social and employment policies. The Government is requested to indicate how the programmes implemented by the Department of Social Services are coordinated with national employment, skills-training and small-enterprise-development policies, including any cooperation with the National Training Agency or the Bahamas Development Bank, in order to facilitate income generation and transition from informality to formal employment.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated and detailed information on the measures taken to promote the development of cooperatives and to improve the living and working conditions of workers in the informal economy, including data on their scope, beneficiaries and results achieved, in accordance with Articles 4(e) and 5 of the Convention.

Impact of natural disasters on the application of the Convention. The Committee notes that following Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, which caused significant loss of life and damage estimated at US $3.4 billion, the Government implemented, in collaboration with national and international partners, several recovery measures in Abaco and Grand Bahama. These included the provision of basic necessities (food, housing, medical care and education), support to small businesses and individual livelihoods, and reconstruction of infrastructure. The Committee further notes that the National Insurance Board (NIB) provided US$175.8 million in unemployment benefits and assistance following Hurricane Dorian and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including payments to persons directly affected and to self-employed workers under government-funded programmes. The Committee welcomes these efforts to protect livelihoods and promote recovery andrequests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to address natural, health and other emergencies, and on their impact on the well-being and living standards of the population, in accordance with Parts I and II of the Convention.