BWU: Employers could use COVID mandates to cut workers

The Barbados Workers Union (BWU) is cautioning employers against using the COVID-19 pandemic to place employees on the breadline.

At the same time, the BWU said on Wednesday that workers must not be forced to choose between securing their livelihood or the well-being of others.

While stating its position on Government’s proposed Safe Zones, the union declared its reluctance to fully embrace the initiative in its present form.

The BWU said that there are a number of questions and concerns which must be ironed out regarding the difference in timing for testing within the zones, so that no group feels discriminated against.

“For instance, included would be questions on the potential impact on the employee’s ability and right to work should there be a backlog of test results.

“There is need for more clarity on what constitutes a failure to comply and conversely, with respect to the clients or patients, what mechanisms are being put in place for the protection of the workers,” the union told Barbados TODAY in a prepared statement.

The BWU observed that the implementation of zoning protocols had become part of the armour in the arsenal being used in the fight against COVID-19 globally.

However, it’s the view of the Executive Council that much still needs to be discussed locally regarding the Safe Zones here for the protection of workers.

“The BWU has and will continue to support those policies and measures where the scientific evidence supports their role in the management and combatting of this deadly virus. That said, the scientific evidence used should perhaps be shared with the public to alleviate the confusion,” the union leadership contended.

The union said it remains committed to a sustained programme of education and sensitisation on all things COVID-19 which it noted it has been facilitating for the last few months through its Frank Walcott Labour College virtual campus.

The workers’ representative suggested that an informed populace would also be key in the management of this virus.

“We have long said that this pandemic will bring the morality of some businesses to bear.  Many of the decisions as we know have no legal precedent and will therefore require a consideration of the greater good,” the BWU said.

The leadership added: “It is by no means an opportunity for employers to take advantage of workers or to force them to choose between securing their livelihood or the well-being of others. Considering the economic times and financial despair among families, it is also certainly not a chance to reduce headcounts and put workers on the breadline.”

The BWU argued that one of the COVID positives for labour is an opportunity for change and that the time was now to “seal those existing fissures and to enforce and make modifications to the current labour legislation, including the Employment Rights Act, to ensure that labour never finds itself in this position again.”

The union recalled that from the inception of the vaccine conversation its Executive Council has been encouraging all workers and their families to be inoculated against the virus wherever it was practicable for them to do so.

The union said it was sticking to that stance regarding vaccinations which it reiterated, offer an undisputable layer of protection in a larger mitigation plan to ensure that all employees can continue to work in a safe environment.

It pointed out that this larger mitigation plan includes mask-wearing, regular hand washing, sanitising and physical distancing.

The statement said the data has shown that high levels of immunisation could help to reduce this daily surge of positive cases currently overwhelming the healthcare system on the island.

At the same time, however, the BWU acknowledged that while vaccines play a significant role in workplace infection prevention, they will not on their own stop community transmission. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb