Dr Olivia Smith, migration expert and former lead consultant, CARICOM-IOM Migration Policy Framework (2024), does not anticipate a mass migration of citizens from Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines into Barbados.
Come Wednesday, those citizens, as well as Barbadians, will be free to enter, work and remain indefinitely in each other’s member states without the need for residency or a work permit. They will also be able to access emergency and primary health care, and education, within the means of the receiving member state.
Smith, who was also deputy programme manager, Free Movement and Labour, CARICOM Secretariat, said fears that there would be movement en masse was not supported by empirical evidence.
“Having worked inside the CARICOM Secretariat as deputy programme manager for Free Movement of Labour, and as the consultant who led the drafting of the CARICOM-IOM Migration Policy Framework in 2024, I can assert that the evidence is conclusive – we are not anticipating mass migration,” she said, as she stressed that: “Most citizens remain rooted in their home countries, and movement typically follows specific economic opportunities. The data also demonstrates that Barbados benefits more than it loses, as skilled labour fills high-demand gaps, rather than displacing the national workforce.”
Emphasising that free movement was reciprocal, Smith said: “This opportunity is not theoretical. Barbadian financial consultants are leveraging their expertise in the thriving services sector of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbadian construction management firms are winning contracts in Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil and gas infrastructure development.
“This allows Barbadians to live, work and invest across 14 CARICOM states, providing a vital economic safety net and opening new markets for our professionals and entrepreneurs.
“Furthermore, the public worry about wage suppression often rests on a flawed economic premise,” she said, as she explained that under the existing CARICOM Skills Certificate regime and in most formal sectors, workers must be paid at or above the national minimum wage and sector-specific rates.
“The highest demand is frequently for specialised skills – plumbers, electricians and certified technicians who command competitive, high-level salaries – that local businesses are currently struggling to fill. A properly implemented Labour Market Impact Assessment is precisely the tool needed to ensure that new workers complement, rather than compete with, the existing workforce, thereby upholding, not depressing, local wage standards.”
However, Smith believes that Government should guard against xenophobia, pointing out that these fears demand attention.
“Unchecked apprehension can quickly transition into xenophobia. Alarmist reporting and inflammatory rhetoric risk framing regional workers as antagonists rather than partners capable of filling critical labour gaps. History shows that scapegoating migrants does not solve chronic labour shortages; it only deepens social tension and obstructs rational economic planning. Barbados must ensure that public debate remains anchored in verifiable facts and mutual respect for all CARICOM citizens.
“For the average Barbadian worker, the anxiety is intensely personal. Imagine a skilled carpenter earning a standard wage, facing high costs for imported food and gasoline. When they read headlines about an impending ‘flood’ of regional workers, they are not thinking about macroeconomic growth; they are thinking about their next rent payment.
“Their worry is that while the island enjoys a record low unemployment rate, their individual job security is fragile. They fear the arrival of large numbers of workers willing to accept less, which could jeopardise their ability to maintain a decent standard of living on an expensive island.
“This fear is compounded by visibly stretched social services, where pressure on housing, health care and education systems is already evident. Past rollouts of free movement only exacerbated this, lacking clear communication and breeding distrust.”
She stated that it was imperative Government protect local workers through legislation.
“Government must ensure that local workers are not displaced or disadvantaged by upholding existing labour laws, particularly minimum wage standards, across all sectors. The primary tool for this is the Labour Impact Study, which maps specific sectoral shortages.
“This allows the Government to focus the recruitment of regional workers exclusively on areas of genuine and critical deficit – such as specialised construction trades or health care, while launching complementary national training programmes for local workers to fill future high-demand roles. By requiring all employers to adhere to the principle of ‘national treatment’ in wages and conditions, regional workers fill labour market holes, rather than undercutting local standards.”
She said stakeholder engagement and communication was also crucial, involving employers, unions and civil society and must be transparent and structured.
