CHANGE

Our world is changing. To what extent is still uncertain as we continue to grapple with the ongoing social and economic effects of a devastating global COVID-19 pandemic. One thing is for certain, there will never again be a normal like the one we knew before December 2019. The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party recognizes that COVID-19 has forever changed our national outlook and we must forge a new path to concertedly adapt in order to build resilience and provide better opportunities for a brighter future for all.

Drawing from the lessons of COVID -19 Labour will introduce a COVID-19 Reset Package that will ensure that the rights of workers are protected and that the unemployed and students are provided with the assistance to allow them to survive and thrive. In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

Worker’s Rights and Protection

1. a. Provide a gratuitous payment to all workers who were dismissed for not taking a COVID-19 vaccine
2. b. Raise the national minimum wage to EC$500 weekly
3. c. Introduce an Industrial Court and enhance Workplace Health and Safety protections
4. d. Extend for another 6 months the Covid-Relief Income Support in the amount of EC$1,500 per month for unemployed persons.
5. e. The income support mechanism will then be replaced by a permanent Unemployment Insurance Facility in the amount EC$750 dollars.

Students

1. f. Reduce student loan interest rates at the Development Bank from 9% to 5%
2. g. Provide debt relief to relieve the burden of Student loans under a new Youth Rising Higher programme.

Cost of Living:

1. a. Stimulate the Construction Sector by offering to all citizens of the Federation the following entitlement for new construction or renovation projects up to EC$500,000:

➢ VAT free on all materials and furnishings;

➢ Duty-Free on all materials and furnishings

➢ 0% down payment for mortgages offered by indigenous financial institutions

1. b. Reduce the VAT rate from 17% to 13%
2. c. Eliminate all VAT on taxes
3. d. Extend the full discounted VAT 2-day package not just at Christmas but to three times a year – Easter, Summer and Christmas
4. e. Implement a $1,000 credit for electricity consumption by all households
5. f. For vehicle purchases, VAT will be exempt on the first EC$50,000, with VAT at the standard 13 per cent charged thereafter;
6. g. Barrels/E-container or D-containers of foodstuff up to 400 pounds in weight will be allowed free of duty and taxes, and travellers and non-commercial importers will receive a duty-free allowance of EC$540 or US$200 off the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of goods

Stimulus Plan for Small Businesses:

1. a. Reduce payroll taxes for small and medium-sized businesses of up to 20 employees.
2. b. Implement a “START FROM ZERO” (Zero hassle. Zero duty. Zero application or application fees)tax package to stimulate our small businesses that will include:

✓ Duty-free vehicle for all small business start-ups.

✓ Duty free on all equipment and furniture for all start-ups within the first year until the business is fully operationalized.

✓ Establish a Ministry of Small Businesses to give small businesses a voice and equip them with all the tools necessary to survive and thrive in a competitive environment.

✓ Reduction of the Unincorporated Small Business Tax by increasing the tax-exempt threshold from EC$6,000 to EC$12,000 for all service providers and $37,500 to $50,000 for all retailers.

✓ Make automatic to all registered and producing farmers and fishermen a duty-free concession on seeds, agricultural inputs, vehicles, boats insecticides, pesticides, tools and agricultural implements.

The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the imperative to diversify our economy and include other industries to buttress Tourism. LABOUR led our transition from the sugar industry to tourism, financial services and enclave manufacturing. LABOUR also revolutionised the citizenship-by-investment programme into a platinum brand and internationally award-winning programme. LABOUR will once again lead our country forward with innovative, transformative ideas in agriculture, tourism and the creative industries. LABOUR

will also unveil a plan to restore domestic and foreign investor confidence, and stimulate consumer enthusiasm.

