DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR TO ASSIST IN TRANSITION OF LUTRON EMPLOYEES FOLLOWING INTENDED CLOSURE IN 2019

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 08, 2018 (SKNIS): The Department of Labour – and by extension the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis – is working with partners in the field of labour to assist with the transition process of Lutron Liamuiga employees when the facility closes its doors on March 01, 2019.
 
The transition process, which will commence shortly, will include: sourcing employment for the former Lutron employees with other manufacturing companies that are undergoing expansion; training workers through STEP internships and the National Skills Training Programme (NSTP); and the retraining and retooling of workers in other areas such as hospitality, early childhood care, beauty services, to name a few.
 
In a statement to the public on November 07, explaining the reasoning behind Lutron’s intended closure, Senior Minister and Minister of Labour, the Honourable Vance Amory, said that the Government also looks to building capacity through entrepreneurial training and investment counselling, which would be done by persons recruited through the Department of Labour.
 
“Lutron has committed to fund a training programme in collaboration with Government through the Department of Labour to assist workers who would be affected,” he said. During the next few months, the Government will put in place meaningful adjustment and transition strategies to ameliorate and soften the impact of this impending closure.”
 
He added that an inter-sectoral collaborative approach, spearheaded by the Department of Labour, will be taken to oversee the transition of the workers after the closure.  This partnership, he said, will bring together Government ministries, Lutron Liamuiga representatives, the private sector and the National Tripartite Committee for the engagement and future work of the employees at Lutron.
 
Minister Amory said that the government will be there every step of the way.
 
“The Ministry and Department of Labour will continue to work with employees of Lutron through continued meetings during this transition period to help them to identify areas of employment and areas of possible investment, to ensure a good quality of life for themselves and their families after this period,” said the senior minister. “The Government – and certainly the Ministry – is NOT happy to see the closure of one of the longest operating manufacturing companies in the Federation, but recognizes that the international marketplace has had its impact on the company.”