The History of Social Policy in the Caribbean

The history of Social Policy in the Caribbean

Social Policy may be broadly defined as a system of social welfare that includes economic as well as non-economic objectives and involves some measure of progressive redistribution in command over resources. There were many factors that redefined the evolution of social policy in the Caribbean .Historical events such as 1.) The immediate post-war period (1940-1950); 2) transition to self government (1950 to 1961); 3) the oil crisis, World Recession and Structural Adjustment (1970-1980) they all contributed to the evolution of social policy in the Caribbean.

According to the Organization of American States social policy in the Caribbean can be categorized as distinctly curative in nature, seeking to address the breakdown in other traditional policy areas, specifically those related to health and empowerment. The history of social policy in the Caribbean is more complex than what meets the eye, historical factors such as slavery and colonialism, our ethnic groups, each of these issues plays a part in the social problems that are seen in our societies every day, in forming the social policy all of these issues must be take into account.

The historical context in the formation of social policy in the Caribbean as mentioned before is rooted in the legacy of slavery and colonialisation. In the era of the British Government in the Caribbean in the 1938, the main issue was a demand for better living conditions. The British commission to the Caribbean tried to fix this improving the wages by establishing a wage board, implementation of unemployment insurance, factory inspections to reduce accidents, the protection of trade unions and the establishment of labour department. Research done by the Organization of American State stated that Barbados was the first to adopt a non-contributory pension for poor elderly persons in 1938, followed by Trinidad and Tobago in 1939 and Guyana in the 1944. Not until the late 20th Century did the majority of the other countries in the region follow this lead.

In the 1930- 1940, welfare was seen as a hand out, this can be seen as the Residual Model period. It was not until the era of independence in the 1960 and 1970 that a shift was seen in how social policy was viewed, government in the region expanded on their social policy undertaking more responsible for the people. In the late 1980s, early 1990 global norms and