Antigua Prepares to hold Major Conference

A delegation is in Antigua and Barbuda, preparing for a global tourism conference in April 2023.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) of Latin America and Caribbean Conference is the first of its kind for the twin-island nation and the region at large.

The conference is organized by the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union.

General Secretary of the ABWU David Massiah told a press conference on Tuesday that a decision to hold such a conference in Antigua is in line with the impact of tourism on the sector.

“The significance for us is that it’s going to be the first time in the Caribbean region that we have such an important conference amongst the labor movement of this magnitude from a global perspective and in the aspect of the tourism sector, it is clear that the recognition is shown and given to Antigua and Barbuda,” Massiah told a press conference Tuesday.

He said the conference will also provide an opportunity to examine, reflect and review how workers are being treated in the tourism sector. 

Massiah who is also the ITF’s Global President for the Tourism Section has been visiting various hotels on the island best suitable for the major conference. 

“We are doing the site visits to different hotels to examine and to ensure that we do have the ability to cater and host all of these people in Antigua and Barbuda,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Regional Secretary of the ITF Edgar Diaz said the conference is a fair recognition of what the trade union movement in the Caribbean represents.

“For us, it’s very important to be here and this is a good opportunity to see how we operate and how the trade union movement is moving post the pandemic era and it’s a good position for us in the region to develop our work in the rest of the country,” he added.

The delegation met with Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Monday and Labour Minister Steadroy Benjamin Tuesday.