CTUSAB: Give frontline workers overtime pay

Protective services workers and nurses who gave up holidays during Crop Over without promised double pay are bracing for similar demands during CARIFESTA, and their umbrella body is urging the government to act on longstanding calls for proper holiday allowances and overtime pay.

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) said that it formally submitted proposals to the Ministry of the Public Service earlier this month, calling for the law to be amended so frontline staff in policing, prisons, fire services and healthcare receive double pay for holiday shifts, and clear compensation for hours worked beyond their normal schedules.

Addressing reporters during a press conference on Wednesday, President Ryan Phillips said current arrangements, that is, time off in lieu, rarely benefit workers because of staff shortages and heavy patient care demands. 

“They either miss the day off entirely, or are left to take it under stressful conditions. Far too often they go beyond the call out of love for job and love for country,” he said. “These people operate in silence, but they are the gatekeepers, the caretakers of our country. It is only fair that they be compensated or at least given the option.”

The union’s submission points to Barbados’ existing framework where overtime pay is the standard once a scheduled shift ends, unless flexibility is specifically contracted. 

The CTUSAB official said a clear distinction must be drawn between a flexibility allowance and true overtime pay.

He argued that while the Shops Act, Cap 356A only directly covers retail workers, its double-time holiday standard has become a customary benchmark across many sectors. Under the Public Holidays Act, Cap 352, Barbados recognises 12 statutory holidays, and CTUSAB said the same principle of double pay should apply across the protective services and nursing.

Even where the Shops Act does not apply, double pay for holiday duty is widely recognised as equitable. 

“Through the lens of Barbados’ labour legislation, customs and practice, there is a clear expectation that double pay for holiday duty is a reasonable expectation of members of the protective services and nurses,” Phillips said.

He further cited international practice, highlighting Australia where nurses working public holidays are compensated with penalty rates of up to double time and a half (250 per cent) of their regular hourly wage.

In Barbados, he noted, overtime beyond weekly thresholds is typically paid at 1.5 times,  another standard that should be extended to frontline services.

“Legal minimums and customary practice align with double-time payment. Where adjustments are made to apply to members of the protective services and nurses, such will bring parity with national labour norms, improve staff morale, and enhance workforce sustainability,” Phillips added.

CTUSAB’s submission to the government laid out three proposals:

• Legislate or mandate double-time public holiday pay for protective services and nurses, applied to all 12 statutory holidays at 200 per cent of the hourly rate.

• Develop formal criteria for distinguishing flexibility time from overtime pay.

• Integrate the changes into standing orders and collective agreements.

Phillips said the measures would ensure fairness and morale while correcting long-standing inequities. 

He also flagged outstanding allowances owed to prison officers as far back as two to three years, and promised payments to police officers still not delivered.

General Secretary Dennis de Peiza added that incentives were essential for sustaining productivity. 

“If these workers are not treated or made to believe they are important, not just because of what they do but because of what it means to the country, then we risk losing their dedication,” he said.

He also renewed calls for accident insurance, noting that fire officers in crashes, nurses stabbed on duty, and prison officers exposed to blood have had to fend for themselves.

With CARIFESTA set to begin on August 22, Phillips made a renewed call for the Mottley Administration to act. 

“These men and women will once again be carrying the weight of national security and health care during the festival,” he said.  “They remain committed and loyal, but as a matter of incentive, we are asking the government to ensure the promises and assurances are honoured.”

While acknowledging measures such as the recent introduction of paternity leave, CTUSAB leaders vowed to continue pressing until frontline workers are “duly recognised and compensated accordingly”. 

(SM)