BWU: COVID-19 an opportunity to level playing field for workers

The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a public health crisis, but a life-changing social and economic crisis, prompting General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union Senator Toni Moore to again call on employers to maintain employment levels as far as possible.

With big businesses, industries and countries across the world being shattered, COVID-19 has significantly altered the situation of work and workers in ways that governments, employers and unions could not forecast, “throwing us into some urgent responses”, she said while speaking during Sunday’s edition of the BWU’s Workers’ Viewpoint.

Senator Moore said: “ This call comes against a recognition that many employers have suffered directly from the dramatic fall-off in travel as flights and hotel bookings have been cancelled, and the fact that productivity has slowed significantly for businesses which cannot facilitate remote working.

“Workers who could have been classified as being in secure jobs are now confronted with uncertainty. This fact is compounded as Barbados has come face to face with the stark reality that there are far too many workers who are not eligible for social protection in the form of unemployment and other benefits.

“Even where workers have access to social security, we cannot run the risk of the unemployment and severance funds of the NIS being overly pressured.

“If this happens, we may very well find that in a very short time the funds may prove insufficient in the face of a pandemic for which the duration cannot be properly forecast.

“The BWU is very aware that the only way this expectation will be met is if business continuity plans and responses are developed to ensure a secure source of income for employers and workers as we navigate in these unchartered waters.  The BWU is committed to this.”

Senator Moore expressed concern about those families where the sole breadwinner had lost their job at this time, primarily in the case of those in informal employment.

She said: “All those workers who are not registered, regulated or protected by existing legal or regulatory frameworks. They don’t pay into the social security system, so they are not entitled to its benefits.”

She stated that the current pandemic presented an opportunity to level the playing field for these workers.

The BWU General Secretary said: “These workers are not only the self-employed, but these are also the workers who are on contract, sitting next to other workers daily, sometimes for years, doing the same job, adding the same value but who employers label as casual to avoid the financial burden of such obligations as NIS, medical, pensions and other allowances.

“These are the carers of our children, these are hotel workers, these are the general workers, supermarket workers – these are the workers who are now on the front line of delivery to ensure that we can still maintain our livelihoods during the difficult days and months ahead.

“COVID-19 has dramatically reinforced the BWU’s position that Government must act more decisively to bring more employers and workers into the net of social security.

“This means that Government itself must lead by example, not only in its hiring practices but also in the way it engages contract work.”

Senator Moore said this will be particularly important going forward as Government is predicting a construction boom with a number of extensive capital projects scheduled to come on stream. “Government must police contracts that have been awarded for construction to protect workers and the NIS system from those employers who engage contract labour and pay in cash so that they can go under the radar and gain advantage over other employers who are fulfilling their statutory obligations and social responsibility to workers.  The workers suffer and ultimately, the country suffers.

Beyond that, the union head commended health care workers and those in the Bridgetown Port, whom she said are on the frontlines of the battle against the pandemic. She, however, called for greater protection for the Port workers, who, owing to the nature of their work, may not always be in a position to practice the “social distancing” experts recommend in the face of the illness.

“In many respects, Port workers because of the nature of their work, cannot observe the physical distancing protocols which have been established but they must be adequately protected.  Such protection does not relate merely to the supply of PPE and I hasten to commend the efforts of the Port Management in this regard.  The BWU continues to represent these workers, particularly during this period of national shut down and tremendous health concern, to ensure that they are not overly exposed to work that is not essential and critical.

Senator Moore noted, “Now is the time for all of us, not just workers, to treat in good faith.  Now is not the time to behave as if we have lost all sense and sensibility.  Principles and reasonableness still must have a place, and more so now.  For this reason, the BWU has been busy with employers discussing good faith implications of COVID-19 on their working arrangements”.

During our May Day observance, under the theme Secure Workers, Sustainable Economies, we will be highlighting a number of these employers in the coming weeks.”

In closing, Senator Moore encouraged all Barbadians to exercise personal responsibility for containing the spread of COVID-19. “The measures that the Government has put in place regarding the curfew and reduced commercial activity will mean nothing if we fail in our personal responsibility to stay at home and contain the spread.”