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. h. Attract at least two new five-star hotels.
2. i. Create new green jobs by establishing stronger Public/Private Partnerships for the development of a recycling plant, and factories manufacturing parts for solar panels, water catchment tanks etc.
3. j. Develop an active fisheries Industry by constructing several seafood processing plants in key fishing towns and villages such as Old-Road Bay and Dieppe Bay.
4. k. Re-introduce the Small Grants Scheme of up to $100,000 for farmers.
5. l. Ensure that both the St. Kitts and the Nevis Investment Promotion Agencies are well resourced and equipped to actively pursue foreign direct investment partnerships to the Federation.
6. m. Create a new centralize export marketing agency for farm and seafood goods.
7. n. Digitize the economy to improve ease of doing business with technology and training for staff and public to use it effectively
8. o. Invest in Agro-tourism and local agro-processing to reduce imports

Regulatory framework

1. p. Review and revise price control policies, legislation and regulations
2. q. Introduce better management practices at relevant government subsidiaries for better
3. management of solid waste and utilities
4. r. Abolish mandatory STEP assignments as entry into the public service
5. s. Legalise and stimulate a medical Marijuana industry

‘A healthy nation is a wealthy nation’ is the formula that underpins LABOUR’s approach to the healthcare sector. It is time that we upgrade our healthcare system to ensure that our citizens and residents have access to world-class, medical technologies here at home. As cancers and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) ravage our country, LABOUR believes that access to affordable healthcare is not a privilege, but a basic human right. To that end, LABOUR will ensure one's financial status does not hinder them from receiving the best care possible at our healthcare institutions. LABOUR has delivered affordable healthcare before and we are committed to delivering even better for our people.

In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Incentivise medical staff through pay increase and staff development to boost morale
2. b. Review salary scale to correct discrepancies and improve pay equity across the civil service

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

Service Delivery, Infrastructure and Equipment

1. a. Build a modern JNF General Hospital
2. b. Transform the JNF General Hospital into a professionally-managed, state-owned corporation
3. c. Establish Universal Healthcare
4. d. Install new MRI, CT scan and other modern life-saving equipment to improve diagnostics and patient care at hospitals and health centers; services will be provided non-profit
5. e. Improve patient care, including food and nutrition, customer services, systems of accountability, consistent pharmaceutical supply, especially for elderly and patients with NCDs at all government-run hospitals and clinics.
6. f. Explore Public/Private partnership for the establishment of a Mental Health Sanatorium

Policy Changes

1. g. Introduce risk pay for certain specialist healthcare workers
2. h. Introduce Housing allowance for all nurses and doctors
3. i. Re-introduce stipend to all nursing students at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College so that they can earn as they learn
4. j. Ensure that the Ministry of Health is resourced with a full cadre of administrative and technical officers
5. k. Propose new Public Health legislation with robust regulations governing indoor air quality, food and beverage safety, premises sanitation, vector control and pollution abatement
6. l. Correct manpower and training gaps focusing on, but not limited to, General Nursing, Specialist Nursing, Emergency Medical Response, Mental Health and Diagnostic Services through the provision of scholarships
7. m. Introduce a National Cancer Control Policy to reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths and improve the quality of life of cancer patients
8. n. Introduce a Public Health Policy to create the conditions that ensure good health for the entire population
9. o. Revise/Propose legislation to govern and regulate healthcare providers and pharmacy practices
10. p. Provide scholarships for specialist medical services (e.g., emergency room medicine, nurse practitioners, medical doctor specializations)
11. a. Create a new integrated electronic health records system
12. b. Institute environmentally sound medical waste disposal and management equipment and practices

Social Protection refers to all of the programs that a government provides to it citizens to assist with their advancement from vulnerability to self-reliance. LABOUR regards housing as a basic human need for the empowerment and social upliftment of families. LABOUR is ready to resume its programme of ensuring that all households have shelter that is sturdy, comfortable and affordable.

LABOUR also has a proven track record for creating programs that respond respectfully to the needs of the vulnerable in our community with a central focus on individual and collective development. LABOUR pledges to continue to work tirelessly to protect residents from the economic and social risks of unemployment, sickness, disability, exclusion and old age.

