COVID-19 triggers thousands of job losses

A member of the Mia Mottley cabinet has admitted that at least 20,000 Barbadians have been impacted so far by the massive job losses spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colin Jordan, Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, made the disclosure last night as he joined a panel including trade union leaders, as they examined the impact of the novel coronavirus on workers in Barbados during an episode of The People’s Business on the CBC TV8.

Jordan, who is also the Member of Parliament for St Peter and is a former president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, revealed that almost 17,000 workers had applied for unemployment benefits from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) since mid-March. However, he stressed that there were many more workers in the informal sector and self-employed who are out of work as a result of the halt in global travel and tourism, but who are unable to access unemployment benefits from the NIS.

Jordan said while options are being examined on how assistance can be provided to those workers in the informal sector, he pointed to the increased budget to the Welfare Department, as well as the administration’s process of identifying vulnerable households who require state assistance during this period.

On the question of restarting the Barbados economy which has suffered from a shutdown since April 3 and which is now under a 24-hour curfew until May 3, Jordan said the Mottley Administration would take a “measured approach” to this matter.

The Labour Minister said Government was not going to set dates for a restart of economy just yet. He said to set timelines at this stage would create unreasonable expectations by citizens and the business community.

“We are going to approach this matter in a very measured way” he said.

Another panellist, Delcia Burke, who is acting general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), insisted that the health and safety of workers were paramount.

The union leader said the NUPW was not going to be a part of any effort “to rush” to open the economy and the country’s borders, if it meant putting workers’ health at risk.

Senator Toni Moore, general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) said the process of returning to full operation was not going to be an easy or simple process.

“I represent workers in the private sector as well as the public sector. Workers in the public sector they are still being paid. But there are large numbers of workers in the private sector who are not being paid. Some are on vacation leave and so may not be counted in the 17 000 [who have applied to the NIS]. When vacations come to an end, the figure will be much more inflated,” Moore stated.

The BWU boss agreed with Jordan that a measured response was required.

Moore said while the administration had to address the matter of fear of the disease and the health of citizens, she said the Government still had to address the economy, “so that people can feed themselves”.

Regarding restarting of the economy, Senator Moore said the union would insist on continued social distancing in the workplace and the establishment of firm policies for employees working from home, since some employers believed this new way of operating meant they had access to these workers on a 24-hour basis.

In addition, the BWU boss said she believed Government could do more to assist workers and may have to consider extending unemployment benefits beyond the current 26 weeks, if the economic fallout from the disease is prolonged.