Speech delivered by
Her Honour Mrs. Deborah Thomas-Felix
President of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago
at the
Caribbean Federation of Police Welfare Associations
10th Intercessional Meeting Opening Ceremony
THEME:
Representation is not about oneself but representing the protector’s interests
through respectful dialogue, skillful negotiations, and fervent advocacy.
I am honoured to address you today at this 10th Intercessional Meeting of the Caribbean Federation of Police Welfare Associations. For those who are visiting from other countries to participate in these meetings, welcome to Trinidad and Tobago.
I also wish to extend warm congratulations to you on your 16th Anniversary as a Federation.
I think it is important to discuss a few concepts in industrial relations, which I am sure you are familiar with, and the role of these types of Associations before we discuss your very important theme.
The first concept is social dialogue. Social dialogue is really the lynchpin of industrial relations and it lends to the promotion of socio-economic development in an industry and in a country. According to the ILO, social dialogue includes all types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy.