Minister Symmonds blasts ‘exploitative mindsets’

Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds has slammed recent complaints about the timing of a new minimum wage.

Drawing comparisons from the time of the transatlantic slave trade, the minister declared he would be shocked if such “exploitative mindsets” still exist within the local business community.

He has also accused some in the commercial class of failing to improve the lot of workers when corporation taxes were slashed some years ago.

“For some, there would never have been a good time to end slavery. For other people there would never have been a good time to initiate free education,” Symmonds told Barbados TODAY.

“It is an inescapable part of history, that for those who are underprivileged, the need for change is always immediate and urgent. For those who are better off, the need for change is always something that can be pushed into the future,” he added.

Symmonds’ comments cap off a week of rejection from Government officials and labour leaders to opposition from the business community on the impending new minimum wage.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley in Parliament this week argued that while she hears the concerns, Government must ensure “a fair wage or even a livable wage” for the country’s most vulnerable.

As a result, Government has vowed to go forward with the increase from $6.25 to $8.50 an hour or $340 per week.

The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) have both objected to the April 1 start date.

They are contending that with two lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns in less than a year, businesses are in no position to accommodate the increases.

Barbados TODAY understands the industries most likely to be affected include hotel and tourism, agriculture and the small business sector.

As recently as Friday, BPSA President Edward Clarke appealed for a postponement of the measure until a number of concerns are addressed by the minimum wage committee.

In response, Minister Symmonds urged the detractors to remember that not too long ago, the same administration slashed corporate tax rates, saving them millions of dollars per annum.

“None of us can recall hearing any clamour from the corporate community to say ‘good, now is the time to offer some of the poorest paid workers in this country an opportunity to have a sustainable livelihood or at least a dignified wage,’” Symmonds lamented.

“So at some point the state has to intervene in an effort to ensure that social justice exists…Poor people are people too. They also have to eat and buy commodities for livelihood.

“Government has to strike a balance and be guided by a philosophical perspective. Everyone may not necessarily agree with everything, but we have to govern in the interest of the vast majority in the country,” the minister concluded.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)