As we prepare to celebrate 54 years of independence as a nation this weekend, now is an important time to reflect on what we have achieved, particularly this year when our economy and society have been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many workers will be looking forward to the long weekend to relax with family and friends. We are happy for them and the fact that they still enjoy the benefits that come with being employed with a steady income.
But if the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) unemployment applications are correct, 70, 000 Barbadians are out of work and entering this weekend contemplating their next move.
There is something very depressing about wanting to provide for your family and loved ones but the absence of a salary prevents you from showing you care in a tangible way at this time of year.
We have taken notice of the number of former workers in the tourism and hospitality sector who have been forced to take their protests over non-payments of wages, to the streets in an attempt to spur action by their former employers.
Sadly, the dwindling number of taxpayers seem to be increasingly saddled with the wages bill of some employers who have gone AWOL on their obligations to their employees. We certainly hope that agencies such as the Labour Department, the enforcement arm of the NIS, the Police and the Ministry of Labour are all taking note of these unsavoury developments.
We know that some business owners may not be in a position to pay, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. But you cannot in January 2020 flaunt the success and opulence of your hospitality business and then six months later say you are not a position to pay employees, many of whom operate just above minimum wage. This is unacceptable.
Beyond the horrible scent of exploitation that emanates from this saga, we take this time to shower praise on some special people in our society, who have kept the engine and lifeblood flowing when parts of the economy came to a halt.
At this period of independence celebrations, we pay homage to those employees of supermarkets, gas stations, pharmacies and other vital retail operations, who gave their all, particularly during the period of national lockdown when panic purchasing ensued.
Of course, the teams of health care workers who have been the stopgap between the COVID-19 illness and community spread now occurring in some of our neighbouring states in a most disturbing way.
There is no amount of money or accolade that is too great for the teams of healthcare workers and officials within the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
We hate to single out persons, but one cannot help but mention the Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth George and his predecessor Dr. Anton Best, who kept the population in the know during the early stages of reports of the illness in Barbados.
And while Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic ably led his team of medical experts and technocrats, it remains the calm assurance of Infection Control Specialist Dr. Corey Forde who has handled press and other public engagements like the professional he is.
Dr Forde leads the team at the Harrison Point Isolation Unit which, ironically, appears to have cared for mostly visitors who now represent the bulk of cases in the island over the last few six to nine months.
Despite all that has occurred this year, we pray for a level of optimism, coupled with a spirit of determination on the part of businesses, individuals and our Government that will propel us out of this period of economic uncertainty and social dislocation.
This 54th year of Independence will certainly challenge us as citizens to work towards rebuilding our lives and livelihoods after the unprecedented disruption that continues to be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is through working together that the weight of this period becomes easier to manage. Barbadians have used that spirit of determination to get them through the hell of the energy crisis in the 1970s, the economic shocks of the early 1990s when our economy almost collapsed, and then the global financial crisis from which it took us almost a decade to recover.
We can do this Barbados. Independence is more than a word, it is a spirit.
