Barbados’ falling population threatens the country’s economy, social services, and standard of living, Minister of Labour Colin Jordan warned, urging urgent action as Parliament debated legislation to expand free movement in the region.
The comment came during Jordan’s contribution to Monday’s debate in the House of Assembly on the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Nationals) Bill 2025.
The bill, which seeks to formalise full free movement among Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, also aims to refine existing arrangements and close any legal or procedural gaps in the system.
Jordan told the House that while some may view migration as a sensitive topic, Barbados must embrace the free movement of people as part of the solution to its demographic challenges.
“Declining population means declining production. Production drives growth,” he said. “A declining population also means declining consumption. Declining consumption means declining economic activity. With declining production, consumption, and investment, we enter a period of economic decline. We will not be able to sustain our standard of living or the services we provide if these trends continue.”
The minister cautioned against complacency, noting that population decline was already affecting key national systems, including the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS).
“It is not enough to laugh at the fact that our population has been declining over the past ten, 15, 20 years,” he said. “From my ministry’s perspective, we were concerned enough about its impact on the social security system that we came to this honourable chamber in 2023. We went into all the byways and highways of this country, held town hall meetings, and explained to the country what the social security system was facing.”
He credited the government’s earlier interventions with improving the NIS’s sustainability but warned that demographic decline remained a serious economic risk.
“A reduction in population is not a trivial matter. It needs our attention. We have to address what we do with respect to our population,” he said.
Jordan argued that the region’s citizens were best placed to help address Barbados’ demographic and labour gaps.
“If we are going to address the matter of population, what better place to begin than with our brothers and sisters who inhabit the same region as us?” he said. “This debate is about making real what we already are. We are a region, we are family. When we want to increase our population, we look to our brothers, we look to our sisters.”
He stressed that while the country must remain open to regional workers, the government was also taking steps to ensure fairness and protect all employees.
“We are satisfied that we have put systems in place to make sure that those who come to work are not exploited… just as those who are already here are not exploited,” Jordan said.
He added that Prime Minister Mia Mottley had approved a significant increase in resources for the Labour Department, allowing for expanded inspections and improved oversight across industries.
“We are close to doubling our complement of labour officers,” he revealed. “We’re waiting to go through the formal process, but we’re satisfied that we will be capable of addressing all the issues that may come before us.”
Reaffirming his ministry’s commitment to protecting workers’ rights, Jordan said labour remained central to Barbados’ social and economic progress.
“We are focused on ensuring both the dignity of work, so that work is decent work, and the dignity of the worker,” he said. “Workers, as human beings, are central to the economic and social development of a country.”
(SB)
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