In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Conduct a national consultation on parental leave for employees, with a view to increasing the period for paternity leave and related family support improvements
2. b. Transform the PAP Programme and provide EC$700- $1500 per month, per household with a combined income of EC$3,000
3. c. Transform the PEACE Programme a. All essential service personnel such as our police, defence force, firemen and women, nurses and sanitation officers will receive a housing allowance
4. d. Increase personnel resources at SVU, New Horizons Rehabilitation Centre, Child Protection Services
5. e. Increase subventions to Public/Private Partnerships such as Garden of Rebirth (DV Centre) and St. Christopher Children’s Home
6. f. Develop sexual violence and harassment legislation to address issues of partner violence not covered under Domestic Violence Legislation
7. g. Improve access to credit on favourable terms to returning graduates to facilitate home and vehicle ownership
8. h. Adopt and enforce pay equity legislation, especially for private sector
9. i. Review child maintenance rates for male and female
10. j. Develop accountability systems for incident reporting and actioning
11. k. Strengthen rehabilitation and reintegration services for children in institutionalized care

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. b. Construct 2,000 modern, affordable houses that will accommodate all the latest energy-efficient appliances and powered by solar energy leading to a lower cost of electricity for owners.
2. c. Build a new national elderly care facility
3. d. Provide diversified housing solutions that includes providing bundles of building materials targeted at disadvantaged and marginalized youth
4. e. Re-introduce land distribution programme
5. f. Provide financial incentives to homeowners to retrofit dwellings with alarm systems, mosquito screens, sturdy shutters, water catchment and solar panels
6. g. Design and construct new recreational parks and green spaces equipped with a playground for children, bicycle trails and paved walkways in every Constituency to enhance family life, health and wellness and keep children safe
7. h. Utilize Community Centres to conduct Elderly Day-cares complete with comprehensive recreational and entertainment programmes to encourage and enhance physical exercise and social interaction of seniors
8. i. Establish an Industrial Court upholding the principles and practices of good industrial relations that is fair, equitable and expeditious in dispensing social justice
9. j. Increase Social Security old age pension
10. k. Enact legislation outlawing financial, physical, and emotional abuse of the elderly

LABOUR will foster meaningful change and development in our education system to ensure that the education our children receive is one that makes them competitive in the regional and international spheres. LABOUR will ensure that our children and teachers operate in environments that foster learning and critical thinking. LABOUR will invest more resources in our educational and training institutions, so they can lead the charge in equipping our young students for 21st Century opportunities.

In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Identify suitable location(s) for a standalone Centre for Special Education and autism spectrum services.
2. b. Develop a “Graduate Refinance” Project in which all student loan holders will receive a $15,000 credit to service their loan at the Development Bank and other banks
3. c. Provide a grant of EC$25,000 to every student wishing to pursue undergraduate or graduate studies in a field immediately relevant to national development
4. d. Re-instate One-to-One Laptop programme
5. e. Provide tablets for Pre‐school and Primary school children

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Build a new Basseterre High School at its original site
2. b. Increase the number of scholarships available for university education, professional development and vocational training and apprenticeships
3. c. Strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to ensure that it becomes a certification centre
4. d. Enhance the operations of the Advanced Vocational Education Centre (AVEC)
5. e. Increase salaries for trained teachers, deputy principals and principals
6. f. Facilitate education and training of specialist teachers and professionals in speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, dyslexia and other ‘learning differences’ areas
7. g. Establish a dedicated unit to provide regular preventive maintenance of all public education facilities
8. h. Reintroduce the REACH programmes for our students
9. i. Move to drastically modify the fee system presently employed at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC)
10. j. Enhance the School Meals programme to include a breakfast option for disadvantaged children
11. k. Transform the CFBC into an accredited tertiary level educational institution
12. l. Explore the feasibility of instituting a ‘Resource Allowance’ for teachers to assist teachers with the purchase of teaching supplies and materials
13. m. Begin STE(A)M (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Math) program in primary schools
14. n. Develop assessment centres and alternative education spaces
15. o. Offer education scholarships for special educational needs
16. p. A guidance counsellor for each primary school

To build the better country that we envision, it is of utmost importance that we have the right framework to ensure transparency into and accountability for our actions. LABOUR will ensure that there are adequate anti-corruption mechanisms ingrained in our government to ensure that all ministers of government and civil servants act in a manner that will rebuild the public’s trust and confidence. Our people long for constitutional and legislative reform. LABOUR will embark on a consultative process to achieve long-awaited constitutional, electoral and legislative reforms. LABOUR will also pay critical attention to our public administration to ensure innovation, transparency, and economic development.

