Caribbean migration, domestic labour and the CSME

Free movement within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been viewed as a mechanism for regional growth. However, the experiences of domestic workers reveal gaps in the Caribbean’s integration policy. This paper examines how CARICOM’s delayed inclusion of domestic workers as a recognised labour category has impacted their migration experiences. It demonstrates how the exclusion of domestic workers from CARICOM’s free labour movement until 2009, and the subsequent inability of CARICOM to ensure individual member states complied with these policies, continue to have long-term repercussions for those who migrated hoping that their relocation would provide a pathway to stability and improved livelihoods. This study situates the experiences of migrant women within larger debates on labour migration and regional integration practices. It critiques the limitations of CARICOM’s approach to free movement, which, despite progressive rhetoric, continues to marginalise low-waged and feminised labour markets. By centring the voices of Guyanese domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago against regional policy decisions, this paper highlights the disconnect between regional policy frameworks and the lived realities of migrant women who support Caribbean economies but remain legally excluded. It advocates for a more inclusive approach to Caribbean integration that centres the humanity of the most vulnerable migrants.