CTUSAB says it’s being excluded from critical bodies

The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados has identified a “crisis in labour”, in which workers’ representatives are being excluded from the Senate and statutory boards, resulting in a range of key workers’ issues apparently being placed on the back burner.

President of the Congress Edwin O’neal told reporters that it is the first time since 1976, that the Senate was void of labour representation, which for decades had been a defining mark in the composition of the Upper Chamber.

“I find it worrisome, that at the launch of the republic, there is no trade unionist in the Senate and Edwin O’neal is making this statement, not for his own interests, but in an effort to sensitize Barbadians to the realities of what we have to be ever vigilant about,” he said.

“When it suits leaders, they speak of the progress that this country has made in working toward a just and equitable society, an egalitarian society and are quick to point out that it has been because of the contributions of labour.

“Now at a critical juncture, when Barbados starts out on its own as a parliamentary republic, there is no presence of a labour representative in the Senate,” he added.

The veteran trade unionist contended that the new composition of statutory boards, which have traditionally included a representative of labour and CTUSAB in particular, was slowly becoming a thing of the past. He mentioned the soon-to-be announced Queen Elizabeth Hospital board and the Transport Board.

“We have always argued that all statutory boards should have a labour representative and we have done so for good reason. The persons who bring other knowledge and experiences may not necessarily bring an understanding or an appreciation of labour management relations and it is therefore important to have a person attuned and sensitive to those realities,” said O’neal.

“While we have been thankful that this has been practiced by some, our push was that it should be on all, not just labour, but a CTUSAB representative on all statutory boards. It is extremely worrisome now that we are getting information that statutory boards are being reconstituted minus a CTUSAB rep. That is something that is on the radar, that is something that we will be agitating for and it is something that we will be raising again and again in the public fora because this is not just about recognition of CTUSAB, it is also about the representation of every working-class Barbadian,” the CTUSAB president added.

Other pressing issues on the congress’ agenda include a decision to move the public sector pensionable years from 33.33 to 40 years in the service, a failure to comply with safety and health legislation in government departments and exclusion of the congress from key aspects of social partnership discussions.

O’neal argued that most revolutionary social changes in Barbados historically have been made because of trade union inclusion and/or agitation from as far back as the 1930s riots.

He also contended that although the issues affecting labour have changed, CTUSAB had also evolved to address more contemporary issues like large-scale retrenchment, youth unemployment, and the rising cost of living, among others.

“The reality is that all of the mouthings and developments in the economy and in our space signal very clearly that labour is under threat and that the survivability of labour is directly related to its capacity to respond to those threats,” said O’neal.

“We have a number of avenues. There is the industrial, there’s the negotiating, there is the capacity to be conciliatory, to have mediators and the most important thing here is really public opinion.

“‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’ and therefore when there are attempts to ignore labour, when there are the attacks and innuendo by those who have access to the airwaves, I say to Barbadians, that is more than enough of a signal to be ever vigilant, because the protection of labour is really the protection of the Barbadian state as we know it,” he concluded. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb