#BTEditorial – It only takes a spark to keep a fire burning

The prolonged pay dispute at the leading security firm, G4S, which escalated into protests over the past two weeks that eventually saw the intervention of Prime Minister Mia Mottley , has thrown into sharp view the issue of a fairness in pay, particularly for jobs considered at the lower end of the scale that are essential to the country’s safety and security.

“A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work” has long been a mantra of the labour movement. Yet the minimum wage has not increased for almost a decade, restricted to shop assistants and latterly, domestic workers, although the cost of living has risen by leaps and bounds.

The security industry does give us some cause for concern because the days of security guards as mere glorified watchmen are long gone. Indeed, there are many security firms who ask for applicants with some measure of training or experience in either law enforcement or the military. This training will come in handy if prospective guards are to handle large sums of money for companies or commercial banks. Even simple security duties require well-trained personnel given that no place or time is immune to crime today.

Indeed, some security officers are young people fresh out of school, while others are older people sometimes close to or past retirement, but that is no justification to pay them between $7 and $9 an hour. Thankfully many of the security firms provide transport for their staff who often work at times when most people are sleeping and no public transport is available. But when they are off duty the security officers still have their basic family and individual needs to tend to, and Barbados has become more expensive to live in over the years.  Ideally, security officers should be paid based on their previous experience or age. For example, a school leaver with no real training beyond on-the-job training should be paid less than another employee who previously spent ten years in the police force or the military.

We welcome the news that Government is planning to address this issue seriously within the first quarter of 2021, especially since 2020 has been a trying year for many Barbadians. But we must single out those workers who were on the lower end of the pay scale but kept the country going during lockdown — security officers, supermarket workers, those involved in transport, sanitation workers and the like.

At the end of the talks with G4S, Prime Minister Mottley announced that Government would be moving towards implementing a Minimum Wage by April next year, and that it would vary across the board.

She told journalists: “We expect that nobody is going to set a minimum wage lower than what people are earning for the most part and therefore we look forward to a resolution of this matter that will allow not just G4S, not just security workers, but thousands of Barbadian workers to face 2021 with the comfort that come April that Barbados will have a National Minimum Wage in place, as well as minimum wages for different sectors.”

She outlined a four-month-long process of consultation and review involving ministers and a blue ribbon panel of industrial relations, business and civic leaders, namely former Chief Justice Sir David Simmons,John Williams, the Most Honourable Patrick Frost, Joseph Goddard, Sir Allan Fields and Marcia Martindale. This is quite an illustrious group with decades of experience in their fields of endeavour.

Mottley said: “This committee will take the recommendations of the Minimum Wage Board and take the recommendations from the working document prepared by the Ministry of Labour, and we will ask them to consult with the various institutions across the Social Partnership, and open up also to individuals, and that in doing so they report back to the Cabinet of Barbados no later than February 1, 2021.”

Apart from establishing minimum wages in the corporate sector, we would hope that the various committees will also take time to look at another vexing question, that of payment for contracted, part-time or freelance workers in various businesses across the island who are considered self-employed.

The first question regarding this group is, do they set their own rates, or do their potential employers decide what they will pay them, and on what basis do they do so? That is, are they paid an hourly rate, or based on the nature of the work they do? Do the employers provide all the equipment necessary for them to do their jobs, or do they have to bring their own tools?

In some professions, for example, workers have to meet their own transport costs, which can get very high based not only on the bus fare increase over the past year but if it is a late night job and they require taxis to get home. If they are in the field long enough, they will need to purchase their own specialised equipment, since they cannot always rely on a smartphone, or in the case of an artisan, renting machinery from one of the companies involved in that sector. In some cases now, what they are paid per job is not enough to sustain them on a daily basis, let alone assist them in trying to build up their businesses.

While the Prime Minister stated that the resolution of the G4S situation was “not a signal for open season on wage increases”, as we look at minimum wage there are certain factors that must form part of the discussion. For example, the number of hours spent on the job, safety and health issues, for example, the risk of criminal activity and other occupational hazards such as the potential for accidents that may cause long term injuries or even disabilities; the average age of the employees in the sector, and whether or not the work is seasonal in nature, for example in the hospitality industry or agriculture.

With all these issues brought to the table, here is hoping for some meaningful discussions and solutions to an issue that has been pushed into the background for too long.

G4S was the spark. May it kindle a fire that burns more brightly for those truly essential workers who labour long and earn far too little.