Starting from the next fiscal year, Government will invest $80 million to develop an Integrated Business Incubator System in order to boost the co-operative movement and to support small and micro-enterprises.

"Cabinet recently accepted our proposal [for this initiative], which by 2015 should be realising revenue of $1 billion and employing an average of 2,000 people," said Labour Minister Errol McLeod.

He was speaking to reporters after the opening ceremony of the Short Training Course for Systems Administrators/Statisticians on Caribbean Labour Market Information Systems, jointly held by the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies and the International Labour Organisation.

McLeod said the first Incubator will be launched later this month "in South, but I don't want to say much more yet."

"Each of these incubators is supposed to employ about 10 people, but in addition to training and developing excellent skilled workers, we are also concentrating on developing skills and excellent small business people. We have been examining some models, for example the Indians, whose Small and Micro Enterprise Sector contributes 22 per cent of their gross domestic product. We have been working with the Indian High Commission here to source information and hope very soon to source equipment and machinery. Our focus these days is creating new jobs and saving existing jobs," said the Minister.

McLeod declined to comment on the unions' claim that the State of Emergency was called as a result of their protests.

I have heard it and I continue to not contribute to that debate one way or the other," McLeod said.

He added that he did not know whether the budget would address [wage negotiation issues] aside from the allocation that must be made for wage and salaries for the different sectors over which the government has influence and authority.