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Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 82) - British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Part III of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living and other social policy objectives. The Committee notes the information received in August 2018, including the data relative to the economic and social development of the British Virgin Islands, in the form of the Demographic Profile and the Country Data Sheet setting out economic and social indicators. It notes that, as of 2015, the overall employment rate was 96.90 per cent, an equal division between men and women among the employed population. In its reply to the Committee’s 2013 direct request, the Government informs of the adoption of the Labour Code (Minimum Basic Wage) Order in 2016, accompanied by the Minimum Basic Wage Schedule, which increased the minimum wage significantly, from US$2 per hour to $6 per hour. The Government further indicates that, following the introduction of a Youth Employment Register in 2012, the Ministry of Education developed two apprenticeship programmes, and a secondary level technical school was established in the same year which provides training in several technical vocational areas. The Committee notes that, beginning in 2013, new subjects have been introduced in the secondary school curriculum to provide students with an improved understanding of the growth and development of the British Virgin Islands. The Committee also notes the information provided on the Alternative Secondary Education Programme, run by the Ministry of Education, which is a “second chance” programme for persons who did not obtain their high school diploma, as well as on the Scholarship Programme for tertiary education. The Government indicates that, as the compulsory school leaving age stipulated in the Education Amendment Act of 2014, is 17, the Ministry of Education has taken measures to ensure, through the employment of truancy officers, that children of compulsory school age are in attendance during the specified school periods. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the economic and social development of the British Virgin Islands, including data illustrating that the improvement of standards of living has been regarded as the principal objective in the planning of economic development. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures relating to minimum wages (Article 14(2)–(4)), protection of wages (Articles 15(1)–(6) and 16), and education and training (Article 19(2)–(3)).