In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Introduce Anti-Corruption Act
2. b. Operationalize Freedom of Information and Integrity in Public Life Legislations including provisions for an Information Rights Unit
3. c. Activate and adequately resource the Public Accounts Committee
4. d. Activate the Electoral Boundaries Commission
5. e. Ensure equitable access to government-controlled media by all political organisations

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Establish a Commission to review the constitution of St Kitts and Nevis, including but not limited to electoral operations, fair electoral boundaries, and campaign financing
2. b. Establish a code of ethical conduct for all ministers of government and emissaries
3. c. Ensure effective training and performance criteria for Permanent Secretaries and other senior officials
4. d. Review and revise, or develop where necessary, anti-harassment and labour laws
5. e. Institute recurrent training for senior civil servants in areas, inter alia, ethics, customer service, strategic planning and management, and time management.
6. f. Review salary scales and implement a bonus system that rewards performance through yearly results-based assessments
7. g. Institutionalize the process of rehabilitation of former prisoners through effective “Second Chance” Programmes
8. h. Restore the image of St. Kitts and Nevis as a trusted partner in, and contributor to, regional, hemispheric and global affairs

LABOUR will usher in an ambitious, youth-driven transformation in our country in order to unleash transformative ideas and policies that will enrich our people and our country. LABOUR will include young people in decision making at the national level to ensure that we build a better country that caters to the needs of our future leaders and entrepreneurs. St. Kitts and Nevis has an immense wealth of talent and cultural heritage that LABOUR will not overlook. The creative economy (often called the “Orange Economy”) will be unlocked so that creativity, the arts and culture can be pursued as careers and productive endeavours by our people.

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Build a National Performing Arts Centre and Academy
2. b. Build a national indoor sporting facility and ensure all outdoor sporting facilities in every community are equipped with the appropriate lighting, bathroom and locker-room facilities.
3. c. Facilitate the provision of medical insurance packages for all national sports representatives
4. d. Ensure that national committees and statutory boards include qualified, young persons under the age of 35
5. e. Establish a ‘National Youth Advisory Council’ to provide the Government with options for guiding decision making on matters that will directly impact the youth of St. Kitts and Nevis
6. f. Introduce fiscal incentives for creatives (e.g. artists, DJs, musicians et al) to import equipment, raw material and instruments
7. g. Implement start-up accelerator programmes with a focus on stimulating creative industries which would provide young people with the seed investment, connections, mentorship and educational components necessary for success
8. h. Strengthen regional and international networks geared towards growth, development and business opportunities for local artistes
9. i. Improve and bolster the St. Kitts‐Nevis National Youth Service Programme to provide youth with valuable work and life experiences
10. j. Revive the Youth Employment Skills (YES programme) and the Small Entrepreneur and Enterprise Development (or SEED) programmes
11. k. Unveil a White Paper on attracting 21st Century Jobs

As the world grapples with climate change and other critical environmental issues, it is of utmost importance that we ensure that our people live in an environment that is healthy and clean. LABOUR will ensure that our children grow up in a climate resilient environment, where special attention is paid to preserving our land and water resources in an effort to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. LABOUR will ensure the environmentally-sound management of our natural resources, so that future generations have the opportunity that we enjoy to live, work and play in a clean St. Kitts and Nevis.

In the first 6 months in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Reaffirm all watershed areas and aquifers as “Protected Areas”
2. b. Unveil a new plan to restore 24/7 water supply for all of St. Kitts and Nevis

During our term in office, a new LABOUR Administration will:

1. a. Provide incentives to increase food production by local farmers and fishers, and attract sustainable projects in agro-industry, manufacturing, and services
2. b. Introduce incentives to encourage the purchase and use of energy efficient vehicles, appliances and other devices
3. c. Improve Water security through better well networks and catchment infrastructure and water supply management
4. d. Better management of the sale and use of government land
5. e. Designate, develop, and maintain community green spaces and parkettes for land preservation
6. f. Require and facilitate the installation of solar/PV panels and water storage tanks on all affordable homes constructed by the National Housing Corporation
7. g. Introduce legislation to encourage the separation of household wastes
8. h. Regulate the import, distribution, sale, and use imports of single-use plastics
9. i. Require energy suppliers to implement feed-in tariff schemes for the owners of renewable energy systems
10. j. Promote eco-friendly resort development and encourage the establishment of an eco-hotel rating system
11. k. Enhance public education programmes about water conservation and protection of water sources