The Tribune

THE Minister of Labour led a Bahamian delegation to Panama for the recent United Nations' Regional Conference on Wage Equality.

Senator Dion Foulkes was accompanied by government, trade union, private and public sector representatives to the event, which was held from January 29-31.

The conference saw the launch of the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), an initiative led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Women and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This is designed to mobilize different agencies to reduce the wage gap between women and men, which is around 15 per cent in this region.

The EPIC was launched globally in September 2017 within the framework of the UN General Assembly. At the Panama conference, that country became the first in the region to join the EPIC and the second in the world to launch it. The organisations that promote the EPIC are projecting the regional launches of the coalition.

It is anticipated that by 2030 the EPIC will achieve "equal remuneration between women and men for work of equal value".

Mr Foulkes was accompanied to the conference by Patrenda Russell-Brice, deputy director of labour; Marissa Smith, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC); and Ednel Rolle, vice-president of the Trades Union Congress.