General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and Member of Parliament for St George North Toni Moore has credited the strong voice of the labour movement with making a tremendous difference in Government’s decision to reduce the prices for petroleum products.
Moore said that coming out of its 79th Annual Delegates Conference held at the end of August 2021, the BWU submitted a resolution to Cabinet, against the backdrop of the union’s awareness of the negative effects which the energy policy was having on workers and their families.
Speaking in Parliament on the Appropriation Bill 2022, on Tuesday, the BWU General Secretary said the resolution called on the Government to review its value-added taxing policy on fuel to bring immediate relief on energy costs in Barbados. She commended the Government for answering the call, even though the world is beginning to feel the pinch from the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Moore said the BWU was also equally pleased that another one of its demands made just before the budget to incentivize the purchase of electric vehicles was reflected in Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s presentation.
“I am also pleased to support the measure to offer homeowners the opportunity to install photovoltaic systems on their roofs, making provision for them to purchase up to 10 kilowatts of energy without going through significant red tape to do so. This in our view widens the net beyond what the Barbados Workers’ Union has committed to be one of the objectives of its renewable energy project which is to be rolled out at Mangrove,” she said.
Moore said she was also satisfied that Prime Minister Mottley repeated a commitment for there to be a roll-out of the Trade Union Recognition Act which will soon be on the statute books. She explained that the act will ensure that workers will not have to suffer the agony and indignity of previous generations who had to pursue their right to trade union representation and collective bargaining.
The parliamentarian, who said her constituents are among the many Barbadians families in search of land and housing, indicated that she was also pleased that Government is seeking to roll out “decent housing” solutions as a matter of urgency.
She also applauded the administration’s plan to focus on food and nutrition security through the provision of healthy food choices.
“I am impressed and wish to congratulate the Government on making this budget a call to arms, inviting all interests, all partners, all of our people, to recognize that this is a national partnership. A national movement which calls for all of us to contribute and which equally gives all of us clear indications of the manner in which we all can benefit. I believe that the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance refers to it as sharing the burden and sharing the bounty or sharing the benefit,” Moore said.
“This budget must therefore be seen not merely as an effort by the Minister of Finance to cut and paste benefits and impositions. But it should be seen as an opportunity where I can be satisfied that working with the current administration, the labour movement, the Barbados Workers’ Union in particular, is seeing examples of how a government could be made to recognize its roots and its needs to cater to the demands of the working person and his or her family,” she added. (AH)
