Leader of the Opposition Bishop Joseph Atherley has urged all former hotel employees to maintain pressure upon Government over their grievances about the lack of clarity surrounding the money owed to them.
At an open meeting held at Queen’s Park on Sunday, which also saw Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn in attendance, Atherley cautioned workers to not ease up in their fight to be treated fairly by their former employers. He said the businesses should take heed of Barbados’ past when it comes to workers concerns.
Bishop Atherley declared: “There is something that happened in this country in the 1930s that has triggered change in this country, but a lot of what we have gained since then, is in peril of being eroded.
“The workers of this country have to get up again and tell a government that thinks it is popular, and employers who think they have money and capital and [that] provide a few jobs, that workers are not to be trampled, and their rights dismissed.
“We need to stand up and tell them… not ‘bout here.”
Bishop Atherley also said that it has become a worrying trend, in which workers, particularly in the hotel and hospitality industries, are often mistreated and short-changed, despite the importance of their work in the island’s main foreign exchange earner.
“It has become part of our culture, workers in this country are second-class citizens,” the Opposition Leader told the meeting. “Those who have money and capital, both domestic Barbadians and foreign [investors] are the privileged few.
“Workers are second-class citizens in their own country; the only people who can change that is you. We are here today because investment interests too often take priority, over working-class interest in Barbados.
“So a man has a few dollars to invest, all of a sudden he is a special person, especially if he wears a certain colour, but you and me, poor working-class mob in Barbados, are not considered to be a priority.”
Shirley Sealy-Rollins, a former worker of Accra Beach Hotel and Spa, lambasted her former employer for what she saw as unfair treatment being experienced by colleagues, who after having been let go from the establishment over a year ago are still in the dark as to when they will receive their final severance packages.
“We should have our money, we should not be fighting we fought every day at work,” said Sealy-Rollins. “Day after day, you could not get to work one hour late; five minutes late or you got an hour deducted from your salary.
“I use to get paid on a weekly basis, half of my money gone because I got to work late due to transportation problems, and still at this point in time, we should never be standing up here this evening, protesting after protesting, raising your blood pressure.”
Sealy-Rollins also warned her former colleagues of retaliation from other firms who may want to distance themselves from any worker who had exercised their rights and protested against unfair treatment.
“I went to several interviews since I was home, and they [asked if] you went to the protest. Don’t say yes, and say no, because you know you will not hear anything from that company again. So this is the Barbados that we living, where you cannot as a black person, poor, open your mouth and say nothing because you are going to be victimized.” (SB)
