Jordan says ex-PM’s claims about Employment Rights Act are ‘crazy’

inister of Labour Colin Jordan takes on former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, rebutting allegations about the future of the Employment Rights Act.

Jordan described the allegations, which suggest that the current administration intends to weaken or abolish the law, as “crazy” and baseless.

At a Democratic Labour Party meeting at Parkinson Memorial School on Sunday, Stuart accused the government of mishandling the legislation that his administration introduced.

He said then: “I want you to pay attention to what is happening in Barbados because since this regime came to office, the present Minister of Labour, Mr Colin Jordan, was reported in the newspaper as saying that the Employment Rights Act has to be amended because it is too partial to workers. Now, a minister of labour is saying that a piece of labour legislation favours workers too much. You understand that?”

The former prime minister went on to claim that the government plans to dismantle the law. “I took him up on it in this very room when I was last here. And they have retreated into the background, but something else is happening. Because they intend to get rid of that legislation,” Stuart asserted.

He also charged that the Employment Rights Tribunal is inactive, alleging it was being deliberately neglected. “Let me tell you what is happening now. The Employment Rights Tribunal; the last chairman of that tribunal was the gentleman who is now the chairman of the Constitution Review Commission, the Republican Constitution. They have not replaced a single person, the chairman of the Employment Rights Tribunal, since he resigned. And cases are piling up. So eventually you will hear that the whole thing has become non-functional, and you may as well get rid of the whole thing.”

In response, Jordan flatly rejected these claims.

“Someone did send me a clip that purports to show former Prime Minister Stuart saying some things and making some claims that he has not substantiated; that struck me as being almost crazy,” he told Barbados TODAY. “I challenge the former prime minister, with all due respect, to identify where it is that I said that or where I was quoted as saying that.”

Jordan clarified that the government remains fully committed to upholding and improving the Employment Rights Act. “Now, just let me put to bed any idea that this government wants to get rid of the Employment Rights Act. We’re actually in the process . . . I just some days ago reviewed a draft Cabinet paper on some amendments to make it better.”

Addressing Stuart’s concerns about the Employment Rights Tribunal, Jordan assured that the government is working to enhance its efficiency.

“We are fully supportive of workers’ rights and workers’ opportunities. We are strong supporters of access to justice,” he stated, adding that plans are underway to establish a full-time tribunal to address employment disputes more effectively.

The labour minister emphasised the administration’s dedication to fostering a balanced relationship between workers and employers, noting that this cooperation is crucial for national development.

“That is our position,” he said, “and so I’m not sure where that kind of weird thinking has come from.” (RG)